A review by anxiousnachos
Do You Dream of Terra-Two? by Temi Oh

5.0

Review was originally posted to Anxious Nachos.

Wow - what a read. Do You Dream of Terra-Two? has SHOT to the top of my all-time favourite science fiction. This descriptive and moving debut novel takes a very different style to any other science fiction I've read, with a much bigger focus on the characters and a much smaller focus on the technology and science-aspect.

Do You Dream of Terra-Two follows 6 young adults as they prepare for a space mission to the long dreamed of, Terra-Two. Terra-Two is a potentially habitable planet found in another solar system, and humanity has dreamed of reaching it since it's discovery. The book begins at the prestigious Dalton Academy, a school where teens compete to be chosen for the Terra-Two mission. Six are chosen, and it is these six that we follow in the book. The book flits between the point of view of these characters, though we hear more from three of them.

Each of these teens has a very distinct voice and I enjoyed reading all of them. Definitely don't expect any unrealistic, completely perfect characters - all of the people in this book are so real and so human. The teens have so many problems (as you could expect after being trained and brainwashed about Terra-Two for years) and I could see myself and everyone I know in every single one of these teens. Temi Oh really managed to write such a realistic portrayal of all her characters. Whilst Eliot was my favoruite character, thanks to Temi Oh's brutally realistic depiction of his pain, I think my favourite to read from was probably Jesse. In saying that, this was one of the only multiple perspectives books I've ever read where I wasn't bored with one or more of the perspectives. Everyone is just so different and had so many different reasons for why they want to go to space that each of their POV's made for a really great read.

This book is both filled with wonder and drama, with a little bit of edge-of-your-seat action thrown in. There are lots of twists and turns and everything always goes wrong, and I really wasn't ever sure what would happen next or how the story would end. I wished I could've stayed with this crew so much longer, I enjoyed it so much. There is such a humanity to the book, from the sense of wonder and excitement about finding a new livable planet, to the very human interactions and relationships which form between the crewmates. This book had me gripped from start to finish, and I really could not recommend it more!