It is I, fellow bibliophiles, back from the dead at last!
Again, so sorry for going M.I.A. for about a month there. AP exams and finals were weighing me down a little bit, and I was a little *busy* about a week ago (by “busy” I mean “converting some of my friends to X-Men before Dark Phoenix comes out”). But hey, I’m back now, and I’ve got a positively INCREDIBLE book to review!
(Oh, and HAPPY HAPPY PRIDE MONTH! 🏳️🌈)
Everyone’s got their dream book. For all bibliophiles, there’s always that one book that we sorely wish that we’d written, that we re-read endlessly without getting tired of it. There’s a few books for me that I feel that way about. Think…Heart of Iron, and a few years back, the Search for WondLa series. Now, Aurora Rising has stolen the title of dream book…yes, surpassing Heart of Iron.
And I thought that was the best book in the universe. MAN.
Aurora Rising is, in short, everything that I could possibly want in a book–downright lovable characters, a fast-paced, intricate plot, and some classic, high-stakes space adventure.
Without further ado, here’s the first Book Review Tuesday in…like, a month? Wow, I’m really in rare form…
Aurora Rising
Tyler Jones thinks he has it made–he’s about to graduate at the top of his class from the Aurora Academy, a school that trains humans and aliens alike for interstellar humanitarian missions. But on the day of his graduation, he finds a defunct ship drifting out in space. In it, he finds Auri O’Malley, a girl who has been frozen in a cryogenic pod for 220 years.
After rescuing Auri, Tyler is late to graduation, and ends up with a ragtag crew of misfits and delinquents, all of which will accompany him on his missions: Scarlett, his twin sister, Cat, his childhood friend, Finian, Zila, Kal, and now Auri. Though the unlikely group seems destined for anything but greatness, they soon find themselves embedded in a mystery involving the mysterious planet that Auri and many other human colonists were set to settle. And Auri herself is an enigma–with each passing day, new powers wake within her, putting a target on her back that everyone in the Milky Way Galaxy can see from miles away.
Now, presenting the reactions of my last brain cells, upon finishing this book:
AAAAAAH!!!
Aurora Rising truly has it all–aside from the factors that I stated above (incredible world-building, characters TO DIE FOR, and ✨SPACE FUN✨), there’s also:
-Not only do we have great characters, but the chemistry between them is FANTASTIC
-BEAUTIFUL writing. Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff are honestly gods…
-No spoilers, but MY DREAM SHIP IS *squeezes two fingers almost completely together* THIS CLOSE TO BECOMING A REALITY
-DIVERSITY! Let me elaborate–Zila is African-American (or British? I dunno, they didn’t specify, but she’s definitely poc), Auri is mixed race (half Irish, half Chinese), and Finian is definitely LGBTQ+ (again, no explicit explanations, but I think he’s either bisexual or pansexual), and also has a disability that requires him to wear a special suit for mobility. (MAN, and I didn’t think you could get such good representation with an alien, for God’s sakes, and here we are…and I’m HAPPY FOR IT)
I’ll say it once, and I’ll say it again. DREAM. BOOK. AN ABSOLUTE MASTERPIECE. PLEASE, GO READ IT. I’d rate it a solid…however many stars there are in the known universe out of 10. I kid you not. 😉
Kaufman and Kristoff have confirmed that this is going to be a trilogy, but as this book only came out about a month ago, we have no information other than that. (*cries while re-reading it and waiting for 2020*)
I hope you enjoyed this week’s review! Have a great rest of your day, and take care of yourselves!
Oh, and don’t forget…DARK PHOENIX COMES OUT ON FRIDAY!!! I’m seeing it on Saturday, so I’ll DEFINITELY get to a review at some point…AAAH!
The Bookish Mutant 
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