While this was a cute coming-of-age story about self discovery and friendship and standing up for what is right, I likely won't be rating/reviewing it anywhere other than here.

Victories Greater than Death reads as pretty young YA, to the point of feeling more like a middle-grade book (about a teenaged character). Which is fine!! Just not exactly the content, for me, personally! Everything comes a little too easy, and my disbelief had to be suspended a little too far... that being said, I think with a younger audience, this book could be a total hit!! It was cute and queer and fun, so I would guess a different audience would appreciate it much more than I did!

My rating would probably fall more in the 2.5-3 star range, but I am happily bumping it up on here, to a 4, because I really do expect I just wasn't the right reader!

Victories Greater Than Death is a science fiction story that embraces the weirder and more outlandish areas of the genre, a book that isn't afraid to throw readers into huge interplanetary conflict between dozens of species with little to no context, and allows the fast moving pace to sweep you up into things.

The story is centred on Tina, a teenage girl who has grown up knowing a huge secret, that aliens are real, and she's one of them. Tina has been raised with the knowledge that she's the clone of an important captain from some huge interstellar alliance, and that one day something inside her is going to activate and call the aliens down to take her away. Despite this, Tina seems to have grown into a pretty well rounded and adjusted young woman. She doesn't have many friends, but one few she does have she cares for deeply, and she's always driven to try and do good and call out injustice where she sees it.

Instead of having fears of being an impostor, or worrying that her life is just some kind of cover for another person she's looking forward to eventually being taken off into space, and the first few chapters deal with her trying to get the beacon inside her to activate. Once it does, however, she finds herself being swept up in an adventure she never anticipated.

Much like Tina, the readers are dropped into things with very little knowledge, and are having to play a little bit of catch up to begin with. We learn that there is a peacekeeping group, the Royal Fleet, and that Tina is a part of this, thanks to the woman she was cloned from being a captain in it. Unfortunately, there are bad guys out there too. The Compassion are a group of former Royal Fleet members and various villains who've come together to impose their twisted order on the galaxy.

When the Royal Fleet picks up Tina, and her best friend Rachel, she expects Captain Argentian's memories to be unlocked, but things don't go according to plan and Tina gains access to some information but no memories, making her a walking space Wiki. Now she's stuck in the middle of a war where she's struggling to catch up. To try and help out the Royal Fleet recruits a handful of the best and brightest teens from Earth before they have to leave the planet and set out on their mission to stop the Compassion, leaving Tina and her new friends joining the fight as cadets.

Victories Greater Than Death has a lot of cool stuff going on, and there's a lot to discover over the course of this book. Charlie Jane Anders really populated this galaxy, and there are dozens of strange aliens to encounter. Some, like those of the species Tina belongs to, are very human-like, whilst others are odd and interesting humanoids, and others are so different and so alien that they're almost impossible to describe.

Whilst I had a lot of fun discovering much of this there is a lot thrown at the readers, and we get alien names, alien species, alien food, the names of planets, and alien greetings that differ every time and have very specific meanings and responses. This led to me feeling a bit lost at times, and there was more than one occasion where I'd wished I'd made notes of who characters were as I got them confused every now and then. I'd definitely be making a spreadsheet the next time I read through this.

Despite this small issue, the book was really entertaining, and had a lot of very cool things going for it. The aliens that Anders comes up with, and their respective worlds, are all really fascinating, and I always wanted to learn more about everything the characters came across. Not only that, but the human characters were a really interesting an varied group too. There were people of colour, queer people, trans people, people from rich backgrounds and poor ones, people who'd been victims of bullying and abuse. The six human characters (if you count Tina) were a great cross section of diversity and experience, and whilst I'm sure there'll be people complaining about the amount of diversity it was something that I thought made the book a much more enjoyable read.

The book's been described as a Young Adult book, and whilst I can certainly see where that's true I thought the type of YA audience it was being aimed at seemed to vary from time to time. There were moments where the book felt like it was aimed at a younger audience, possibly even getting close to being a Middle Grade book, whilst there were other times it dealt with some quite adult themes. As such, I think it's one of those YA books that's going to appeal to a lot of different people, and will find a wide audience.

Victories Greater Than Death is a big space opera, a book that takes big, wild concepts and allows them to play out, not necessarily worrying that the audience is going to keep up. It moves with a brisk pace and goes to some interesting and intense places. A book that will definitely appeal to sci-fi fans, but wider audiences too. I'm looking forward to seeing what the next book has in store.

Charlie Jane Anders – sci-fi/fantasy author of books such as All the Birds in the Sky and The City in the Middle of the Night – has made her YA debut in her latest book Victories Greater Than Death, and it’s, dare I say… out of this world.

The book (the first in a series) follows Tina Mains, who’s known for most of her life that she’s not an average teenager and doesn’t have to worry about being one, because she also holds an interplanetary rescue beacon within her that, when activated, will kickstart her life in an extraordinary way. However, when the day arrives, it’s not exactly what Tina expected. She finds herself carrying the weight of everyone’s expectations of her to be the revered Captain Thaoh Argentian, an alien whose knowledge and DNA lives in Tina. With the help of her best friend Rachael and a trustworthy crew, Tina must step up to save all the worlds from destruction and also herself.

First and foremost, Anders establishes a wonderful cast of characters, beginning with Tina and Rachael. Readers learn about Tina’s rescue beacon and cloning early on, creating a solid foundation for how Tina later begins to explore her identity as herself and as Captain Argentian. While the story is told from a first person POV through Tina, Anders still invites readers into the headspaces of other characters. The crew of the Indomitable and the other Earthling trainees – Damini, Keziah, Elza, and Yiwei – offer insight into their backgrounds that helps inform each of their distinct personalities. On the other side of the war is the book’s main antagonist: Marrant. Rather than being a cut and dried villain, readers are able to follow his fall from heroism. He has complex, but ultimately sinister, motives wrapped up in one intriguing character.

There are two other standout aspects about this book, the first being how Anders explores the idea of identity, specifically how it relates to feeling comfortable in one’s body. Throughout much of the book, Tina begins to question how she fits in with her friends and the Indomitable crew as the clone of Captain Argentian. She’s provided the space to question what it means to inhabit a human body, and what it might feel like to transform more fully into a Makvarian like Captain Argentian was. Similarly, Elza has always known the body she’s meant to be in but must still come to terms with how people view her and her identity. However, being on the **Indomitable also provides her the opportunity to continue owning her identity and learning to fully love it. Both girls are able to explore themselves in a beautiful way that’s supported by each other and the rest of the crew.

The other striking aspect, tying into the above, is the way Anders writes consent. Before any character touches another, even if it’s meant to be a comforting gesture, they always ask some variation of “can I touch you?” It allows the characters to maintain full control of their bodies until they choose to share themselves. This stood out to me because I also read it as way in which characters can remain comfortable in their own skin, though it’s not explicitly explored in that way. If someone is hyper-sensitive to touch or doesn’t like to be touched because they’re still trying to find themselves in their bodies, unwanted touch, even with the best intentions (e.g. a hug to comfort someone), can throw that discovery off balance. It’s something everyone can take note of and be mindful in real life.

Whether SFF is your thing or not, Victories Greater Than Death is absolutely worth reading. Anders creates a delightful story that readers can quickly become lost in. She takes the time to includes meanings to terms that pop up throughout the book (and also includes a glossary). Her characters are compelling and dynamic, and readers will easily and quickly become attached to them. She acknowledges personal trauma in her characters with care. But most important of all, Anders invites readers, especially queer trans and non-binary readers, into a fiercely comforting and safe space, one where they get to see themselves exist as they are and be heroes of the universe.

Victories Greater Than Death is available now in stores and online.

Young adult science fiction written with a galaxy full of imagination! VICTORIES GREATER THAN DEATH by Charlie Jane Anders is like that triple chocolate fudge cake, almost too rich to absorb.
Aliens, space battles, human clones of alien heroes, brilliant teens taken into space to save the universe! Are they fighting on the right side?

I think for me, there was too much happening at once, too much to be taken on by too few words, but this one truly has the energy of young adult reading and the action that is non-stop! It was as if the author had so much to say, so much to create, it could have gone on for pages to describe what she did in just a few paragraphs.

A high energy read that left me wanting more detail throughout!

I received a complimentary ARC edition from Tor Teen! This is my honest and voluntary review.

Charlie Jane Anders has created a fun and fast paced Young Adult sci-fi book!
Victories Greater Than Death is action packed, inclusive and intriguing. I recommend this book to anyone wanting to start dabbling into sci-fi novels and readers who enjoy space operas.

Victories Greater Than Death follows Tina, an alien clone living on Earth with a human foster mother, disguised as human and waiting until the day that she is collected by those that left her there for safe keeping. She attends high school and gets on with her usual teenage life, spending time with her best friend Rachel.....until the days comes that the bad guys turn up looking for her.....

Tine and Rachel end up in Space with the Royal Fleet....the good guys....and together, they recruit a bunch of teenage Earth geniuses to help them defeat the evil Marrant and The Compassion.

This is a bright, colourful and inclusive story, that moves fast! It took me a little while to get into it but I whizzed through the last third of it, wanting to see what was going to happen. There were a few points where you'd start a chapter and suddenly be further on than you were expecting and I didn't think enough time was spent considering how Tina felt about being taken away from Earth, the only home she knew, and the woman who raised her. But its action packed and fun and I'd like to pick up the next book to see what happens to the characters and how the story that has been built up develops.

This is the perfect intro to YA Sci-fi book! It’s fast paced and action packed with characters that will make you smile. I think the highlight for me was the proper use of pronouns! Such a lovely and meaningful touch!

I want to start by saying that I love normalization of telling people your correct pronouns when introducing yourself for the first time. It especially makes sense when you think that they are all aliens and knowing their true gender at first glance is not always easy.

Another great thing is how consent is out forward. Everyone asks before touching/hugging someone else. As someone who doesn’t appreciate being touched by strangers, it is nice to see

Also, I am watching Doctor Who for the first time as I'm reading this and I'm definitely getting the same vibes from the two. Love that for me!

There are some unusual time jumps. There are a few chapters that start immediately in the middle of the action. I was taken aback by that and need a few paragraphs/lines to figure out where I was and what was going on. Furthermore, there are some many different alien species that I sometimes got confused and mixed them up.

I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

I want to say that I absolutely love this style of sci-fi! I love being thrown immediately into a story and learning what's happening as the main character does. And I *love* the level of diversity in this story, as well as the constant consent. Even when Tina asked Rachel if she could hold her hand, it was so sweet. I just lost steam part of the way in, but it's not the fault of the book!

One of my anticipated releases this year! I don't know how to explain this but, I wasn't completely blown away, and yet I was also invested???

The plot was intriguing, but it can get confusing. I feel like the pacing and the writing style could also be better. Fortunately, all the action really makes you anticipate! And I think it was the characters and the world-building that won me over. The diverse cast and their journeys were a joy to read about and I loved learning about the different kinds of aliens, and their customs and culture.

Now that I think about it, this book was also poignant in its own way. It talked about leaving legacies, finding your own self, making friends and creating your own kind of family with your own people. It was beautiful.

Of course, I also love the fact that this was so, so queer. Some of the characters even use neopronouns? I think this is a first I've seen in YA. Overall, a solid read! Exact rating 3.5 stars.

TW: violence, murder, torture (mild), homophobia, transphobia

Hope and doubt coexist in beautiful tension in <i>Victories Greater Than Death</i>. The universe provides bountiful reasons to doubt that things will turn out okay, especially for young marginalized people, and especially when there are powerful interstellar bad guys doing their thing. Despite those doubts, the people at the heart of this story keep coming back to hope: that we can do something about injustice, that people who want a loving relationship might actually build one, that we can make it through <i>all this</i> together. (And doubt plays an important role here, too: not only is it literally sacred to some people, it’s essential for interrogating baseless hate in one’s own head.)

Part of the joy of reading space opera is witnessing what <i>Star Trek</i> called “infinite diversity in infinite combinations”. <i>Victories Greater Than Death</i> not only has a diverse cast, but poses incisive questions about why infinitely diverse bodies are so often represented as humanoid. The universal translator gadget, EverySpeak, supplies the correct pronouns for everyone introducing themselves, with a few thoughtful and interesting exceptions. And the relationship dynamics of some species flip the script on human norms, with a member of a three-gendered species looking at two-person relationships the way humans once looked at one-gender relationships. The geneticist J. B. S. Haldane might as well have been speaking of <i>Victories Greater Than Death</i> when he supposed that “the universe is not only queerer than we suppose, but queerer than we can suppose.” In other YA novels, the protagonist’s best friend being autistic-coded might be all the diversity you get, but here it could almost fade into the background of a grander panorama.

There are also delightfully familiar touches sprinkled throughout: a gag that reminded me of <i>Angel</i>; a trope I first saw in <i>The Last Starfighter</i>; and plenty of terms from the science fiction of yore. But the density of pop-culture references never exceeds 0.01 Clines (and they’re oblique enough that unfamiliar readers won’t notice), so they decorate the story without distracting from it.

Finally, I need to laud the author for having invented perhaps the most appalling bad-guy superpower I’ve ever seen. I won’t spoil it, but my gosh, the reveal took my breath away.

I am grateful to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for a free advance review copy.

Charlie Jane Anders is back! This time with a new YA series. Victories Greater Than Death is the first novel in the Universal Expansion series, and I, for one, could not be more excited about it. Okay, the fact that it promises to be perfect for Doctor Who and Star Wars fans didn't hurt my excitement any.

Her whole life, Tina knew that she was meant for something more. Literally. She wasn't born on earth but is instead a human and cloned version of a famous alien commander. One day, she's destined to step into her shoes and take over the role of commander.

So, no pressure, right? Even knowing that the moment would come, it was still hard to believe it's all really happening. That Tina is being whisked away to join in with a war against a great evil in the universe.

“My whole life has been leading up to this, and I can't stand the waiting.”

First of all, can I just say that I absolutely love the purple cover for Victories Greater Than Death? It's absolutely stunning, and you guys know that I'm a sucker for a pretty book. Naturally, I had high expectations for this novel, having loved Charlie Jane Anders' previous works.

I was not disappointed. This is Charlie Jane Anders' first foray into YA, and clearly, it is a good fit. The story and scale are epic, the characters are numerous and diverse, and the aesthetic of the world is fascinating.

The world (universe?) is massive, with dozens of aliens filling the pages. Everyone felt unique, and I love the way they all seemed to address themselves. The cast of characters is admittedly quite large, and while there were a few times where I found myself confused (not a huge task, if we're being honest here), overall. I really enjoyed following their different journeys.

“There are victories greater than death. I might not live to see justice done, but I can see it coming.”

Many of the secondary characters were such a delight to read about. No offense to Tina, she was the driving force behind the plot, and I respected her role there. However, Rachel stole the show on more than one occasion. So did Elza, for that matter. I loved her sense of humor so much.

“I'm a billion miles from home, under a new sky.”

This is a novel that space-loving readers are going to enjoy. It's so open and approachable, making it a great read for any age. The message within Victories Greater Than Death is a powerful one, and I can't wait to see what happens in the next installment of the series.

While I really wanted to love this book, I was never able to get into the story or connect with the characters. The characters, while pleasingly diverse, felt shallow and underdeveloped, even the main character and her best friend. It was like I was given a character sheet with their traits and strengths and then they never developed past their hurried introductions. The plot also felt flimsy - a group of teens are abruptly recruited into a galactic war and continually get thrown into dangerous missions while searching for the artifacts. The premise is interesting but the execution was lacking.

The best part of the book is the diversity of the characters and the inclusive culture of the Royal Fleet. I loved that the crew members include their pronouns during introductions.

I decided not to review this book as I only want to share raves with my audience. I really liked the overall plot arc of a teen clone of a brilliant alien commander and the highly creative greetings/responses between characters, but found the dialog cliche and brimming with awkward "trying to be hip" slang that even 14-year-olds would roll their eyes at. As much as I wanted to embrace this sci-fi adventure and its promising premise, it fell completely flat and I ultimately stopped reading about a 1/3 of the way in (which is SUPER unusual for me). I think Charlie Jane Anders shows real promise as a writer, but could have really benefitted from stronger editing to bring her writing debut in line with the sophistication of her aspirations in this book.

Overall, I really enjoyed this story! I went in with very few expectations and coming out the other side I had had a very fun space adventure with no small amount of found family and friendships with a hefty dose of LGBT+ representation. That was, broadly speaking, what I was anticipating so it was nice to have that confirmed!

YA science fiction has a tendency to fall flat for me mostly because I either feel like the characters aren’t appreciative of the fact that they are in space or they are totally blasé about the danger they are in at any given time. Charlie Jane Anders manages to neatly avoid either of those things and produces a group of teenagers who were remarkable non-annoying while also not feeling like fully fledged adults. Obviously I am no longer an authority on what actual teenage/young adult readers might feel about this but for me it worked much better than some other stories have done.

What I will say about this book is that it gets much better after the first 40% or so. Put simply I think there was too much detail and worldbuilding/political/life knowledge that Tina needed to have for the story to progress and there were a lot of players who needed to be in position for things to start. In order to get all that in place without just writing a whole book of worldbuilding there is a fair amount of ‘here is the reason we don’t need to explain this’ which is technically find but felt a little bit annoying and ‘explaining away’. I can understand a desire not to info dump but this did leave me feeling a little bit like a lot of things were taken for granted and I just was supposed to get on with reading.

And to be fair once I did take them for granted and we got into the meat of the plot I did have a very good time so perhaps that technique did work – it’s just a shame that this story doesn’t have a stronger start as I wonder if it will lead to people DNFing before it gets good? If you’re wondering and you’ve come across this review let me just say PERSEVERE.

I liked a lot of the various twists and turns of this story and it was one of the few stories with memory manipulation that didn’t totally make me uncomfortable – I mean it’s not a fun time with what happens but it didn’t feel horrendous reading it what has happened to me before. I loved Tina’s part of the story but I’m hopeful that we’ll get even more of the ensemble as the series goes on because in them this story really shines.

My rating: 4/5 stars (after the 40% mark)

I received a free digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley – all opinions are my own.

Victories Greater than Death is out now!

Victories Greater Than Death is an incredibly creative and thoughtful novel. It captured my attention from the start, as I immediately felt for both Tina and her mom. As we begin the story, the reader is informed that Tina is not long for this world. In fact, she was literally made for another world, from another world, here to bide her time until her home planet comes to retrieve her. Frankly, that is a lot to dump on a young woman, but here we are. Since she’s grown up on Earth, obviously humans are all she knows. Her mom is so incredibly caring and loving, and her best friend Rachel is equally awesome. I was so happy Tina had these supports her whole life, I can’t imagine how she’d have made it otherwise!

But alas, the time comes, and her people come a-calling. Tina goes from typical teen to space warrior (or rather, tries to/is supposed to) in a matter of actual minutes. And that is where things really take off. Tina finds that she has some general knowledge of the universe and the various groups in it, but has no personal knowledge, like she was supposed to. So she’s basically winging it. Right off the bat, Tina has to make some big moral decisions and figure out who she can trust.

The group she eventually ends up riding through the universe with includes Rachel, who kind of got brought along as an accident and decided to stay, as well as some Earthen teens, and various high ranking soldiers/experts. I adored the cast of characters! They were so wonderfully diverse, and very well developed.

Also very well developed? The world! I really enjoyed how much innovativeness and creativity the author very clearly poured into the story. It was undoubtedly unique, and I had such a fun time learning all the nuances of the universe (and especially of the villain- as bad as he was, the whole story was wildly entertaining as well).

The plot moves pretty quickly, and I enjoyed it throughout. There were a few moments that were perhaps a little… easy for Tina, which is probably the only downside for me.

Bottom Line: So wildly creative with an entertaining and lovable cast of characters, this was a definite win!

3.5 rounded up to 4

There is a lot to love in in this first entry in a YA space opera. We meet Tina, a high-school aged teen dealing with the usual high school issues. But actually, Tina has a kind of bomb inside her, no less than a secret identity of which she is unaware—yet.

Because she will be yanked out of her life and into her former one as a heroic captain of the Royal Fleet. She ends up dragging along her BFF, who has been so traumatized by her life experience so far that this sudden change actually seems a good thing, including meeting non-human life forms.

And so the adventures begin.

Anders does a lot of things right—there is a lot of diversity of every kind here, even before we meet the non-humans. But while that was awesome, it was also earnest and awkward at times, the story stopping and starting in lurches as Anders over-explains to her teen audience.

It seems obvious to me that Anders is not used to writing for a younger audience, and is feeling the way into this type of story and pacing. I really think that the teen audience who will be drawn to this book already knows a lot of what gets exposited at length . . . but kids are also good at skimming “lessons” in books and going on to find the meat of the story, judging by both my experience as a teacher and remembering myself as a kid reader.

And really, if that’s the worst that I can say about a book, I think I can turn both thumbs up. Easy fix for future books, which I look forward to!

3.5** Ever feel like a book should break out into song to justify the campy, melodrama of it all? Me either, until I read this one. I didn’t do enough research going in to realize this one was written as a “space opera”, think Doctor Who or Battlestar Galactica, potentially B-level acting, and laughable, cringe worthy moments abounding. But overall, a fun new reading experience.

I was a bit thrown off by the constant usage of giving pronouns when new characters were introduced. I commend the author for trying to normalize pronouns throughout but it was almost out of place for me at times, and then creating new pronouns felt...

There’s little to no back story for the main character, which made it hard to connect more. And then we just have to accept 4 more teens from earth are drafted and just instantly fit what the space crew need (there’s some drama around it but it still feels weird)

Maybe space operas aren’t for me or maybe this one is just mediocre; there was moments where I wanted to DNF but the action and bits of romance made me interested in how it would pan out.

Tina Mains not only has the hopes of her former comrades to fulfill as the clone of an inspiring and seriously tough ship captain and fighter, but she also has her own desire to make a difference in others’ lives. Which, until her alien destiny comes calling, along with a murderous guy and his henchpeople, has been to protest injustice and inequality wherever she can in her home on Earth.
Once in space on a ship captained by one of original Tina’s friends, with her current best friend Rachel (who was caught with teen Tina when said destiny arrived), teen Tina discovers the stakes are not just personal: countless other alien races are at risk of eradication (by the murderous creep).
After recruiting a few teen geniuses from earth, Tina, Rachel, the new teens, and the whole crew are on a race to find a mysterious doodad with an unknown ability.
All the Earth teens need to learn new skills and learn to work with each other and the experienced crew, while somehow thwarting the murderous creep. The peril and danger are high and constant, and there’s tension amongst the teens, as they get to know one another and are pursued by the creep.

This is an entertaining, snappy, fast-moving space opera with a likeable teen protagonist and equally likeable teen geniuses. It also deals with some heavy duty stuff like identity, living up to others’ hopes, bigotry, and genocide.
There’s less melodrama amongst the teens than I expected, and instead believable friction as the stakes are revealed to be really high, with terrible outcomes for failure. I loved, and I mean loved, each of the teens, and how they slowly bonded despite the many, scary things happening around them.
I also loved the amount of diversity amongst the teens and the aliens, as well as a funny reference to a particular Star Trek episode. There is also a nice subversion of the usual trope where the amnesiac becomes the glorious warrior and loves it.
And damn, I want to be able to fly a ship like Damini, or reconfigure the hull like Kizhei or listen to music played by Yiwei.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley and TorTeen for sending me a earc of this book to read and review. This has not influenced my review in any way.

I understand that there will be changes made in the final pub version and this arc. But it felt choppy and hard to follow. The characters would jump from one place to another without explaining WHY or HOW they made a connection. Tina spent the entire book freaking out over not being good enough and simultaneously thinking she’s the best and always right and the solution to everything (it was exhausting.) And the plot was VERY unbelievable. It IS sci-fi, but STILL. How does it make sense that a bunch of teen human “geniuses” will abandon their lives forever and save the universe UNTRAINED? They just found out that there’s actually life on other planets, and they just are magically the saviours???

The author also should have done a LOT more research on space and cloning. None of it made any sense.

But the biggest problem was that, whether it was intended or not, this book was EXTREMELY PHOBIC. It was phobic disguised as super duper queer, which made it so much worse. If you’re going to write a queer book, LEARN THE LANGUAGE PLEASE. The author consistently confuses gender with pronouns AND sex. Gender is portrayed as finite and that the number of genders depends on the species. For example, the Makvarians are a species described as having 3 genders and that the 3rd gender exists for a specific role in reproduction (in other words, gender is linked to the role a person has in reproduction). It was also implied that only agender people used the pronouns they/them.

There’s also the constant use of the words “choice” and “decide.” Just like people do not choose their sexual identity, people do not CHOOSE THEIR GENDERS OR PRONOUNS. While phobic language permeates the entire book, the transphobic language was ESPECIALLY aggressive. Writing sentences like “I didn’t want to be a boy anymore,” and “I didn’t realize she was trans, OR WHATEVER.” I almost threw my kindle. And, omg Tina, do NOT tell a trans person that you ENVY them for being able to be themselves while you’re having a meltdown over finding out you weren’t supposed to be born. I don’t know if you’ve heard... but a LOT of people were “accidents.” And no, making a trans character an LI doesn’t make this any less transphobic.

And I want to add that just because the cast of characters includes plenty of different POC doesn’t mean it’s not racist. (Hint: there’s an Earthlings chant.)

I do not recommend this book.