Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
The Gist
The time stamp says I read Aurora Rising in May of this year. I didn’t write the review until a few months later, because I didn’t really know how I felt about it. And I guess by December this hasn’t changed, so I’m finally going to post this review.
70%! 70% of Aurora Rising was absolutely fantastic. Then, it had to take a most spectacular nosedive. My god why?!
I have been in a bit of a sour mood, since I finished this story yesterday afternoon. For good reason, too. I feel more than a little duped by the entire thing.
I still can’t understand how a story that was doing so well for so long can have such a disappointing ending! It’s beyond me.
The Details
I loved the switching of the point of view between the six members of the squad. It provided a fun and diverse perspective on the narrative. It kept it fresh and interesting.
I liked all, but one character, which is pretty good, considering there were six narratives going on.
And even with this one character that had me roll my eyes the further along in the story I got, it was still bearable, because I only got to read her chapters a handful of times throughout the entire book.
Yet, and here comes the kicker, at the end it all kind of centred on that one character and it was badly done.
I know, I know. The entire story was to some degree about this character. I just wish it could have been executed with a little more, shall we say, finesse.
It became a huge mixed bag of typical young adult fiction clichés. For most of the story (70%) the authors kept it to a minimum. A nice sprinkle to remind the reader this is still young adult science fiction, but enough substance to have me lost in the story.
But then the plot turned muddy. The special snowflake syndrome came back with a vengeance and it all boiled down to the importance of having a boyfriend.
Don’t get me wrong, I love space-themed young adult fiction. It’s my jam and calms me down after a long day dealing with stupid people. But the story should maintain its integrity throughout, or else you get to read my very disorganized and negative reviews about said stories.
I have to say, the writing was still very good. The sarcasm and witty comments by some of the characters were spot-on. Each character had their own distinct voice and personality. From a purely technical standpoint it was a good and engaging read.
The Verdict
Overall, I have to say Aurora Rising had me do an excited dance in my imaginary space boots until I hit that 70% mark in the story. After that I struggled to finish the book, albeit with lots of groaning and eye-rolling.
This made me very sad, because I wanted The Aurora Cycle series to be my next intergalactic reading obsession. Alas, I must venture on in pursuit of said obsession.
I’m also still on the fence whether I will continue this series out of sheer curiosity. I might suggest it, but it’s not a definite recommendation.
