Dark Parts of the Universe didn't work for me. I felt it took too long to get to the heart of the story. The heart of the story is important, however the plot and buildup did not work for me.

Dark Parts of the Universe is not my usual kind of read. But every once in awhile a thriller/mystery will catch my attention. This was one of those books.

If you enjoyed Dark Parts of the Universe here a few more YA recs with the same vibes.

1. Panic by Lauren Oliver
2. Need by Joelle Charbonneau
3. Warcross by Marie Lu

Dark Parts of the Universe starts off promising but then gets a little slow. I kept losing interest in the story because I have felt like I have read this all before. I was hoping for a YA Rabbits and it’s not quite what I got. There were some great messages for the target audience about acceptance, history, racism, accountability, and many other things. Unfortunately, the language would keep me from using this with students.

I received the digitally generated audio narration for this book in exchange for my honest review, and though it was a bit difficult at times to follow the story, I will not let the narration affect my review of the book.

I love the notion of sci-fi encompassing the paranormal and small town mysteries and things unknown. Small towns are notoriously mysterious as everyone seems to know a bit too much and yet also hide secrets. The main character, Willie, is a boy who survived a miraculous drowning when he was young and now as he is coming of age and transitioning from a kid into a growing teen.
I hate to give too much away in this review, but I was certainly drawn along with good pacing and intrigue. I had a really great time reading this book and thought the characters were well thought out. I think I want to pick up a physical copy of this book when I get the chance so I can read it with my own mental narration and see what sort of world unfolds for me. This is certainly one I will be recommending to my audience as a great YA thriller and author to watch.

Sorry to say that I just did not connect with this book, at all.
Did not care for the characters, and unfortunately, the audiobook ARC was digitized…so I did not like the narration either.

The premise sounded interesting, but I believe this was geared towards a young adult genre…
Nothing wrong with that, and, over the years I’ve enjoyed many, but the F* bombs, coming at a speed of every other word, was just ridiculous!

On top of that, I just never connected with the whole concept.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #HarperAudio for an ARC of the audiobook.

Dark Parts of the Universe by Samuel Miller.

1⭐️ for me.

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I received a digitally generated version of this audiobook through Netgalley. It was not the voice-narrated version. This is my honest review.

When I started listening to this book, I was expecting science fiction based on the title and the cover. I was quickly disabused of that notion. Instead of taking me into outer space, it took me into small town America, and I'm quite familiar with small town America attitudes towards anyone who is other. In this story, this manifests in the behavior towards everyone who lives in the town across the river from Calico Springs, a town that is almost exclusively Black. I'm sure you can see where this is going.

In a way, this book felt like it was telling two stories. The story of Manifest Atlas, and the story of Calico Springs. And it wasn't until near the very end of the book that I really started to see how the two stories connected, and I would not have gotten there on my own. I did not see how the game was influenced by the events in the town until it was spelled out for me, and vice versa. But also, that connection left me feeling a little disappointed.

Aside from also living that small town life as a kid, I couldn't really relate to the characters in this book, but that's really just because we didn't have anything in common. I could see how their life experiences shaped them from the glimpses into the past that we were treated to, and I feel like I understood them, but I still couldn't really relate.

Overall I give Dark Parts of the Universe 3.9757 out of 5 stars because even though it wasn't the story I was expecting when I started, it was intriguing and kept me listening.

This book was FANTASTIC! I loved how it was science fiction and while dealing with read world society issue today and the impact of historical racism. It was interesting, suspenseful and had a powerful message.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC digital copy. I was not compensated for this review and all opinions are my own.

The summary of this selection sounded quite interesting and I love a good mystery/thriller audiobook! The narrator can completely make-or-break my enjoyment. Unfortunately in this instance, the reading was done by a “mechanized synthesized voice recording” which was impossible to listen to.

I truly look forward to grabbing a copy, once published, in either print or professionally recorded. Until then, I offer four stars in order to not skew the rating based solely on an AI narrator. I will update if my opinion changes after publication.

This was my first experience listening to an ARC narrated by AI. Generally, one would review the narration as well as the narrative, but since the final version hasn't been recorded yet, it is impossible to do that. Listening to the strange cadence and awkward intonation of the AI voice added a comedic element to the story, which impacted my engagement with it. I'm eager to read the print version or listen to the properly narrated version to get a real sense of the relationships and dynamics between the characters. The story is a gripping cross-genre mystery with a somewhat unreliable narrator set in a small rural town. Fractured family, small town politics, a secret history of racial war and violence, and a strange app that seems to tell the future and reveal mysteries combine as hidden truths are revealed about the place and its people. This is fantastic tale from Samuel Miller.

This was not what I expected but was a good mystery. This is a story that needs to be told for us to understand our past so that we don’t repeat the same mistakes.

Willie finds out more about his small town than he ever thought when he discovers a new app that claims to tell you your destiny just by stating you intent.

Teens get hooked on a app-based game. When dead bodies become real life, is the game to blame? The game sends players on challenges that slowly unveil the town's past. Deals with historical racism - don't let the sun go down on your back, and the importance of truth. Despite my extensive dislike of AI voice galleys, the plot helped me continue. Looking forward to rereading with my ears with a human narrator.

I don't know why, perhaps it was the "universe" part of the title but I was expecting something more fantasy/supernatural out of this. If that's what you're looking for then this book definitely isn't it.

The book was okay. The AI narrator definitely detracted from the enjoyment of the book. In fact I realized after finishing the book that I really had no emotional investment in any of the characters and any of them could have been killed off and it wouldn't have bothered me, and I don't know if that's because of the writing or because of the narration.

The story itself was good, with potential to be really good but I don't feel it ever came close to realizing that potential. I also had a real problem relating to the characters. Living in a country with quite different gun laws so much of the book felt utterly foreign to me. The number of times there were teenagers with guns and or/drinking and driving, and having that presented as just being a normal thing, was shocking to me.

The book also could use another round of proofreading - there were a few instances of missing words, and in one scene 2 character names kept being switched around, as if the author couldn't decide which one it was that was involved in the fight and which was being held back.

Overall I have to say that the book had potential, but I don't think I actually liked it all that much.

Voice Galley Review - Dark Parts of the Universe is an excellent YA adventure/thriller. So many parts of this story reminded me of major elements of The Goonies. The brother's relationship, the merger of the two townships, 'The Game,' and the mystery of what was really going on while keep readers hooked. Hand this to YA readers who are ready for a new adventure!

The story itself had a few layers to make it a good YA fit. There's social media; there's gaming; there's the independence of growing teens vs the push of rules/expectations set by adults; there's college fears; there's sibling and friend dynamics; there's romantic relationships.

Willie and Bones are brothers growing up in Calico Springs where, through the course of playing a phone game, murders start occurring amidst a struggle of deciding whether or not to merge with the neighboring town. Initially, I was surprised by racial division and segregation that manifested in the actual line "separate but equal" until I got to the end and realized that this is historical fiction--and the line was very much intentional.

Aside from the racial component, the story was mostly moved forward by the threat of violence--either through fights, destroyed property, threats, or murder itself. It was interesting and compelling. The characters were believable.

Honestly, I think I might've enjoyed it much more had I read it independently rather than listening to it. As an audiobook, this has AI doing the reading for now. The lack of acknowledgement for pacing, vocal inflections, emotion, etc made it a bit harder to enjoy the story because so much of the human element was missing. The artificial voice wasn't displeasing-just clearly not as good as a professional reader will be.

Overall: 3.5 stars
I'll tell my students about: language, alcohol, trauma, violence, murder, weapons, racism

**Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Audio for the free ALC. All opinions expressed are my own.**

Name of Book: Dark Parts of the Universe
Author: Samuel Miller
Narrator: Voice Galley created only for early review
Publisher: Harper Audio/ Katherine Tegan Books
Genre: Mystery, YA/Teen
Pub Date: April 24, 2024
My Rating: 3
Pages: 432

In the small town of Calico Springs, Willie’s life has been defined by two powerful forces: God and the river. The “Miracle Boy” died for five minutes as a young child and ever since, Willie is certain he survived for a reason.
When Willie discovers a dame called - ‘Manifest Atlas’ he believe it is the purpose why he was saved. The game is played by providing a target on a map with a blinking blue dot.

I know I am not the target audience for this story but as a High School Guidance Counselor I love to read YA books as I not only enjoy a good YA story but it pleases me when I can recommend a book to my students. This story sounded interesting – one I believe my students would like.

I have listened to many early Harper Audiobooks and know they often do voice galleys created only for early review use for review purposes; a professional narrator will be used in the final product.
Most of the digital narrations have been okay, some were good however, I did not like this one. I thought the narration took away from my enjoyed of the story. It was almost a DNF. I did hang in.
I am giving 3 stars = good for the story but I am sure if I read it my rating would have been higher.

Want to thank NetGalley and Harper Audio/ Katherine Tegan Books for this early audio.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for April 24 2024.