jamgrl's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
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? Yes
5.0
What a unique first contact story!
Aliens have invaded Earth— but only the Virgin Islands. The aliens look like humans— but they are much more powerful. They say they are only staying temporarily and peacefully. Issue is, they have short fuses.
This book is super interesting and unique. It weaves together the stories of islanders going through interpersonal issues while also dealing with the political realities of their time- aliens. The book is not just about aliens, they are just another layer to these people’s lives, hiding in the background, and yet they are an inescapable force on the island.
The book switches perspectives quite a lot, but it wasn’t too hard to follow who everyone is. The mystery of the aliens unfolds around and
between the character’s personal dramasfalling in and out of love, making hard choices about when to follow dreams, inter-generational familial conflict. Not to mention how filled it is with Virgin Island culture from an author from the Virgin Islands!
The audiobook has stellar performances from the narrators. (Sometimes they can get whispery, so not every location is ideal for listening.)
(I also liked No Gods, No Monsters by the same author, but I must admit I liked this one better 🫣.)
{{Warning: there is a lot of violence, some fairly graphic, and character death}}
Aliens have invaded Earth— but only the Virgin Islands. The aliens look like humans— but they are much more powerful. They say they are only staying temporarily and peacefully. Issue is, they have short fuses.
This book is super interesting and unique. It weaves together the stories of islanders going through interpersonal issues while also dealing with the political realities of their time- aliens. The book is not just about aliens, they are just another layer to these people’s lives, hiding in the background, and yet they are an inescapable force on the island.
The book switches perspectives quite a lot, but it wasn’t too hard to follow who everyone is. The mystery of the aliens unfolds around and
between the character’s personal dramasfalling in and out of love, making hard choices about when to follow dreams, inter-generational familial conflict. Not to mention how filled it is with Virgin Island culture from an author from the Virgin Islands!
The audiobook has stellar performances from the narrators. (Sometimes they can get whispery, so not every location is ideal for listening.)
(I also liked No Gods, No Monsters by the same author, but I must admit I liked this one better 🫣.)
{{Warning: there is a lot of violence, some fairly graphic, and character death}}
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Gun violence, and Death
Minor: Car accident and Physical abuse
katiehicks's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
When I first started reading this book, I was very prepared to say that it was good, but not maybe not for me. Much of the book focuses on Mera and Derrick’s relationship, but I was never sure how I felt about it, and I was never sure if that was intentional. At first, I was very against it because I thought it was stupid and dangerous for Derrick, and then the more we learned about the aliens, the more I found myself agreeing with the people who called him a traitor (especially since the aliens are a metaphor for colonialism so he’s roughly analogous to an enslaved person sleeping with a plantation owner because they’re just so much more “fascinating” than his own people? I guess?). The rage I felt at the injustice the humans experienced was directed at Mera, who was the only named Ynaa character for most of the book, and it made it really difficult to sympathize with either of them.
But the more we learned about Derrick’s feelings, the more it seemed like he was almost fetishizing Mera and was more in love with the idea of aliens and space than with her. This was also about the time we started learning more about Mera herself, and the whole narrative shifts. This, again, I was unsure about. Are we meant to be sympathetic to the Ynaa? Just Mera? What is Mera’s role in this story anyway? Is Mera just a person who idealistically thinks they can change the system from the inside, or at least work to mitigate the damage being done? Or is she “one of the good ones” who knows that what the Ynaa are doing is wrong, but ultimately realizes that she can’t do much to stop it? Mera’s “New Lesson” also seemed kind of Nihilistic, but again, I was in the mindset that maybe this book just wasn’t for me, and maybe there was something I just wasn’t *getting*.
And then those last 50 pages.
I was in the middle of a pretty bad reading slump while reading this book, so bear that in mind when I say I could NOT put this book down. By the time I reached the climax of the story, I realized that this book was just more complex than I was expecting, and I had become invested without even realizing it. The slow beginning, punctuated with sudden violence, did a great job of building tension and creating the atmosphere of a powder keg about to blow. And then, the heart-pounding, edge-of-your-seat climax somehow manages to slow down again to a bittersweet and somehow hopeful epilogue. The emotional complexities were still there, but somehow felt more human. Thinking about everything the characters lost and trying to imagine how they will ever move forward, while remembering that these events are roughly analogous to real events, was pretty devastating. And yet, the story chooses to end with the slightest bit of hope, and a rejection of the idea that humans (here being the equivalent to colonized people) are somehow weak- that surviving and rebuilding takes enormous strength.
In the end, I really appreciate that this book spends much more of its time focusing on the humans and not the Ynaa (then again, I’m not super into aliens anyway), and I loved that there were so many different reactions to the colonization (I especially loved Derrick correcting Patrice with “they didn’t <i>invade</i> they <i>arrived</i>” which just says so much about him). I still wish we had spent a little less time on Mera and Derrick, because I found their views to be in general the least relatable, but I liked learning about the characters we did get to see.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Slavery, Violence, Death, Death of parent, and Child death
Moderate: Animal death and Cancer
Minor: Car accident and Confinement
noreadingdegree's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
- 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
4.0
once again, audiobooks are killing it for me. this one was fantastic. i didn't realize how much i enjoyed first contact stories until i read this book. there is something about humans trying to navigate and come to terms with extraterrestrial life that fascinates me. i loved that this book focused on multi-POVs from the same family/friend circle and how the arrival of the arrivals changed their lives with each other.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Violence, Slavery, Murder, Infidelity, Grief, Death, and Animal death
Moderate: Cancer, Homophobia, and Terminal illness
Minor: Sexual content and Car accident
competencefantasy's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
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
4.25
The pacing in this ramps up sharply as the book goes along. At first you're just getting to know the characters. Then an initial event happens and there's a jump into a future where it seems like things have reached equilibrium. There's mysterious jumping back and forth, more character development, and some more character work. Then something else happens and everything gets dark. Seriously, I made the mistake of trying to finish the book at night, but I was too wound up to sleep.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Racism, Genocide, Cancer, Slavery, Suicide, Death, Xenophobia, and Murder
Moderate: Gun violence, Homophobia, and Car accident
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