Series: The Illuminae Files #1
Author: Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
Genre: Science Fiction, Romance, Young Adult
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: October 20, 2015
Source: Bought
This morning, Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she’d have to do. This afternoon, her planet was invaded.
The year is 2575, and two rival megacorporations are at war over a planet that’s little more than an ice-covered speck at the edge of the universe. Too bad nobody thought to warn the people living on it. With enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra—who are barely even talking to each other—are forced to fight their way onto an evacuating fleet, with an enemy warship in hot pursuit.
But their problems are just getting started. A deadly plague has broken out and is mutating, with terrifying results; the fleet's AI, which should be protecting them, may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what’s really going on. As Kady hacks into a tangled web of data to find the truth, it's clear only one person can help her bring it all to light: the ex-boyfriend she swore she'd never speak to again.
BRIEFING NOTE: Told through a fascinating dossier of hacked documents—including emails, schematics, military files, IMs, medical reports, interviews, and more—Illuminae is the first book in a heart-stopping, high-octane trilogy about lives interrupted, the price of truth, and the courage of everyday heroes.
Find Illuminae online!
Okay, so I'm definitely regretting not picking this one up sooner. I avoided reading it for so long because I wasn't so sure about the format. I've read books that have been told in unconventional formats before (letters, documents, etc) and I haven't liked it much in the past. Because of that, I wasn't really excited about this one and actually never really learned anything about it besides the fact that it had an awesome cover and was a scifi. Holy wow, it was so worth taking a chance on.
I'm still honestly a little shocked at how well I got to know the world and the characters based solely off of documents, letters, and IMs. Everything was so vivid and it was easy to infer details without having them outrightly explained or detailed. It was such a cool format and I really enjoyed falling into it. It was a little challenging to get into at first and follow who was speaking to who and when in the timeline of the story, but after about 50 pages, I was just so into the story that those details became much easier to take in.
The characters were all so great. I loved Ezra SO MUCH. He was my favorite character of the bunch. I just loved his little one liners and how funny he was, even in the face of terrible circumstances. Kady was a bit harder to like but I loved the vulnerability we saw from her toward the end and how strong she was. There were a lot of characters that were mentioned throughout the story and it was a little challenging to keep track of them because depending on which documents we were reading, they were referred to by different names. Because of this, there was basically just like, five characters I actually paid attention to. Had I tried to remember every single one of them, I would have never gotten through the book.
The plot was so interesting and so engaging. I was right there with Ezra and Kady as they tried to figure out what was going on with the ships. It was nerve wracking and I was so emotionally invested in their story and relationship. I cried more than a few times throughout the story.
This book is so worth the read. I've already purchased the next book in the series and I'm so looking forward to diving into it. I'm a little nervous about the introduction of a whole new cast of characters (I'm not a fan of changing main characters book to book) but this book already proved me wrong about not liking to read a story made up of different documents! So I'm taking another chance on it and I'm excited!
“The universe owes you nothing, Kady. It has already given you everything, after all. It was here long before you, and it will go on long after you. The only way it will remember you is to do something worth remembrance.”
Four out of Five Teapots
P.S.: I am currently doing a giveaway in which you can win a **signed** copy of Leigh Bardugo's latest release, Wonder Woman: Warbringer! Enter here for a chance to win!
I love to read those positive reviews, I LOVED this book and can't wait to re-read it and write a review about it :)
ReplyDeleteThe format indeed was so different, but written in a great style!