greycay's review against another edition
3.5
Moderate: Car accident, Death, and Genocide
Minor: Transphobia
caseythereader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Medical content, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/injury detail, Blood, Cursing, Gore, and Violence
Moderate: Car accident
Minor: Transphobia
esm_359's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Transphobia
gumbella's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Moderate: Colonisation, Injury/injury detail, Transphobia, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Blood and Car accident
orion_rarely_reads's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Car accident and Transphobia
kate_mac's review against another edition
3.75
Minor: Gun violence and Transphobia
morganish's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
The ragtag heroes of this story were all rejected from the local space academy. Which was lucky, in this case, because it's the reason they survive an attack by a specific type of space terrorists (an interesting element I haven't seen before). Of course, this forces them to band together, learn to work with one another, and become friends (and more-than-friends) in order to push back against the powers that attacked their would-be academy. Genre-typical hijinks ensue - hijinks which include but aren't limited to dodging authorities, space-gun shootouts, and a whole lot of light-hearted bantering in the face of almost-certain death.
The main character is a bi Muslim boy; I can't verify how authentic the depictions are in this book, but it's interesting and unique from what I've seen, in that Muslim culture is very prominent in this futuristic space-faring society. The rest of the crew is similarly diverse. Slight content warning for transphobia though - the lone trans character has had to deal with transphobia in the culture she came from, so if you're looking for a story where all types of bigotry are completely absent in your fun futuristic scifi, it might be good to know that going in.
My only other personal caveat is that there's a lot of touching in this book, both friendly and flirty. This might be a great book for someone feeling touch-starved (or terrible, if it makes you miss touch even more). But I'm not a touchy-feely person generally and always like boundaries on touch to be very clearly outlined, so that's probably the only part of the book that was iffy for me personally. But otherwise, it was just nice, easy, and doesn't try to hard. Had all the right kind of simple, inclusive, space-adventure vibes I love.
As with other reviews, when I really like something it's hard for me to get myself into the headspace of someone who wouldn't. But if any of the above caveats aren't your thing, or if you really prefer scifi that's harder, both in terms of the "science" aspect or the intensity of the themes and plotlines, this definitely isn't that. If you prefer your fun space opera to be about adults, or even just to be a little more on the raggedy side of ragtag, keep in mind this crew is composed of characters who fit more traditionally YA mold. But if you're like me and you just love this subgenre for it's lightheartedness and fun, this is a good one to try out.
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Bullying, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Murder, Transphobia, Violence, War, and Death
Minor: Abandonment and Child abuse
emohell's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Gun violence and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Genocide
Minor: Transphobia
yodamordecai's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Moderate: Blood, Genocide, Panic attacks/disorders, and Violence
Minor: Ableism and Transphobia
alwaysshure's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Moderate: Gore
Minor: Transphobia and Ableism