I absolutely adored this book!

If you want an action-packed scifi adventure then this book is not for you. However, if you like your scifi character-driven and introspective, this book is totally for you!

This book features a memorable, relatable, and diverse cast of teenage characters, each with their own POV chapters exploring their pasts, who they are, their dreams for the future, and their response to being in space on a lifelong mission to a distant second Earth.

The writing is vivid and lush, the space details excellent without becoming too much like a tutorial in spaceflight, and the characters expertly crafted. This is definitely one of my all time favourite reads and I cannot wait to see what Temi Oh writes next.

It's really hard to rate or to express my opinion of this book. So much of it was great, and so much was completely bonkers.

What I liked: the characters, the relationships, and the spirituality. There's a really strong underpinning of spiritual faith in this novel, used in a very graceful way. It doesn't press any particular religious faith or agenda, just the possibility of miracles, of destiny, of prayers answered.

What was bonkers: the "S" in the SF. I think part of the problem for me is that I read this fairly soon after Mary Robinette Kowal's meticulously researched "Lady Astronaut" series, and after seeing the movie Ad Astra, which had its own issues, but both of which nevertheless represented what seems at least like a generally accurate depiction of what a long trip through space would be like. Oh's "space travel" building is so absolutely crazy at times that it bumped me right out of the story. Like at Christmas they put snowflakes on the window with tape and made with a roll of paper that they just happened to have lying about? Or a window gets broken and they tape it shut with duct tape? Or, when they have lost power and are freezing to death and it doesn't seem to occur to any of them to put on a space-suit? And they have nice little sleeping quarters with duvets?

So - overall, top marks for ideas, but the devil is definitely in the details.

I love space operas, and for a first novel, this is an excellent book by Temi Oh. I loved the premise. In an alternate reality taking place in the past in the year 2012, Great Britain has become a forerunner for space travel. It was refreshing to read about a non-American setting and to imagine that Great Britain surpassed the USA in space travel and scientific advancements. The concept of six people being chosen from an astronaut academy to serve as the crew members on the 2-decade flight to a newly discovered planet was believable, and each of the characters had their own personal journey of growth throughout the book. I’ve always loved space, and the descriptions and details in this book made me feel like I was flying with the crew. There is an element of magical realism to the book that I found compelling. However, I feel like some of the relationships maybe weren’t fleshed out enough to have much impact, and since the crew is supposed to be flying for 23 years to reach their destination, I think I would’ve liked to see the book be a progression of time through those decades, rather than the single year it explores. I can understand why certain events happened though, and why only a short period of time was covered. But I loved the way it was written and I’ll be looking forward to more from this author.

Science fiction at its dullest. The author spends a lot of time on character development without ever describing the characters themselves in any physical sense, and when they do, they walk a very fine line on ethic descriptors such as “copper skinned”. This character development is ultimately wasted as we, the reader, don’t ever see any meaningful conclusion to the story, the author opting to see the concluding chapters through the perspective of the two least likeable characters.
It’s an easy read, but it’s like having sex with a man: a lot of hard work and eventually dissatisfying.

This one is difficult to rate. It's certainly very well-written, and the characters are very well developed. It's particularly accomplished when you consider it's a debut. However, I think I'd like it a lot better if it had sequels. It felt like only the first chapter in an epic story (one that I'd love to continue reading) but it seems like she intended it to be stand-alone. Overall, would recommend it, even though it feels incomplete.

Please write a sequel, Temi Oh!

4.5 stars

I had no idea what this novel was about before going into it and I loved to just sit back and see this story unravel; I was completely along for the ride.

The set-up for this book is fairly simple: ten austronauts will leave a dying Earth to find Terra-Two, a newly discovered habitable planet. Four of these austronauts are adults who have travelled in space before and the other six members are teenagers who have been training for this mission for most of their lives. It will take this crew 23 years to reach Terra-Two; 23 years confined in close quarters, with no one to rely on but each other. Oh, and they won't be able to get rescued should something go wrong...

Now, don't go into this novel thinking that you will get an action-packed/fast-paced space opera. This book is much more a character study of these ten austronauts, especially the six teenagers, and we get to see how this experience affects them and their relationships.
We explore how these teens cope with leaving everything and everyone they know behind on Earth, knowing there is no going back. What happens when things don't go to plan and you are cooped up in a tiny space-ship, with nowhere to flee from your feelings?

This crew is very diverse, but also very flawed. It was so interesting to just follow these characters and to see how they justified their own actions. I found myself sympathising with all of them, even if they had conflicting motivations or if I knew that their actions were not exactly the morally right thing to do.
This book obviously explores mental health and I think the depiction of depression, anxiety, PTSD, and eating disorders was very well done.

The writing was very immersive and I found myself completely invested in these characters' stories. It was very easy to keep turning the paces, despite the fact that the first 70% of the book is quite slow. The pace really increased towards the end and there was a lot more action. To me, this shift felt a bit jarring at first but I think this book ultimately ended in a way that was really fitting for the story that was being told.
This book was soothing, melancholic, hopeful and tragic all at once and I loved it. I think this story will stay with me for a long time, because these characters felt so real and this book also posed a lot of questions that you can ponder on for quite a while.
I highly recommend this novel if you are looking for a slow-burn, low sci-fi story with lots of characters examination and deep/heavy themes, it was really good in my opinion.

I wanted to love this book. It’s a good premise but this book had some issues. If you read The Right Stuff or watched anything at all about how NASA selected astronauts, the psychological evaluation and the makeup of the team was paramount. I cannot imagine how any of the teens were selected to be in this program. There are major issues with each character and the team in general. So, I like the idea but not the execution.

This book got under my skin possibly more than anything else I've read this year. It's a beautiful, character-driven story that at times feels more like magic realism than sci-fi. Just stunning. Loved it.

The book asks an interesting question- would you give up everything you had for a new life? Even if it took you 20 years to get there? This compelling premise is what made me pick up the book.

It’s an interesting read, but all the main characters were frustrating and annoying in places. I question how characters with such obvious mental health issues were cleared by what seemed like an incredibly rigorous selection process to spend 23 years on a spaceship with no one for company but each other. The book also suffers from some pacing issues- a whole lot of nothing for most of it, and then a very very quick resolution and ending.

I’d want to go to Terra Two, but I don’t think it’d want to take 23 years to get there.