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A review by momwithareadingproblem
Illuminae by Amie Kaufman, Jay Kristoff
5.0
To say that I am enamored with this author duo is an understatement. I have yet to read anything by them I didn’t enjoy (both their solo works and the works they do together). I firmly believe that what they touch turns to gold. Illuminae has been sitting on my bookshelf for YEARS so I was super excited to have the push I needed to finally read it when it was voted for our #COYER YA book club pick this month. If you are an audiobook reader, I highly recommend you listen and if you are able to have a copy on hand to see all the amazing details inside the book even better. Every book is a new adventure, but this book….y’all, this book is an experience, fully immersive, highly entertaining, and one hell of a ride. Told through a series of interviews, dossiers, security footage, emails, etc, Illuminae documents the attack of the Kerenza colony and the survivors’ race to escape.
Kady Grant is my hero. She is a hacker girl to her core, understanding technology in a way that I only wish I could. This is a girl who’s life shattered the day BeiTech attacked her colony, and the funny thing is her life was already imploding as she broke up with her boyfriend just that morning. It’s clear from our first glimpse of her this is a girl who is barely holding it together, zero hope, but then a proposition from a fellow tech genius on board, and Kady finds herself with a job uncovering what is happening in the fleet and preparing for what is coming.
Ezra Mason is a boy who becomes a man overnight. Dumped by his girlfriend, nearly dying during his escape from the colony, separated from the only family he has, and then conscripted as a fighter pilot on the only United Terran ship, his life is nothing like he had planned. My heart broke for him. He’s so lost and barely hanging on when Kady finally reenters his life. She gives him hope that he didn’t have anymore. The two become fast friends again, communicating across ships and trying to figure out what is going on in the fleet and how long before the Lincoln, the BeiTech ship that is after them.
Ezra is on the Alexander, a United Terran Navy ship who answered the colony’s SOS when BeiTech attacked. It sustained heavy damage and the onboard AI, AIDAN, has been glitching ever since. After AIDAN orders Ezra’s team to destroy the Copernicus, a science vessel with 2000+ civilians on board, and then nukes them, the fleet scrambles to find out if AIDAN can be fixed. I loved AIDAN. He is one of those characters that you really aren’t sure if you should like, but I did. This malfunction AI quickly became a major plot point and one that I could not get enough of.
Overall, I loved Illuminae, devouring it in less than two days. Exciting, breath-taking, heart-stopping, and heart-breaking don’t begin to touch all the emotions this book will make the reader feel. I loved Ezra and Kady, even AIDAN. My heart was broken for their fight for survival, the hopelessness and desperation that dogged Kady’s movements and the hope that she gave Ezra. If you are a fan of sci-fi, if you enjoy exciting and innovative ways to tell a story, I highly recommend this one be on the top of your list.
Kady Grant is my hero. She is a hacker girl to her core, understanding technology in a way that I only wish I could. This is a girl who’s life shattered the day BeiTech attacked her colony, and the funny thing is her life was already imploding as she broke up with her boyfriend just that morning. It’s clear from our first glimpse of her this is a girl who is barely holding it together, zero hope, but then a proposition from a fellow tech genius on board, and Kady finds herself with a job uncovering what is happening in the fleet and preparing for what is coming.
Ezra Mason is a boy who becomes a man overnight. Dumped by his girlfriend, nearly dying during his escape from the colony, separated from the only family he has, and then conscripted as a fighter pilot on the only United Terran ship, his life is nothing like he had planned. My heart broke for him. He’s so lost and barely hanging on when Kady finally reenters his life. She gives him hope that he didn’t have anymore. The two become fast friends again, communicating across ships and trying to figure out what is going on in the fleet and how long before the Lincoln, the BeiTech ship that is after them.
Ezra is on the Alexander, a United Terran Navy ship who answered the colony’s SOS when BeiTech attacked. It sustained heavy damage and the onboard AI, AIDAN, has been glitching ever since. After AIDAN orders Ezra’s team to destroy the Copernicus, a science vessel with 2000+ civilians on board, and then nukes them, the fleet scrambles to find out if AIDAN can be fixed. I loved AIDAN. He is one of those characters that you really aren’t sure if you should like, but I did. This malfunction AI quickly became a major plot point and one that I could not get enough of.
Overall, I loved Illuminae, devouring it in less than two days. Exciting, breath-taking, heart-stopping, and heart-breaking don’t begin to touch all the emotions this book will make the reader feel. I loved Ezra and Kady, even AIDAN. My heart was broken for their fight for survival, the hopelessness and desperation that dogged Kady’s movements and the hope that she gave Ezra. If you are a fan of sci-fi, if you enjoy exciting and innovative ways to tell a story, I highly recommend this one be on the top of your list.