needed some found family literary work

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet – Becky Chambers

Science fiction, space travel, aliens, missions, found family, fiction. 

Rating 8/10

Rosemary joins the Wayfarer crew and boards their ship with not much expectations other than simply doing her job and starting a new life. She also wants a spot to call home that is far away from her family and home planet. After she spends a few days onboard she comes to find the crew very friendly and kind. Almost like a family to her and she simply begins to love this new life. Her captain gets a job of a lifetime but there is danger. Rosemary wasn’t expecting that part of the job title but she knows that the ship and the crew can handle anything that is thrown at them. 

This was enjoyable. I loved the sense of adventure and there were some comedic bits along with serious moments. There was a balance of world-building and action with dialogue. I loved some of the side characters that interacted with the main character. I needed something that was sort of on the trope of the main character creating a found family with some science fiction. I couldn’t resist binge reading the second half of the novel because the thrill of the plot was certainly intriguing. I do suggest this for some funny and wholesome science fiction.

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once you arrive its hard to leave…

Ace of Shades – Amanda Foody 

Young adult, science fiction, fantasy, fiction. 

Rating 8/10

Enne Salta finds herself in Las Reynes to try to find her mother. She has the entire summer to find her before she must return to her finishing school. With only a name, Levi Glaisyer, she hunts him down. He is taken aback by this young woman and decides to help her for a cost. She makes an offer to him that he can’t refuse that would solve his problems. He takes the offer and helps her find her mother. As they are searching for her mother, she learns of her past that affects her future. 

My boyfriend had read this novel and I couldn’t help but be curious as to why he would read this. After reading I slowly understood. The plot is really interesting as it slowly unfolded. The world is immersive and makes the reader get hooked once it picks up the pace. The diverse and rich characters involved were very unique. There were many plot twists and turns that I hadn’t expected at all which I love a good book that does that. However, the concept of a world that is sort of Las Vegas but different isn’t my type. Overall, I did enjoy the novel despite that and how slow the beginning was.

a wild book for sure…

Afterland – Lauren Beukes 

Science fiction. 

Rating 8/10

There’s a virus that is only affecting men. It has killed off most if not nearly all the men in the world. Females aren’t affected but the last surviving men are taken to facilities to be watched over and used as means to continue populating the Earth. Cole and her son Miles are on the run from her son being taken away to become a sperm bank or a stand-in for a stranger’s family to pretend that they have a son. She wants to escape the horror. She dresses him as a young girl and their story is that they are mother and daughter traveling out of the country. Her son doesn’t like this but he saw what the government and certain people are willing to do just to have a male.

This was one wild book that was really different. The world building happened in breadcrumbs along the way and there were a lot of character introductions as well as a story within a story being told. I grabbed this book solely on the premise of the synopsis that caught my attention. The synopsis didn’t disappoint at all. I had found myself eager to read more and more of this speculative fiction. I hardly read speculative fiction these days and I found out why. It takes a lot of time and effort to carefully read to understand that the world is taking place within our world but in a distant future. This is different from dystopian because there are some realistic aspects. I enjoyed this novel and overall loved the writing style. I may find myself looking forward to reading more from this author.

this sorta messed me UP

The Infinity Courts – Akemi Dawn Bowman 

Young adult, fantasy, death, afterlife, computers, science fiction, fiction.

7/10

Nami was ready for her future until she was murdered. She died when the bank robber at the liquor store shot her. She finds herself in Infinity where the mind is alive but her body is dead. The people who greet her tell her about the war against Ophelia who has taken over the Infinity and hates humanity. Nami is the only one to help save them from disaster or their world from actually ending. 

This young adult novel was one of the trendy books I saw and was instantly interested. However, the chosen one trope was what got to me but besides that everything else is really good. The storyline and plot goes smoothly. The characters and their interactions with each other were alright but the chosen one trope kept getting more annoying as the characters kept telling Nami she is the chosen one and that she should train for the ultimate fight. I was expecting better for this novel but then again the chosen one trope is heavily in most young adult novels as it is popular among that demographic. It sells right off the shelves.

loved this sci-fi fantasy novel

Black Sun – Rebecca Roanhorse 

Science fiction, fantasy, fiction.

Rating 9/10

Xiala is a disgraced captain that was about to get punished when she is given a task that guarantees her freedom and a stable job. Escort someone or rather a special passenger. Serapio was blinded by his mother in hopes of her son becoming one of the Gods. Unfortunately what she was doing was abusive to her son and cost her son’s eyesight. He needs to be taken back to his homeland and Xiala must take him there. 

This was rather interesting and intriguing. The novel discusses disability as an empowerment for which Serapio has lost his sight and can’t see but his other senses are heightened due to that. Also this novel goes over and discusses a lot of how the indigenous peoples are mistreated and how they are viewed by others. These topics were presented as science fiction and fantasy which is great. There is a lot of lore explained as well as a diversity of different perspectives. The writing was phenomenal and the characters don’t feel artificial. They feel as if I know them personally.  I enjoyed this novel a lot and think I might just get the sequel whenever it comes out. 

like world building? this book is perfect for you

Hella – David Gerrold 

Science fiction, terraforming, space travel, politics, agriculture, fiction.

Kyle is neurodivergent and is a part of the colonizers on the new planet Hella. He was given a task to help make videos that will educate the next group of migrant colonizers to understand what it is that the colony does and how it works. Alongside working, Kyle’s life is changing before his eyes and there are secrets that he must keep and he must stay on everyone’s good side if he doesn’t want to become an outcast. Sometimes reality isn’t always what it seems. 

This book hardly had much plot for there was a lot of world building and explaining. I love the quality of the world building but the quantity could have been brought down slightly. But understanding that this is science fiction and the main focus is colonizing a different planet does raise a lot of questions such as politics and environment focuses as well as how to raise a colony from a planet without destroying the planet. That I was enjoying and I felt that the main character could have offered his opinion rather than basing it off of what everyone else was thinking. 

The writing is excellent however the plot could have been more fleshed out a bit more. The world building took a lot out and was so much for me to understand. It took a good chunk of the book to get to somewhere and I felt the ending was not satisfactory. I do hope that there is a sequel in the works since there was evidence of a lot of hard work going into this novel. I did like this book, don’t get me wrong, the characters and the interactions were excellent as well as how these colonizers interacted with the planet. If one is a science fiction nerd that loves a good book that has a lot of world building, this one is perfect. 

didn’t expect this novel to be utterly good

The Girl Who Could Move Shit With Her Mind – Jackson Ford

Science fiction, mystery, thriller, fiction. 

Rating 11/10

Teagan has telekinetic powers and she is the only one to have them. Due to this, she is working for the government as a trade off from having doctors and scientists cut her open to do testing to see about her powers. Until someone was found dead in a particular way that makes her look like the murderer. She has only twenty four hours before clearing her own name. If she doesn’t find the murderer she will be trialed and sent to a lab facility. She would be erased from any records. Someone else in town has the same powers as she does. She hunts them down to confront them and bring them to light of justice. 

I got this mostly because of the title and the synopsis. This was utterly weird and I couldn’t believe that this book is hardly popular yet there are sequels so someone had to be reading it. I found myself laughing throughout this and intrigued with her perspective. I found myself reading this to the point where I lost track of time. I had such a fun time reading this novel and I might end up getting the sequels as well. This novel will take readers on a mystery thriller with a lot of science fiction involved. I also love where the novel takes place, which is Los Angeles. The descriptions of certain places, especially Skid Row, are vivid and really authentic. Other places described are rather realistic. The author must have been from Los Angeles to know the ultra specific areas and how they look. I enjoyed that in this book. I can’t wait to read more. I highly recommend this novel.

not gonna finish this series.

Scythe – Neal Shusterman

Death, reaping, young adult, fantasy, science fiction, dystopian, fiction. 

Rating 7/10

Citra and Rowan are chosen as Scythe apprentices to practice the art of reaping. Since the world is nearly perfect where death is not as easy to happen, someone has to reap to keep the population in check. Faraday chooses Citra and Rowan to train even though they do not want to become the reaper of death. He increases intensity and importance by forcing them to make the ultimate decision. Who gets to become the reaper while the other has to be reaped by the new reaper. 

I loved the idea of reaping in this dystopia but I found this too predictable. I loved the writing and world building. The characters are really diverse and each person of the novel has such a rich character development. I know this is a series but I do not wish to continue the series. Maybe down the line I might change my mind. I mostly got this book because I recalled reading one of Shusterman’s books before. I read one of his children series that was really well written and I loved those books. The author writes phenomenally and I would recommend any of his works. Expect uniqueness and intensity with the works.

this was one of my fave middle school science fiction novels

Shatter Me – Tahereh Mafi

Science fiction, abilities, love, dictatorship, soldiers, young adult, fiction.

Rating 9/10

Juliette has a condition where she touches someone or someone touches her, they experience immense pain and suffering. Her parents decided to surrender her to a mental health institute where she is left to rot. She counts the days until she is given a roommate who doesn’t understand why she’s so distant. She remembers him, he was Adam, a fellow teen who also had family troubles. A few days later, she is taken out and into a new facility and meets Warner who wants her to use her power to hurt the world just as the world had hurt her. She refuses until Warner gives her a trial she must complete. Adam tells her that he knew of her all along and wanted to rescue her. She faces a decision and knows the clear path of what she must do. 

I had read this as I recall in middle school. I decided to buy the book to reread it since my old copy was not salvageable. This book really blew my mind in ways I can’t comprehend. There were dystopian elements and a lot of mental health awareness. We follow the character into a positive development. She refuses to become a weapon for evil because she knows her powers are too dangerous. Even though the world had hurt her and she was given an option to pay back with revenge she refused. I loved the main character and the potential love interest Adam. Just Warner creeped me out a lot. I love the author. She writes beautifully and has a unique style of storytelling that is unlike any other. I do recommend this novel. This is a one sitting type of reading and there is a series that I might continue to read in the foreseeable future. 

i waited FOREVER and it was WORTH IT

Ready Player Two– Ernest Cline

Science fiction, Fiction.

Rating 11/10

Wade and his friends become the new owners of Oasis and GSS enterprises. In secret, a new technology was revealed to Wade, the ONI headset. This headset allowed users to safely experience all their senses during their duration of time on OASIS. Anything was possible. Wade and his friends, minus Artemis, agree to make this into an affordable device, a new riddle appears as well. It takes a rogue version of Anorak to make the high Five must retrieve what was said in the riddle.

I really loved this novel and I think I liked this more than the first because there was a slow build up. However, it was not boring build up either. The twist should have been predictable for Wade, but some characters are just oblivious at times. I would have liked this novel to be longer but unfortunately it would not have fit the plot purpose. The writing was fantastic, and all the references was so incredible. If you are a Prince lover, you would appreciate some of this book for sure. The ending however feels like there might be a third book in this series. Secretly I am hoping for another book in the series because I do not feel that the ending was justified and was too much of a cliff hanger. I do recommend reading the first book then this book as well. This was worth the wait.