The Quick Cut: Girl growing up on a planet that her people are not natural to is in training to be a scientist. She discovers not all is what it appears to be, both with her community and herself. Chaos ensues.
A Real Review:
Spoiler alert: I'm a terribly impatient person. I like my stories fast paced with lots of character building, emotional connections, and excitement. So if you're a reader like me, then this book is definitely not a match for you.
This book is the very slow rumble, building over time to give you an eventual explosion. It may work for plenty of others, but I end up losing interest fast and that's what ended up happening here. What began as me reading to better understand Octavia's world turned into an internal game of "Please can this just end?!?!"
Don't get me wrong, I liked Octavia. She's a great narrator and lead protagonist... absolutely likeable. However, some of the passages of the book became so much about world building and less about the characters - interest was lost. It's a really delicate balance between saying too much and too little.
For my personal preference, there should have been more character building and less world building to keep my mind in the story and the moment. A beautiful world is only as great as the story it takes place in. I agree the planet described in the book is an absolutely wonderful place, but the story didn't match the environment it describes.
That's why personal preferences exist though. This is a slow burn, I like something faster.
My rating: 2 out of 5