sr_toliver's reviews
523 reviews

Definitely a must read!! I can’t wait for the sequel.

I thought the plot was fascinating, definitely fast-paced and full of interesting events. Although I did love the story, I did find the characterization to be somewhat lacking. I wanted to know more about the characters to better understand the motivation behind certain events and actions.

Great book! It took me a while to hold all the characters’ stories in my mind, but after I did, I definitely enjoyed the story.

Recently, I’ve seen and read a lot of fantasy novels featuring Black girls, but sci-fi stories are few and far between. This was the book I needed! It’s a sci-fi, alien invasion story that includes a Black girl and alien’s point of view. I liked the characters and the inner commentary of Ellie. She was honest and scared and brave and all the things a Black girl would/could be in this situation. I also really appreciated her love of books... like seriously, she risked her life to hide literary contraband, and rather than hoarding her collection, she shared it with other people who also miss having books to take them away. There’s something powerful about such a connection to literature. I also like M0Rr1S. His voice was odd (as it should be because he’s an alien), but I liked how much he loved music and cared for a Black girl in a world that doesn’t often love us. Lastly, I liked the diversity of characters in terms of race, gender, ability, and sexuality. We need more stories that show the diversity of our lives. The only reason why I gave it four stars is because I’m not as big a fan of love stories, and there were moments when I was tired of hearing about their love. Outside of that, though, I think the story was amazing.

There’s soooo much going on in this book, but I generally liked the plot. There’s one plot element I think the book could’ve done without, like… I really couldn’t understand why it was a thing, but I guess the author had her reasons. Some of the character’s are annoying at times, too, but I did like the love interest. Overall, I think it’s readable, and I quite enjoyed it until all the randomness during the last 20-ish percent of the novel. I’d probably give a 3.5 if that were an option.

This book was amazing. I was wrapped in the world Ifueko creates, and I can’t wait to get into the next book!

I’m rereading this for a project I’m working on, and I still don’t like this book. I read it in high school and wasn’t a fan, mainly because there was a lot I didn’t understand, and I didn’t really want to read about whiny rich people and their problems. I think, upon this reread, that I understand it much better, and I honestly wish I’d read it as an adult vs. a sophomore in high school. Throughout this revisit, I still feel as though the characters are superficial, but I think that’s one of the points of the novel. I also realize that a reason I disliked it initially is because there are several literary moves that I don’t like in narratives, specifically the ways in which the author jumps around to recall events. Lastly, I didn’t remember the clearly racist and ethnocentric aspects within the story. Maybe I cast it out in my earlier read, but it was centered on the page when I read it this time. One could argue that it was a sign of the times, but I never accept that as an argument, soooooo… Either way, I think the story is a story, not overly special, not horribly terrible. It’s a story. That’s all.

I am in completely and utter awe. I loved the first book, but this one? This is one of the best fantasy sequels I’ve read in a long time. So many sequels are slower or lack much movement because the author is setting the reader up for the third part of the saga, but this book dispels all of my prior beliefs about that. Great twists and turns, amazing character building, exciting plot, and a great overall theme. I’m so happy this book exists.