Illuminae, a book review

I am addicted to love stories. Maybe it is the absence of a dramatic romance in my own life fueling this obsession, or maybe it is my secret soft-side that enjoys this idea of 'happily ever after.' Either way, it seems my addiction heats up every summer. Whenever I take a trip to the library, I scour the shelves for brightly-colored covers that feature descriptions of summer crushes. I desire easy, breezy tales that end with the dream boy falling for the protagonist, which I classify  as the perfect 'beach reads,' since they don't desire much focus, and make my heart feel as bright as the sun. 

This summer, however, I am trying to enjoy a few titles that stray from this stereotypical reading pattern of mine. While I will stick to romance novels for the most part, expect to see a few unique reads on the blog in the coming weeks. I kicked off my alternative reading with the book What Money Can't Buy by Michael J. Sandel (read the review here), and I am back again with a science-fiction novel, Illuminae. 

If you're like me and typically have a strong aversion to the Sci-Fi genre, please don't exit out of the page yet - I was happily surprised by this novel, and I think you could be too, so if you're open to expanding your reading horizons, let's get on with the review! 

Illuminae, by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff (pictured above) 

My Rating: 10/10

My Favorite Quote: "I wonder if she is the kind to dream of happy endings and never risk tragedy. The kind to close her eyes and hope, rather than force them open and see the truth, wonderful or terrible as it is."

Synopsis: Kady Grant has just broken up with her long-time boyfriend, Ezra Mason. Just like any break-up, it was tough, and all she wants to do is go home, except she can't because Kerenza, the planet where they live, is being attacked by an enemy warcraft.

By some stroke of luck, both Kady and Ezra survive the attack and find themselves on different rescue aircrafts. Though they believe they are safe onboard their respective ships, it soon comes to their attention that they are not. Their enemy is hot on their trail, trying to finish what it started, but that's not all. People aboard the ships are beginning to show signs of a deadly plague, and the artificial intelligence that runs the ships has turned against them. Can Kady and Ezra look past their break-up and work together to save the lives of those aboard, or will Kady's vow to never speak to Ezra again hold true?

Review: Being entirely honest, it took me way too long to read the first eighty-five pages of this book. I was struggling to find my groove, and I felt incredibly unattached to the characters. Given the fact that this is a 599-page book, I did not think that I was going to finish it, but since it has consistently been given rave reviews, I decided to read a little more before I gave up.

And let me just say that I am SO glad I did not quit. Seriously, from page eighty-six and on, I was hooked. I read the entire novel in one day, and I absolutely loved it. I strongly believe I could have been more interested from the start if I had paid closer attention to the words. When I started the book, I was on a road-trip with my family, so I think I was half-reading, half-listening to my family's conversations. With this set-up, I was not as invested in the novel as I could have been, so once I got more focused, I began to truly appreciate the book, and appreciate it I did. Without a doubt, this has been my favorite read of the summer thus far. 

I would say that this book should appeal to every reader - it has a romantic element, action, great quotes, unique character development, and artistic appeal. Illuminae was not written in the traditional book format. Instead, it featured different 'file types' as if you were reading this story while reading through a police report. There are interrogations, instant messages, journal entries, and post-battle accounts from different ranking officers. This added element truly added to the book's effect. 

I would strongly, strongly, STRONGLY encourage you to go and check this book out from the library. I don't remember the last time I was this invested into the well-being of a character, which is a clear sign that I enjoyed the story. Although, I will say there was a lot of trauma and loss, so if you don't like death or heartbreak, I would stay away. 

Final Thoughts: I'm even more excited to have discovered this selection because it's not a stand-alone novel; its a series!! In fact, I already put the sequel on hold at my library because I am dying to know what happens next. The authors really left me on a cliff-hanger. So, if you're looking for a new series to get into, I would definitely recommend checking out Illuminae! Plus, for all of you who are trying to dip your toes into the Sci-Fi genre, this would be a great place to start. It definitely has some science-fiction elements, but it also resembles realistic-fiction in some ways. Overall, you could realize if this is a genre you would like to continue reading in the future - I know science-fiction gained at least one new fan this week: ME!

i hope this post proved to you all that its always positive to try new things - you may be surprised by what you find :)

happy reading this week, lovelies, hopefully you'll toss a book outside of your comfort zone into the mix!

xoxo madison