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spentcello's review against another edition
dark
hopeful
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I really liked most of this - I was invested in the story for the most part and it was gripping (particularly the beginning) and made me not want to put the book down. I liked the way in which Kowal used an alternate history to tell the stories of groups of people whose contributions have systematically been down-played in history. Sometimes, I felt that the obvious pointing out of racist and sexist biases at all points intruded on the story, and I would have rather that this was done in more showing way rather than just straight telling like 'wow, I can't believe that there aren't any black people on this list' (paraphrasing here) over and over again. But I appreciate the importance of getting these biases across to the purpose of the book.
I didn't particularly like how choppy the story felt in parts and some of it felt like it wasn't really serving any purpose by being in there. The repeated puns/jokes/double entendres were grating and sometimes stretching quite a lot to get there. I also find it highly unlikely that a maths genius and her rocket scientist husband, both of whom work in rocketry, would make a bunch of dirty jokes that stretch technical aspects of their field so much to be inaccurate. If anything (and this is taken from my own interactions with people in various specialisations - including myself), jokes in your main technical field of expertise are hyper-specific and generally only funny to others who have the same technical expertise. So I find it quite unrealistic and inconsistent with their characters when Nathaniel and Elma are making a bunch of jokes about turning the key in each others' ignitions and handling rockets. This was the same with the maths, with some particularly stretched jokes about prime numbers. I had other minor gripes with a lot of the other banter between Nathaniel and Elma as well and found I was really just trying to push through those parts to get to the more enjoyable parts of the story.
The issues I had with the book were minor though, and I felt compelled to keep reading right through to the end. Definitely a great read if you have any interest in alternate histories and space exploration.
I didn't particularly like how choppy the story felt in parts and some of it felt like it wasn't really serving any purpose by being in there. The repeated puns/jokes/double entendres were grating and sometimes stretching quite a lot to get there. I also find it highly unlikely that a maths genius and her rocket scientist husband, both of whom work in rocketry, would make a bunch of dirty jokes that stretch technical aspects of their field so much to be inaccurate. If anything (and this is taken from my own interactions with people in various specialisations - including myself), jokes in your main technical field of expertise are hyper-specific and generally only funny to others who have the same technical expertise. So I find it quite unrealistic and inconsistent with their characters when Nathaniel and Elma are making a bunch of jokes about turning the key in each others' ignitions and handling rockets. This was the same with the maths, with some particularly stretched jokes about prime numbers. I had other minor gripes with a lot of the other banter between Nathaniel and Elma as well and found I was really just trying to push through those parts to get to the more enjoyable parts of the story.
The issues I had with the book were minor though, and I felt compelled to keep reading right through to the end. Definitely a great read if you have any interest in alternate histories and space exploration.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Racism
cascadienne's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, and Grief
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Antisemitism, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
Minor: Sexual content, Violence, Sexual harassment, and War
minervacerridwen's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
4.25
The Calculating Stars is a really well-written slice-of-life report of the life of a brilliant mathematician in an alternate history defined by a meteorite impact. Even the technical parts kept me engaged, and the bits where the book seemed to slow down never lasted too long. While not the main plot, the story deals with sexism and racism, and I feel like I actually learned some things at the end.
I'm glad I finally got around to reading this book thanks to T & Fie!
(Note to my future self: for emetophobia reasons I will probably not want to reread this.)
I'm glad I finally got around to reading this book thanks to T & Fie!
(Note to my future self: for emetophobia reasons I will probably not want to reread this.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexism, and Vomit
Moderate: Drug use, Sexual content, Medical content, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent
Minor: Antisemitism and Alcohol
oxfordcommas91's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
tense
medium-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? Yes
3.5
Enjoyable and easy to read story about a human "computer," married to the lead engineer of a space agency who both live through a meteorite hit that devastated much of the eastern seaboard of the United States. Elma, the main character, has experience flying after serving as a WASP in WWII and wants to be taken seriously as a potential astronaut when she helps discover that earthlings are going to have to start colonizing space sooner rather than later due to the catastrophic environmental effects from the meteorite.
This book had enough interest to hold my attention, though I enjoyed the pace at the beginning of the book (directly before & after the meteorite hit) more than the latter half which sometimes feels like it's not sure where it's going or headed. The pacing isn't always spot on, either - some plot points seem to linger for a long time without strong reason and then other thing things I assumed would take much longer to happen seem to pass in the blink of an eye. The ending of the book was a bit weird to me - it feels like its hurtling towards the conclusion in a rush when I would have liked for the author to spend more time getting there, but it wasn't a huge deal.
This book attempts to broach a lot of difficult topics - feminism and sexism in the 1950's, grief and loss after a catastrophic event, mental health/depression/anxiety, anti-semitism, and homophobia. I am glad that the author includes and grapples with all these issues as it feels very authentic to the timeframe that this story is taking place. I especially am grateful for the author's recognition of mental health and the part that mental health plays in our personal and professional lives (especially for women - who are seen as "overly emotional" or "hysterical" to start with). I thought the way that this topic was raised and examined was fairly true to historical context and added a good layer of depth to the story. I do think that the plot points and scenes that had to do with the character grappling with her experience as a white woman were sometimes glossed over or not done with the sort of cultural sensitivity that I would have expected for a book published this recently. Again, I'm glad the topic is raised but I think I expected a bit more depth.
This book had enough interest to hold my attention, though I enjoyed the pace at the beginning of the book (directly before & after the meteorite hit) more than the latter half which sometimes feels like it's not sure where it's going or headed. The pacing isn't always spot on, either - some plot points seem to linger for a long time without strong reason and then other thing things I assumed would take much longer to happen seem to pass in the blink of an eye. The ending of the book was a bit weird to me - it feels like its hurtling towards the conclusion in a rush when I would have liked for the author to spend more time getting there, but it wasn't a huge deal.
This book attempts to broach a lot of difficult topics - feminism and sexism in the 1950's, grief and loss after a catastrophic event, mental health/depression/anxiety, anti-semitism, and homophobia. I am glad that the author includes and grapples with all these issues as it feels very authentic to the timeframe that this story is taking place. I especially am grateful for the author's recognition of mental health and the part that mental health plays in our personal and professional lives (especially for women - who are seen as "overly emotional" or "hysterical" to start with). I thought the way that this topic was raised and examined was fairly true to historical context and added a good layer of depth to the story. I do think that the plot points and scenes that had to do with the character grappling with her experience as a white woman were sometimes glossed over or not done with the sort of cultural sensitivity that I would have expected for a book published this recently. Again, I'm glad the topic is raised but I think I expected a bit more depth.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Drug use, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Blood, Vomit, Antisemitism, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Medical content, Dementia, Car accident, and Alcohol
cj13's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
medium-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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Grief, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Death, Sexual content, Antisemitism, Medical content, and Alcohol
Minor: Suicide attempt
mementomoriiv's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Racism, and Vomit
beccaand's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
medium-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? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Vomit, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Death, Racism, and Sexual content
Minor: Suicide, Antisemitism, and Sexual harassment
honkinggoose's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Racism, and Sexism
Minor: Antisemitism and Sexual harassment
artmuseam's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
when i came across this book at my university’s bookstore, i had some high expectations and was really excited to read this book. now that i think about it, i would say i have some mixed feelings. the book started off very exciting, but once it got to the middle, i wasn’t exactly sure if it was worth reading due to the lack of action. the ending wrapped it up pretty well and i guess the next book continues with what actually happens in space, so maybe i’ll read that out of curiosity. i did find the main character somewhat lovable but i wasn’t entirely on board with how she chose to be so compliant and reserved in times where it was better to be resistant and brave. this frustrated me, but i also did need to take in the historical context at that time. i wasn’t a fan of the tense change in that last chapter—especially since first person present tense is my least favorite…but other than that, this book was exciting, inspirational, and fun to read. i still enjoyed the science jargon and the intense moments of liftoff at various parts :) 3.75/5 stars
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, and Vomit
Moderate: Sexual content
rhall19's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
tense
medium-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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism
Moderate: Racism and Antisemitism
Minor: Suicide attempt