I have had a hard time deciding how I felt about this book. On one hand I did really enjoy it but on the other hand it's hard to ignore the feelings I have about the ending--mostly that it's pretty unrealistic. The mystery of the story was okay, and the plotting/pacing of the narrative and the clues was good. I just found myself wanting more from the story, especially in the moments where it felt a bit repetitive and the pacing suffered a bit. I did enjoy the talk about sundown towns, though, and the history of racism in small midwestern towns. But yeah, overall not a bad story, but I do think the ending sort of took me out of the story a bit. The main premise and mystery are pretty compelling, though, so this was a pretty good sci-fi read.

Thanks to netgalley for the ARC! 3.5 stars. I’ve been giving a lot of books that rating lately. This one,
Ike those others, had something interesting in the racism and the idea of the game and the family dynamics, but I felt like it fell a little short for me. The premise of the game was fascinating, but then in the end, it was not as neat as I wanted it to be. I can’t give anything away, but the game doesn’t take center stage in the end. The idea of the main character being saved by God for some higher purpose also didn’t seem to matter as much in the end. The mystery itself was ok.the murder and attempted murders were woven in pretty well, but I found the ending and how it wrapped up pretty unrealistic. Overall, I didn’t hate the book, but it’s not one I’m going to push on my stuffed and not one I really talked to them about. FYI violence, race issues, profanity

A group of friends start playing an App called “The Game”. They each ask The Game a question of what is their deepest desire and The Game guides you to the exact location where your desire can be found. One teen wishes for something bloody, but that something bloody turns out to be much more then they could ever imagine. As such, the teens decide to locate who exactly owns and designs “The Game” to a shocking discovery they never saw coming.

Don't let the fact that this is a YA book throw you off. It's an excellent, fun scifi read. I highly enjoyed this book.

The book follows Willie, a freshman in high school and Calico Springs, Missouri’s very own miracle boy, as he tries to search for his purpose using a mysterious app that seemingly leads people to their intentions. That is, until the app leads him and some friends to a dead body. Willie dedicates his summer to figuring out who made this app and, more importantly, who killed the man that they discovered in the abandoned town mill. Throughout the adventures and misadventures had while chasing the truth, Willie struggles with faith, family, friendships, and his own place in the world.

I can honestly say I have never been so shocked by a plot twist. The reveal of the maker of the app was so completely unexpected and after that moment I couldn’t put the book down. I devoured the rest of the book, trying to figure out what the rest of the story could possibly be.

This book was a mix of every genre (if that's even possible) and thrilled me to the end. I will be recommending this to everyone I know.

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.

I read an advanced reader scopy of Samuel Miller's Dark Parts of the Universe, thanks to NetGalley and the Harper Collins. This ia YA title, but fairly mature, and deals with serious issues, while having a "hook" to draw the reader in - the "game" which is a phone app, which the player is asked to tell their "intention" and the app leads them to a place in the real world. It does just this -- and more importantly, it leads them to a crime scene, where there is a dead body. This leads the players, fifteen year old Willie and his brother Bones, and several friends to try to figure out what is going on. But the book is about more than the game. It raises critical questions of race,

In many ways the game is secondary to the deeper social divisions which are being uncovered, and it works quite well to bring those to the surface. I can't say I loved the book, as parts of it seemed to be a bit slow and repetitive, but the last part came together quite well. The book's focus on the history of racism in small towns in the midwest - and the role of "Sundown" towns -- brings out the author's goals, in ways which made for a good read.

First I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this un-corrected eArc. This is about a group of teens in a small town who find this app called Manifest Atlas that they believe can tell the future. It actually ends up leading them to a crime scene. So they continue to play hoping to find the answers s to why it would show this to them. They end up mixed up in a whole lot of trouble they aren’t counting on and a deadly game of who to trust and if anything is really what it seems.

“The Dark Parts of the Universe” by Samuel Miller absolutely blew me away. The book follows Willie, a freshman in high school and Calico Springs, Missouri’s very own miracle boy, as he tries to search for his purpose using a mysterious app that seemingly leads people to their intentions. That is, until the app leads him and some friends to a dead body. Willie dedicates his summer to figuring out who made this app and, more importantly, who killed the man that they discovered in the abandoned town mill. Throughout the adventures and misadventures had while chasing the truth, Willie struggles with faith, family, friendships, and his own place in the world.

The character development and depth is out of this world. Willie comes into his own throughout the book, going from grumbling about being treated like a kid to acting like the more grown teen that he wants to be seen as. As he grows, Willie comes to the often shocking realizations that we all come to at some point: Our heroes are human too. Willies older brother “Bones”, whom he had always looked up to, is revealed to have faults throughout the book as Willie realizes them. The faults are revealed to the reader alongside Willie, making the reader feel the hurt and betrayal that Willie felt. Even the side characters such as Joe go through huge developments throughout the story that are beautifully written. Not to mention the strategic use of social media posts, news articles, and interviews in the chapters to further the story. You truly feel like you are growing with the characters.

When it comes to the story itself, I can honestly say I have never been so shocked by a plot twist. The reveal of the maker of the app was so completely unexpected and after that moment I couldn’t put the book down. I devoured the rest of the book, trying to figure out what the rest of the story could possibly be. This is a book that struggles with hard truths, the struggle of growing up, and family troubles all while creating an intricate plot with thrilling twists and turns. I cannot wait for this book to be on shelves.

This would usually not be my cup of tea but I am here to tell you: Sometimes reading outside your typical genre pays off. I usually do not like a small-town thriller/mystery of any sort. "Dark Parts of the Universe" offer unstable characters and a strange setting, which play together perfect with the author's story-telling style!

Outer Banks meets Bone Gap in New York Times bestselling author Samuel Miller’s propulsive and genre-bending YA mystery, following a group of teenagers who discover a dead body while playing an app-based adventure game that sends players to “random” locations, unlocking a much deeper mystery about their small town.

This was really interesting! I didn't know what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised.

I devoured this book in 2 days. I started out interested in it for the technology aspect and the mystery, but found myself sufficiently horrified in the last section of the book. It morphed into something tragic, yet relevant in the way this story blends the dark parts of American history with the continuity of racism and white supremacy today. I think this is scifi? But it’s also part thriller and part political. It is a unique combination and I’ve never read anything like this before, but this really worked for me.