Victories Greater Than Death

I got this book as a free download from Tor.com, which is the only reason I decided to read it. I did enjoy the other Charlie Jane Anders book I read, All the Birds in the Sky. And I guess I was expecting more of the same. But that was a subtle story that took me by surprise. And this....wasn't.

It's not that it was bad. I'm just not really the target audience for this book. I'm not much interested in young adult books. But it was free and on my kindle and I figured it'd be a quick read. The fact that it took me over two weeks to read this YA novel with less than 300 pages tells you something about how invested I was in it.

It actually started pretty strong, with a fun premise, interesting and sarcastic characters, and a plot that kicked into high gear almost immediately. But then the middle of the book got muddled. Parts of it felt more like an outline than a novel, as the story jumped from scene to scene with very little transition, which kept me off balance and made it harder for me to invest in the story. It did come together into an exciting ending that mostly felt earned. But by then I was just reading it because I was too stubborn to stop.

It also appears that this is the first book in a series, and Anders certainly leaves the door open for a big, epic story. If I'd encountered this book in high school, I probably would have loved it the way I love John Scalzi now. As it is, I'm just not interested in reliving all the angst of high school. Even if there are lots of cool aliens. Maybe my kids will love it ten years from now.

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