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A review by bookishmillennial
A Song of Salvation by Alechia Dow
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
tense
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
disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial
Premise:
Premise:
- teen fictional space opera & science fiction
- Third book written in the same galaxy as The Sound of Stars & The Kindred but can be read as standalone
- Dual first-person POV with snippets of podcast transcripts that operate as plot recaps
- Zaira is a 17-year-old Mal Aresan who escapes from the Ilori & tries to find an Andarran to save what’s left of her home planet
- She is also part-reincarnation of the god Indigo & has incredible powers!
- Wesley was shunned from his home planet Andarra & takes on a job to escort high-profile podcaster Rubin to Terra
- Their paths cross & they quickly take on the quest to save the galaxy from the Ilori
- tropes: found family, save-the-world, instalove
- cw: child abuse, kidnapping, murder, genocide, racism, colonization
Thoughts:
For me, Alechia Dow just never misses. She writes the most delightful teen fiction space opera I've ever read and this did not disappoint!
I adored these characters !!! Alechia writes the most precious, goofiest and lovable characters and I miss them all already! Zaira and Wesley were the moody, broody, angsty teens who held the weight of the
The way that these characters discusses the issues of their worlds and galaxies was incredibly relatable; obviously these are fictional worlds but Alechia is so clever and fresh in the way she has characters tackle both interpersonal and societal conflicts. Sometimes the messaging could feel a bit on-the-nose, but that type of writing doesn't exhaust me. I'm moreso saying, 'yup, that's exactly how that feels' as I read. Regardless, I had an absolute blast being along for the ride as Zaira and Wesley learned to not only stand up for themselves, but for everyone that was colonised by the Ilori.
The worldbuilding was fantastic per usual and now I am (gently, lovingly but loudly) ~*~demanding~*~ a tv series adaptation so that we can see these worlds come to life onscreen !!! I thoroughly enjoyed this tale of adventure, self-discovery, forgiveness, love, acceptance, unapologetic self-love, found family, societal commentary, hope, and purpose. I'll absolutely continue to read from Alechia Dow in whatever galaxy she decides to bring us to next!
Quotations I enjoyed (putting these as spoilers since some of them do spoil the latter half of the book):
Perhaps we will be free, among the stars. We can begin again. Begin better.
I would be the last nightweaver, unleashed from her prison. I would be vengeance and wrath, the end of all things.
All because I'm afraid of what lies beyond the door. I'm less afraid of death than I am of the unknown.
There is dust between the stars. This space, a mixture of nothing and everything, is the glue of the universe. No world is truly alone; no, they are suspended together, spiraling for eternity. Or until destruction takes hold and gobbles them all up.
These people are alive because Indigo made it so.
And Indigo lives within me. They cannot will not hurt me. I will not let them. My words carry power and so do my fists. The time for fear is over, only determination can remain.
There’s no way in the galaxy I can get to Earth in a week with those restrictions. I mean, a few months ago, no one had even heard of the planet. Now it’s big news. We downloaded human movies, listened to their music, started using their slang in our own languages. Everyone wants to plot an adventure there…when things settle down. And there’s not a war.
My blood is on fire with urgency.
There is help. There is song. The voices rise up around us. It isn’t perfect, this melody, and not all sing it in harmony. But it unites us, brings hope. Proves that even divided and separated by space, there is compassion in this universe. There is creation. There is love. We are love.
He’s an idealist. He honestly thinks that with a lot of work and good intentions, the universe will be a better place. That the Ilori will lose and just fade away, back to their homeland, and leave us all be. The colonies will gain independence and we’ll all live in harmony. Despite my skepticism, I don’t mock him. It’s nice to have faith in something other than yourself and the ever-present terribleness of civilization.
“How does an Andarran boy end up in the Outerim, promising to deliver a multitalented space podcaster across the universe? What happened to you that this seemed like the best choice?”
Answers rush to my tongue that I immediately swallow. “Sometimes life is weird.”
“Life is always weird,” he laughs. “You’re a tough one to crack, but I’ll succeed. Mark my words. There’s never been a person who could resist my charms for long.”
“I live to be your first,” I manage to say over my pounding heart. Something wicked flashes in his gaze.
“Oh, baby, don’t make promises you don’t want to keep.”
I stare at the big dot on the screen. Andarra. Home of the second oldest civilization in the universe. Where everyone’s an empath and eternal. Andarra, home of the Jadu; the sacred creatures that swim on the watery world and nibble the hands of those destined to do great and powerful things. To be bitten by the Jadu means to be given the ability to see the future and past simultaneously. It gives you purpose and responsibility.
Despite what you think about me, about my fame and sweet-talking, I’ve never told anyone anything like what I just told you. I can’t commit to something or someone when I don’t have a bond in place. I’m slow to all of this.”
I nod. So am I. I’ve never felt comfortable enough to share my own emotions with someone else. Never formed strong friendships where I didn’t worry about judgment. Never kissed a single soul. Never wanted to either. I’m easily attracted to concepts and ideas of who someone is. Then they talk or do something small that makes me reconsider. Everything has been one-sided in my life. Love. Family. Friends. I wouldn’t even know what it would mean if someone stuck with me.
But people don’t want truth. They want stories that sell well.
The three of us, we’re carrying around all this loss. Lost homes, lost parents, lost families. Anger. Sadness. We all deal with it in such different ways. I turn to media, trying to uncover the truth because my own is painful. You get into a ship and fly around, building walls around your heart so no one can ever hurt you again… And Zaira, she’s… She wants to do great big things, I can see that. She has the power, she has the will. You saw that gold beneath her skin. She was Indigo
“Zaira, I think it’s time you showed them who you are. Not the person they want you to be, but the person your grandmother raised. Show them.” Rubin smiles. “Look at my family coming together in the face of adversity.”
We’ve all experienced loss. We lost loved ones, we lost our homes, we lost control of our world. And, likely, things can never go back to the way they were. I don’t think that’s a bad thing in some ways. We were divided, angry, suffering before the Ilori came. We now have a chance—assuming we win our independence from the true Ilori—to change Earth for the better. To start over. W
hat does that mean for us? What do we want to take from our history and what do we want to leave behind? How do we want to treat people who have suffered alongside us when we’re no longer suffering? Not with old hatreds and prejudices, right? Right?!
Here’s my homework for you: think about the world before and the world now. How do you want it to change and why? What are you willing to do to make it a better place?
For real though, we are in unprecedented times.
You’re allowed to be angry and ready to unleash all the hurt you’ve endured. You deserve that… so do we. We’ve been hurt too. Most of the known worlds in this universe are here right now, fighting for your world and theirs. So let’s keep that anger for when the Ilori fall and we get to decide how we want to experience the future. Channel it into making the universe a better, more united place.
They wanted me to be something new. Because Indigo had shaped worlds into existence but could never live among their creatures. They wanted me to feel connected, a part of a community. And I did on Mal Ares. They wanted me to love that world and see something beautiful and precious through that darkness.
Indigo didn’t want me to unlock their power to create new worlds. They wanted me to care. To find love. To see the good. And help make the universe better—not from up high on a godly perch, but within it.
If we lose, my love, we lose it all We’ll lose each other, our worlds will fall We sing it now, we sing it for our lives A song that begs for love A song that begs for peace A song about destruction A song about creation A song of salvation
We aren’t meant to be worshipped, to destroy, or create. We were meant to spread the stardust. Help the universe grow. To exist. And help others exist too.
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Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, Violence, Murder, Child abuse, Kidnapping, and War