4/5

A lime green sky hung above, and I took small comfort that at least the constellations peeking through were still our own.

I had such a fun time reading this book! Our main character Denver—a nonbinary, autistic pie blogger—witnesses a UFO explode over xyr small town, Muddy Gap. No one will acknowledge what Denver has witnessed, everyone ignores xem when xe speaks of aliens, but the people of Muddy Gap start acting stranger and stranger and then start disappearing altogether! Alongside Ezra, a new arrival to their town, Denver sets out to discover the truth. And the ad revenue from xyr blog isn't half bad when xe starts to post about xyr extra-terrestrial findings.

This was such a comforting, heartwarming story about autistic alienation, found family and community. It simultaneously critiqued the rumour mill of small town gossips and the judgement that comes from knowing every little thing about everybody, yet also showed the undercurrent of love and community that persists in these small towns that only grows stronger when put through hardships.
It was a bleeding heart of a journey for Denver as we got to witness all xyr struggles to connect with the people of Muddy Gap. We saw how painfully xe was often treated, yet we also saw people rally around xem. We were eventually able to perceive just how much love Denver had in xyr small town after all.

I, above everything else, loved the autistic representation. I thought it was done with great care and was instantly recognisable as authentic, Own Voices storytelling. I love finding more and more SFF books with autistic main characters and I particularly loved finding it in this cosy sci-fi.

I loved unravelling the sci-fi mystery of Muddy Gap, although I will say if you are a hard sci-fi lover who wants answers to all your sci-fi questions, this is not that kind of book. This is a very cosy take on an alien invasion that is much more focused on the characters than on the intricacies of the how and the why. And it is the characters that make this story so brilliant.
Denver was a great protagonist, I loved so much about xem and felt such compassion for all the risks xe took and care xe held for others. There was quite a bit of ableism hurled at xem in many different ways, but it was never there for shock value, but instead to critique and criticise the ignorance and sometimes cruelty of other characters. I thought it was done very well and I loved how kind most of the supporting characters proved themselves to be in these situations.
Ezra was a great character too, he was unfailingly kind to Denver and I really loved how their relationship blossomed. He was a breath of fresh air in a stifling small town and I loved all that we were able to learn about him. Trevor and Taisha only became true supporting characters later on, but I really enjoyed what they added to the story as well.

I don't want to die when I've only just started to live.

Ultimately, the town of Muddy Gap had a lot more heart to it than we first got to experience and I loved this sense of growth, both for the citizens of Muddy Gap and for Denver xyrself. I loved that Denver found more support, love, kindness and community than xe ever expected to find as the perpetual outcast. It was forever hopeful, even when it seemed like there was nothing left. I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Muddy Gap, learning that there is more love in the world than hate. Hoping so, at least.

Thank you Angry Robot for an arc in exchange for an honest review.