This is a hard one to rate as it was an impressive book that I ultimately had a hard time reading.

It is not a book that I can talk about "enjoying" as it was bleak and graphic and doesn't shy from showing us the violence enacted upon enslaved labor. It was not happy or hopeful. It was visceral. And all of that is even more pronounced because of the incredible premise here and the way that Solomon managed to capture really complex ideas in intelligent ways. This complexity also meant that it was a reading experience that required a lot of attention.

The best elements here, to me, was the world building and the characters. Everything we got to explore through Aster and through Theo about gender and neurodivergence was spectacularly done. The decks of the ship and the people who inhabited it came alive for me.

The weakest element here, and what ultimately gets away from Solomon, is the plot. It felt a bit weighed down the vastness of the ideas that were being undertaken.

I will also say that there is an openness to the ending which might be difficult for readers who need tidier endings. It worked okay for me here. I do wish I had gotten a wee bit more, but ultimately, I think the ending fit the story we received.

If you can withstand the graphic nature of the story, Solomon crafts one that is heavy and uncomfortable in a way that is fitting the subject matter they take on. It's a story that will leave you thinking long after you close the book.

cw: racism, racial slurs, slavery, violence, rape (on page), child sexual abuse (implied), suicide, self-harm, abortion (on page), forced sterilization, amputation, death of a loved one, torture, lynching, policing/brutality, ableism, misgendering