Reviews with content warning for Suicidal thoughts - To Be Taught, If Fortunate

Thought-provoking and rich narrative. Becky Chambers is a power house. I totally get the point of leaving it open ended. I understand the narrative function of that and the implications of the ask, but I am a sucker for a neat ending and would have loved even a little choose your own adventure moment. Still, her thorough research and ability to create something so engaging and air-tight at the same time astounds me. I love how subtlety weaves into something greater with her writing. Overall, recommend!

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chellyfishing's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

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innerweststreetlibrarian's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This is a sweet, or perhaps bittersweet, exploration of ideas about the possible future of space exploration. I enjoyed the altruistic vision of a future human society that considers the ethics and impact of colonisation. The world building is fun too!

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jebecky's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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mythian's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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drotto's review against another edition

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hopeful reflective relaxing slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

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fox_at_the_circus's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

This book is a love letter to scientists and collaboration and humanity and instantly became one of my all time favourite books.
Chambers is amazing at interweaving sci-fi with philosophy and does it again here. The book has amazing and unique alien planets and applications of biotechnology, that made it super fun to read. I got so fascinated by the different environments, that I even forget the tension and mystery that the first chaper set up and got lost in the exploration, just like the characters.
And with the four main characters being isolated for a long time it also reads as a character and psychology study. The characters are really well-written and developed, which made the conflicts and discussions believable and grounded.

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bbganooj's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

Love this book so much! would recommend this novella for anyone looking to dip their toes into Becky Chambers. her writing is amazing, Love the descriptions of new planets and species, as well as the character studies of each of the crewmates. I felt the ending was a tiny bit rushed, but this book stayed with me after I put it down. excellent sci-fi

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