A review by ravensandpages
Aetherbound by E.K. Johnston

2.0

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, NetGalley and Penguin Teen!

As a soft warning, I read the audiobook, so while I've tried to verify the correct spellings as much as I can, there may be some errors. If you read my review and still want to give this book a try, I would highly recommend the audio! The narrator is very pleasant to listen to and I enjoyed the sound effects. It made the reading experience more immersive than it would have been otherwise. 

Aetherbound is a short science fiction novel that follows the early life of Pendt, starting with her very difficult childhood onboard the Harland, a ship that shares her family's last name. In the depths of space, survival is everything, and the usefulness of your abilities dictates your treatment and calorie count. While many of her siblings have an affinity for electronics, what her aunt and captain really need is a child with star sense to pilot the ship, and Pendt is at the bottom of the hierarchy with only the ability to change genes. When she realizes her only future purpose will be as an incubator, she sneaks off the ship and ends up striking a deal with the Brannick twins, heirs of the family that owns the station, controlled by the empire. 

Overall, the tone of the book is less adventurous than the summary may lead you to believe. Pendt is the core of the book, and worldbuilding comes and goes as it serves her context and journey. A lot of it was hard to hold onto because of the way information was presented in fits and spurts as it became relevant. I don't fully understand what happened with the Aether and mages, I don't know what oglossa (sp?) is for, and the empire and rebellion have very little weight in the story before the final stretch. I think this book had a lot of potential- I wasn't particularly bothered by the themes of food and forced pregnancy as control, but Pendt seemed very quickly okay with tying herself to the Brannicks that way so soon after meeting them when it was the very thing she was attempting to escape. Her bonds with both Fisher and Ned were quick rushed, and besides her, characters didn't have much time to develop enough for me as a reader to care about things that happened to them. It felt like large sprints of development in plot and character happened at 40% and 80% of the way through, and the rest were boring lulls compared to the sudden spikes in action. 

I was also slightly disappointed by some of the vagueness. I had to search externally to figure out Fisher is trans, even as a transmasculine reader myself who is usually combing for any sign of representation. I don't think the subtlety was pulled off, especially since one would imagine it would be something to contend with given the themes of forced birth, human trafficking, and lack of autonomy. I also felt that Pendt's powers as a gene mage were not as well explored as I would have liked, though that's simply a personal opinion. 

Despite this book being a bit of a letdown, I think I will still try E.K. Johnston's other titles. I enjoyed the prose and the characters that were built up, but I think this one just wasn't for me. If you're a fan of quieter space settings as opposed to exciting rebellion-focused narratives and tense space opera, this might be more to your taste!