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A review by megsbookishtwins
The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson
5.0
disclaimer: I received this free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
rep: black bi m/c, Japanese sapphic li, black side characters
Cara is a traverser of worlds, a traverser of the multiverse. The only downside is that in order to visit a world, their counterpart must already be dead. In all of the 382 worlds that have been unlocked, Cara is dead in all but 8. Cara is from the Ashtown, a wasteland that was hard to survive – if it wasn’t the lack of resources that killed you, it was violence. The job of being a traverser means she can live in the safety of Wiley City. When one of the 8 remaining Cara’s dies under suspicious circumstances, Cara is thrust into a world that reveal secrets that puts the entire multiverse in danger.
The Space Between Worlds was what I was hoping for and more. It was an intriguing and compelling novel about parallel universes and doppelgängers. It takes place in a sort of dystopian world with a brilliant blend of science fiction where there is a huge class divide between Wiley City and Ashtown. Wiley City takes care of its citizens, it is a place for the rich and a place for extravagance. It views the Mad Max-esque setting of Ashtown as ‘exotic’ and treats as a sort of tourist attraction, appropriating their culture but always looking down on them.
The Space Between Worlds has some really great nuanced discussions about class, abuse, identity, race, and colonisation and also about survival. Those from Ashtown are the ideal traversers because citizens from Wiley City have a life expectancy that is too high, and those from Ashtown tend to survive purely because of luck. This meant that there was an opportunity to have those discussions about class and who is typically from those lower classes – black and brown people. The social commentary was spot on.
Cara, our protagonist is fucking glorious – she’s so complex and flawed, she was such an intriguing character to follow. She’s sarcastic, angry, and torn between her connection to Ashtown and her desperation to be useful to Wiley City. She is determined, cunning, and stubborn. She’s a survivor and a liar. I just loved her and her story so much. She has such a great character arc throughout this novel that she truly is the best part of The Space Between Worlds.
The Space Between Worlds also has some superb relationships. I absolutely adored Cara’s relationship with her step-sister Esther – it was a powerful relationship. I also enjoyed her relationship with her loving mentor Jean, who was also a father figure to her. But my favourite relationship was with Dell, her watcher – the person who watches her when she traversers and keeps her as safe as is possible. I loved their relationship and the tension was palpable.
I’ve already mentioned about how I enjoyed the world and the social commentary but I also really enjoyed the science fiction aspect, and I really enjoyed the subtle addition of the spiritual too and I loved the addition of Nyame and the questions of is she real, it she not?
The Space Between Worlds is a book about survival, identity, class, and race. It has some great social commentary, a formidable protagonist, and an intense f/f romance. It is a science fiction novel that I highly recommend.
rep: black bi m/c, Japanese sapphic li, black side characters
Cara is a traverser of worlds, a traverser of the multiverse. The only downside is that in order to visit a world, their counterpart must already be dead. In all of the 382 worlds that have been unlocked, Cara is dead in all but 8. Cara is from the Ashtown, a wasteland that was hard to survive – if it wasn’t the lack of resources that killed you, it was violence. The job of being a traverser means she can live in the safety of Wiley City. When one of the 8 remaining Cara’s dies under suspicious circumstances, Cara is thrust into a world that reveal secrets that puts the entire multiverse in danger.
The Space Between Worlds was what I was hoping for and more. It was an intriguing and compelling novel about parallel universes and doppelgängers. It takes place in a sort of dystopian world with a brilliant blend of science fiction where there is a huge class divide between Wiley City and Ashtown. Wiley City takes care of its citizens, it is a place for the rich and a place for extravagance. It views the Mad Max-esque setting of Ashtown as ‘exotic’ and treats as a sort of tourist attraction, appropriating their culture but always looking down on them.
‘Wiley City is like the sun, and Ashtown a black hole; it’s impossible to hover in between without being torn apart.’
The Space Between Worlds has some really great nuanced discussions about class, abuse, identity, race, and colonisation and also about survival. Those from Ashtown are the ideal traversers because citizens from Wiley City have a life expectancy that is too high, and those from Ashtown tend to survive purely because of luck. This meant that there was an opportunity to have those discussions about class and who is typically from those lower classes – black and brown people. The social commentary was spot on.
Cara, our protagonist is fucking glorious – she’s so complex and flawed, she was such an intriguing character to follow. She’s sarcastic, angry, and torn between her connection to Ashtown and her desperation to be useful to Wiley City. She is determined, cunning, and stubborn. She’s a survivor and a liar. I just loved her and her story so much. She has such a great character arc throughout this novel that she truly is the best part of The Space Between Worlds.
‘Why have I survived? Because I am a creature more devious than all the other mes put together… I survive the desert like a coyote survives, like all tricksters do. “Luck, I guess,” I say, because the first thing a monster learns is when to lie.’
The Space Between Worlds also has some superb relationships. I absolutely adored Cara’s relationship with her step-sister Esther – it was a powerful relationship. I also enjoyed her relationship with her loving mentor Jean, who was also a father figure to her. But my favourite relationship was with Dell, her watcher – the person who watches her when she traversers and keeps her as safe as is possible. I loved their relationship and the tension was palpable.
‘Of course, humanity couldn’t just look. We had to enter. We had to touch and taste and take. But the universe said no.’
I’ve already mentioned about how I enjoyed the world and the social commentary but I also really enjoyed the science fiction aspect, and I really enjoyed the subtle addition of the spiritual too and I loved the addition of Nyame and the questions of is she real, it she not?
The Space Between Worlds is a book about survival, identity, class, and race. It has some great social commentary, a formidable protagonist, and an intense f/f romance. It is a science fiction novel that I highly recommend.