In this month of excessive reading, I need to figure out a way to write the reviews sooner. As far as I remember, I enjoyed the first book in this duology more than the conclusion, but this conclusion was still an enjoyable entry to the series. This book leaned more into the magical, fantastical side than the mystery side.
I can see how reading several in this series in close succession could potentially become monotonous. Thankfully, it’s been a while since I read the first book, and I have no plans of continuing the series in rapid succession. The tales told in this entry centered on people going back to see loved ones who have passed on and also a critical character whose story gets told in the first book. These short stories are bite-size looks at how to deal with grief.
I knew going into this book that traditional space operas are not my favorite form of science fiction, which is interesting considering some of the visual media in science fiction that I tend to enjoy. That being said the authors did an excellent job leaning into what unfortunately inherent prejudice says of humans and how that might still play out in a future where humans have gone on to colonize near planets and other spatial objects like the moon and asteroids without alien interference only to encounter an alien life form and in their hubris think they can use it to their own benefit. I do find it interesting having read Robert Jackson Bennett’s Ana and Din series, to see the similarities in some of the aspects of the alien life forms. Even though I did not necessarily think the story was my favorite, I found myself unable to look away and towards the end, incredibly interested in the fates of the various involved characters.
I finally got to read this novel in verse after first learning of it when teaching an excerpt which is included in the eighth grade ELA textbook. As soon as someone decided to attempt to ban the state approved textbook because it included this excerpt, I placed the book on my TBR and purchased it. This is not a traditional novel. It fluctuates through several different narrators and includes poems that those characters performed in one of their high school classes. It’s a fascinating look into the lives of many that society often ignores, or think less of.
Ibi Zoboi’s writing always captivate me, but I have yet to find a novel of hers, with the exception of Punching the Air, that I have really fully enjoyed. Zoboi set up an absolutely fascinating premise and magic system. It also helps that one of the characters perspectives is narrated by Robin Miles, one of the best audiobook narrators ever. The conclusion, however, and the decisions by one of the characters created an ultimately unsatisfying ending for this standalone novel.
I really enjoyed this middle grade science fiction time travel novel. The two authors, one of whose works I have always been tempted to try, even though he writes in a genre that is not my favorite, created a narrative in which you have an absolutely lovable main character and sidekick who accidentally unlock an incredible potential for time travel that has significant ramifications. Part of this review is colored by my experience with the second book in the series which further expands this world, but I will save my thoughts on that for my review of book 2.
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