This Splintered Silence by Kayla Olson Published by HarperTeen (11.13.2018)
Genres: Science Fiction, Young Adult
Format: eARC, 368 pages
Source: Edelweiss
Lindley Hamilton has been the leader of the space station Lusca since every first-generation crew member on board, including her mother, the commander, were killed by a deadly virus.
Lindley always assumed she’d captain the Lusca one day, but she never thought that day would come so soon. And she never thought it would be like this—struggling to survive every day, learning how to keep the Lusca running, figuring out how to communicate with Earth, making sure they don’t run out of food.
When a member of the surviving second generation dies from symptoms that look just like the deadly virus, though, Lindley feels her world shrinking even smaller. The disease was supposed to be over; the second generation was supposed to be immune. But as more people die, Lindley must face the terrifying reality that either the virus has mutated or something worse is happening: one of their own is a killer.
My thoughts
I had such high hopes for this book, but sadly I was disappointed. It’s got great reviews, too, so looks like I was the black sheep yet again *shrugs*
Mostly I was bored. The mystery of not knowing why people were dying kept me going, but I found the plot and the book overall to be very dull. The prose was choppy and awkward and I had trouble getting into it. We are given ZERO description whatsoever, so I had trouble picturing the setting or any of the characters. They’re in space. That’s about all we get. The world building was abysmal.
I didn’t care about any of the bland, uninspiring characters, least of all the main character. I forget her name and honestly can’t even be bothered to look it up because I hated her anyway. She was one of those girls – the ones that like to “keep their options open.” -insert violent eye roll- She kept bouncing back and forth between Leo and Heath – sometimes even kissing one then the other within mere pages of each other. It pissed me off, and ruined what tiny bit of enjoyment I was getting from the story (infinitesimal already). View Spoiler »
I felt so apathetic toward this story that by the time things actually started happening, I couldn’t muster up any fucks for it. The big reveal was just meh, and the ending was anticlimactic. I barely remembered anything – this book was forgettable at best.
Overall Assessment
Plot: 2/5
Premise: 4/5
Writing style: 2/5
Originality: 2/5
Characters: 1/5
World-building: 1/5
Pace: 2/5
Feels: 0/5
Cover: 3/5
Overall rating: 1/5
Thanks for the review. From your reading experience, this is not a book I’ll put on my TBR. I need and have experienced great world building in other books and I have to care about the characters.