Eliot Schrefer

So much scarier, more interesting, and more moving than I was expecting, and, though I thrive from queer romcom in space, that is not at ALL what this book is and I agree with other reviewers who feel like the marketing for this book (and even the publishing categorization as Young Adult*) was a bit off. This is pure existentialist science fiction, and, while Young Adult can certainly be dark, certainly be existential, the only thing here that makes this feel like a YA novel is the characters being inexplicably 17 years old (which felt odd for the plot, even given the half-hearted explanation for it, and off for the characters who felt more like kids in their early 20s) and some of the prose feeling a bit stilted in a way that had me feeling pretty "meh" for the first part of the book... until the twist came, and then it wrecked me, and now I'm left here at 4 in the morning, thinking about the nature of existence, of memory, of love ... good times. :)

* again, I'm hardly one to disparage Young Adult, considering how much of my academic career and personal time I dedicate to my love for it, but it is kind of a drag that this book wasn't marketed for what it actually is and might slip through the cracks and not into the hands of folks who might love it, but who overlooked it because they thought it was a more lighthearted YA romance. The unrighteous dismissal of YA strikes again, but, really, I do feel this title would have made more sense as a New Adult title, if nothing else.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a free digital ARC of this book.… (more)