A review by clairebau
All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders

adventurous hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I expected to think this book was just okay, and then I went and loved it. I love a coming-of-age story. I love light science fiction. I love stuck-up, idiot-smart male characters and genuinely interesting & feminine female ones. Magical realism is always a bit of a hit or miss for me, but in this case, it was a huge hit. I love a weird ass book. God, this book was weird, but in an off-beat, well developed way. The strength of this book was in its characters and writing style. The plot was just-fine, I guess, but I liked the other aspects too much to care.

My critiques are few. There were too many minor characters with too-few contributions to the story at large. Like with most books, I felt the ending was a bit rushed and not as fleshed out as the beginning (which, in the case of this book, was especially carefully done). Slight deus ex machina at the end, but there was enough leading up to it that I'm not mad about it.

I'd love if this author focused less on plot-ambitious stuff and kept at the coming of age, realistic romance sort of thing, as that's what I thought she excelled at. I'll likely be rereading this one.
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