The “Clanners” and the “Imperialists” have been jockeying for galactic positions for years, and orphaned Clanner Hwa Young has dreamed of becoming a pilot for most of her life. After battling through a number of issues, she finally gets her chance, only it’s for the Imperialists. As one can imagine, this causes her some stress as she faces several moral decisions. When all is said and done, it’s hard to tell which side of the battle Hwa really wants to be on.
While the premise of the plot isn’t a new one, it was a fun read. One issue that was a bit of a challenge for me in the beginning was the use of zie/zir pronouns, but after a while of reading it wasn’t an issue. I also felt that some of the characters weren’t fully developed and could use more work, but overall this was a book I enjoyed. Recommended for those who liked Brandon Sanderson’s Skyward series.

I know it's cliché to compare any and all sci-fi to Star Wars, but there are too many similarities that it distracted me, the girl with the SW fixation (i.e., young protagonist who dreams of being a space ship pilot, the bad guy regime is called the Empire, and its people are called Imperials, the Empress is building a secret world-destroying weapon that the clanners got the plans of, etc.). Normally, I wouldn't mind this heavy comparison if I enjoyed the work and/or found that it something unique with those elements, but this book really didn't.

Firstly, Hwa Young is both incredibly confusing and bland simultaneously. The whole point of her character seemed to be built up to directly confront the moral of the Empire and the fact she literally has to go out to fight/kill her own people as an Imperial pilot; the repetitive inner monologues refuses to let the reader forget that. But all of that moral dilemma is thrown out the window in comparison to her desire to be a lancer and praying to the Empress. She flip flops so much between the two extremes, but it never seems like she's seriously questioning it, considering how easily she betrayed her mom after six years of believing she was dead. She also thinks of her people as the enemy, even giving notions (that she knows are false) that imply clanners are savages. This isn't her giving into Empire propaganda because she wants to fit in and survive, nor is it making her a complicated/conflicted character. Hwa Young is too one-dimensional and inconsistent for what should have been an intriguing character arc. Hell, the fact she was so eager to become a colonizer just so she could drive the shiny mecha just shows how shallow her motivations are as a whole.

It is because of Hwa Young's inability to serious challenge the Empire that the story stumbles so badly on what it's trying to accomplish. The Empire is so obviously, in-your-face evil that it's laughable. From purposely abandoning colonies, and its citizens, when they're deemed no longer useful to having their people constantly pray to the Empress, the whole story hinges on the reader knowing the Empire is bad. And yet whenever Hwa Young and co. are confronted by this obvious fact, it is immediately brushed aside until their beloved regime's next crime against humanity is revealed a couple pages later. It was so obnoxious and tiresome to see such unintelligence amongst characters who we're told are smart. But the characters are too stereotypical and depthless to make the argument of indoctrination; that should be saved for characters who have personalities in more than one dimension. Hwa Young and co. finally turning on the Empire also poorly implemented in the last two chapters. They found out the evil weapon was a blackhole device, and it was gonna be used to destroy the clanners and the established colonies. The lancers decided that was was too far, despite all the other shit the Empire has done, and sided with the clanners, effectively making them traitors. This would have been so much better if there was better build up. Hwa Young didn't even go out into the battle to save her people; she just wanted to reunite with her shiny mecha.

The only thing I can really give this book is that the worldbuilding had potential. The structure and culture of the Empire laid down some ground work, and the mechs themselves are very much along the lines of Evangelion almost. The use of neopronouns in regards to nonbinary people was interesting, too. There are a lot of prominent nb side characters, including Hwa Young's best friend and her commander, which is nice to see. I saw some reviews saying that there was too much of it, seeing as zie/zir is used for every nb character. I don't know if I agree with that necessarily, but I do think it would have been better if they/them was used, too. Lee implemented the sci-fi version pronoun pins in his other works, but I don't know why he didn't here.

All in all, I felt like this book didn't really do what is was trying to do, and I don't feel the need to return to this world when the next book comes out.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
I previously read one of Yoon Ha Lee’s middle grade books, and my interest was piqued when I saw that he was releasing a YA book. And with comps like Iron Widow and Skyward, I was sure I would enjoy Moonstorm. While it is a tad rough in places (some of which hopefully will be fixed in the final copy), I did mostly enjoy it.
The world building here is the book’s greatest strength. There’s two different sides of the world, the Empire, ruled by the Empress, and the rebels. The power structures are fairly well-conveyed, and while the themes are what you’d expect about colonialism and resistance, Yoon Ha Lee’s take on it is still very much his own. Gravity also plays a role in the world, being very unstable, each has their own rituals to summon and manage it. I enjoyed how there were very obvious Korean influences in both the world and magic, which set it apart from a lot of sci-fi.
The characters were a somewhat weaker point, but I enjoyed some aspects of them nonetheless. Hwa Yong as a protagonist is fairly easy to root for as the reader follows her in her journey to become a lancer pilot. A big part of her arc is wanting to gain strength to fight, due to her childhood being torn apart by the imperials and her being too weak at the time.
While I can’t say anyone else stood out super well, I did like the diversity in queer representation. Hwa Yong is sapphic, and her best friend Geum, is non-binary and uses zie/zir pronouns. It’s very cool to see that slowly becoming more and more normalized in fiction from major publishing houses.
The prose was occasionally a tad choppy, but that is one of the things that hopefully won’t be a factor in the final copy. And while the pacing was at times a tad uneven, it leans toward being action-packed and fast-paced, keeping my attention throughout.
This was a solid first-in-series, and I’m not opposed to reading more. I would recommend this book if you’re interested in a YA sci-fi with strong world building and a focus on pilots and mechas in particular.

2024 API Month

Apparently this style of book isn't new if you're not new to mecha, or YA sci-fi, but my first experience with either of those things was Iron Widow, which I didn't love. This started slightly better.

I've been meaning to try this author for a while, as he was born in Houston (rep) and is a trans man. Continuing the pronoun talk, which will discourage many readers, the non-binary characters in this book use ze/zir pronouns.

Hwa Young was born a rebel, "rescued" by the empire and forced to work for them. She becomes a lancer pilot and merges with one of the advanced giant martial robots. The Chosen One trope is overused.

I didn't love best friend Geum or classmate Seong Su. I wanted the rivalry with Bae to go elsewhere. The command staff was mostly bland. By the time we make it to the twist, I found myself not caring.

This is one of those books where the beginning holds more promise than the end. That's not to say I didn't enjoy myself. However, I don't think this is my genre, but I won't write it off just yet.

📚 Buddy read with Zana

📱 Thank you to NetGalley and Delacorte Press

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
—
First of all, thank you so much to Delacorte Press, Yoon Ha Lee, and Netgalley this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

For as long as I can remember I’ve always loved sci-fi, space operas in particular, and this book certainly did not disappoint. With everything that it has, interesting characters, being set in space, and a writing style that I found myself loving more and more by the time I was done reading, it was clear that I was going to love this book more than I thought I was.

The setting of this book is really interesting, and I found myself wanting to know more about it than I thought I would. It’s essentially a reimagined modern day/futuristic Joseon-era Korea, but set in space. Think the Korean Drama, The Last Empress with 장나라, where there’s still a royal family in Korea, but set in a time that’s familiar to us. All that, but in space. It’s fantastic! There’s also a system where obedience to the Empress assures that there’s adequate gravity on the planets? It’s really, really cool.

There’s also two different groups of people, the Imperials, who are loyal to the empire of New Joseon and the Empress, and live on planets and moons that are under her rule. Then there’s the clanners, who are somewhat akin to a rebel group. It hasn’t been explained why they have such disdain for the Imperials and the Empress, and I’m very interested to find out, hopefully in future books in the series. They’re doing whatever they can to maintain their own rule and way of life, actively fighting against the influence and invasion attempts of the Imperial military.

Our main character, Hwajin, is a clanner. At the age of ten, her homeworld was decimated by the Imperials, and she was saved by one of the Empress’s own children in a lancer, which is essentially a mecha, a la Neon Genesis Evangelion. From then on, she’s a ward of the Imperial state, and her one dream is to become a lancer pilot just like the person who saved her.

We follow Hwajin, who since being rescued goes by Hwa Young, which is the Imperial version of her name (we never got confirmation on why exactly they changed her name, but I’m assuming maybe Hwajin is an “older” form. I’d like to know for sure, though), on this journey to become a lancer pilot, despite the opposition she faces from her peers, who look down on her for being a ward of the state, instructors, who think she’s unlikely to amount to anything because of it, and herself, because deep down, she still wrestles with the feelings of being loyal to the people and empire that killed her family.

The characters in this book are really well written, and I found that I got quite attached to them over the course of the book. I’m not going to lie, I was expecting an enemies/rivals to lovers side plot between Hwa Young and Eun, and I still am. I will not give up hope. I also really liked Bae, and while she starts out as the stereotypical rich, mean girl, she ends up becoming so much more, and we see why exactly she acts the way she does. Geum was a bit of a hit or miss for me at times, but at the end of the day I did really grow attached to zir, especially because of the friendship that Geum and Hwa Young had.

All in all, I really, really enjoyed this book and will be 100% looking forward to the next books in the trilogy??? Series??? I’ll have to wait and see, but I am incredibly invested.

A story off fitting-in and imperialism by the great Yoon Ha Lee, MOONSTORM is a wondrous mecha story set in a fantastical space opera.

Hwa Young used to be Hwajin, back when she was a Clanner living on a rebel moon. But when her home was destroyed, and her family killed by the Empire, she was the only survivor. Now a citizen of the Empire, she’s determined never to feel helpless again. The best way to make sure of that? To become a lancer pilot, the most elite of soldiers, able to navigate advanced ships with their minds. So far, she’s been on the right track. She’s near the top of her classes, and is determined to beat out everyone in the Empire for a chance.

But when her new home is also destroyed, she and her classmates are recruited two years ahead of schedule. Hwa Young has to quickly learn what it means to be a soldier, and try to figure out where her loyalties lie as the Empire wages battle against the Clans, Hwa Young’s former people.

I received an advanced reading copy of Moonstorm in exchange for an honest review.

Moonstorm is a young adult science-fiction novel by Yoon Ha-Lee. I don’t read a lot of science-fiction, but when I heard this book was for fans of Iron Widow, I knew I had to check it out. And, I have to say, this is the kind of book that really keeps your heart rate up!

Before I go further into the review, I do want to have some content warnings. Feel free to skip to the next paragraph if you don’t want to know anything, since there will be light spoilers here, but if you want to be prepared before you go into this book, here are some potential triggers: violence, blood, gore, war, injuries, on-page death of teenagers and children, and mass murder. Some of these happen really early on in the book, like in the first chapter, so you might be able to figure out if you can handle the rest based on what you experience early on.

As I mentioned before, Moonstorm is the kind of book that really gets you excited. It helps that there is so much action in here, and it rarely slows down. Hwa Young and her classmates spend a lot of time running for their lives, or in the midst of battle. What makes these scenes even more tense is that Hwa Young is also trying to keep her past a secret. The Clans and the Empire are enemies, and she knows that the only way she can succeed in becoming a pilot is by not letting anyone know where she actually comes from.

This isn’t just outer tension, but inner tension as well. Hwa Young is fighting an inner battle, knowing that her goals align with the Empire, while also understanding that she’d be going against her former people if she continues on this route. It kept me wondering what decisions she would make, and if she would ever regret them.

Ha-Lee develops a whole world for Hwa Young to ask herself these deep questions in. One concept I absolutely loved was that the gravity on these planets and moons is dependent on the people and their unity or devotion, rather than on a planet’s mass. It was absolutely fascinating to read about, and it was such a great detail to have as the other elements of the Empire and the Clans take shape around them.

Moonstorm was such a great read. This is a book I’d recommend to any kind of science-fiction fans, but especially to people who read Iron Widow and loved it. I know I devoured this book in two days, and I’m already looking forward to the second book in this trilogy. I don’t think there’s any news on when that’ll be coming out yet, but I can’t wait for it.

🌙 Moonstorm ARC Review 🌙

Thank you so much to Yoon Ha Lee, Delacorte Press and Penguin Random House for the opportunity to read and review this book!

Moonstorm is a YA Sci-fi novel and book 1 in the Lancers trilogy. When her world is taken over by the Imperial army six years ago, all young Hwa Young could do was survive. Six years later, she has become a part of the Imperial world and has dreams of being a Lancer pilot. But when her world is attacked, are her dreams unexpectedly closer than she ever imagined?

This was an interesting story with compelling world building that didn’t feel overwhelming. I really enjoyed Hwa Young as a character and her journey in this book. I did feel like this book was a lot of setup for the rest of the series as there’s a lot up in the air, but overall it was a fun sci-fi read

This book was a fun three star read for me. I enjoyed the world and the characters, and feel like there’s a lot of setup for the rest of the series. This book did have some darker moments, so please check triggers if you’re sensitive. This book didn’t have any romantic plots at this time, so no rating will be given for spice

If you’re a fan of sci-fi books with strong characters, intriguing world building and political intrigue, then absolutely pick this one up!

Please note: review will be published on Amazon upon publication

A romp in space with mecha leanings (they start rather late in the book though, and our MC Hwa Young and the rest of them are whirlwind expert pilots). I thought there was great tension in certain scenes - the opening, the fall of Serpentine, and Hwa Young’s first lancer battle - but otherwise we pretty much skated along the surface. We couldn’t really get a handle on how Hwa Young felt about much of anything, even though we do get her thoughts from the first person narration. She doesn’t dig into any complicated feelings about her origins or her rivalry with Bae or the very transactional nature of her friendship with Geum.

The bones of a REALLY GOOD story were there, but we just didn’t go deep enough to really get it. I have enjoyed other books by Lee, so I will probably continue the series as it comes out, if only to see if we do take the dive into deeper and messier territory.

This was a decent read. I enjoyed it for the most part.

I think this could be a pretty good intro to YA sci-fi for newbies looking to dip their toes in this genre. But if you're a veteran of sci-fi, this isn't anything to write home about.

I did love how the author incorporated Korean culture into this story. I thought that was unique and different from the run of the mill Eurocentric sci-fi stories that flood this genre.

The prayers/gravity aspect was also pretty cool and unique, although it did raise some questions for me. If people pray to the Empress, but they're doing it out of habit instead of sincere belief, does that still count? Who knows.

The story was filled with familiar tropes in YA sci-fi: chosen one, rebels vs. empire, overpowered MC, etc. The plot twists were pretty predictable if you're familiar with this genre. There was nothing to keep me on my toes. I was waiting for an actual plot twist, and while the ending did deliver a taste of a decent twist, it wasn't really all that exciting for me. Maybe if I was younger and less well-read, I might've loved it.

In the end, it felt like everything came much too easily for the MC. The narrative kept saying that she worked hard to achieve her goals of becoming a lancer pilot, but we don't actually see this happening. I would've liked to see her struggle and experience some setbacks. But sadly, even major setbacks were overcome so easily.

I haven't read the author's The Machineries of Empire series yet, which I've heard is a lot better than this one. But I'll definitely give that one a try since I don't see myself continuing with this one.

Thank you to Delacorte Press and NetGalley for this arc.

This was a fantastic start to what I know will be a fantastic sci-fi series! It was incredibly fast paced from the start, with so much action, and I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. I do wish it had had some more slower moments to get to know the characters better. But I still loved them so much. Hwa Young is a great main character, with so much drive and determination and internal conflict over her identity and loyalty. I love her so much! I also loved Bae and Geum and Seong Su. Each one had their own unique personalities and their own unique relationship with Hwa Young. I particularly loved the rivalry between Hwa Young and Bae and how they slowly became friends over the course of the book. Lastly, I love the lancers so much! They are so cool, and the connection between Hwa Young and her lancer was so well written I felt like I was right there with them experiencing the same thing. And of course, I adored that this book is set in a queer norm society. Overall, I highly recommend this book and I cannot wait for the series to continue.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for a free e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

As a long-time fan of Yoon Ha Lee, I am so disappointed in this book. It should have been a recipe for a new favorite of mine - Korean-coded characters, space opera, giant mechas in space, and queer characters. Sounds perfect. But unfortunately, the execution was just not there. It felt extremely rushed and the writing honestly felt amateurish. I wouldn't have been surprised if this was written by a debut YA author; I expected more from Lee. The characters weren't strong enough to form a connection with, and the nuace I craved from the story just wasn't there.

I generally prefer stories where the character building is as important as the plot, and unfortunately this one was so focused on moving the plot forward as fast as possible that we don't really get to know any of the characters other than Hwa Young.

THOUGHTS

What an upsetting read. I really wanted to like this. I've been craving some good sci-fi. And while this book definitely has the bones to set up something amazing, the execution leaves it far from satisfactory. I just felt deflated by the end.


PROS
Space Invaders: The one good thing about this book is that it is well and truly sci-fi. If you're on the lookout for epic space battles, Yoon Ha Lee definitely delivers on that front. And in a world with a definite lack of new science fiction, I really appreciate that.

Messy Loyalty: I really appreciate, too, the layers of complexity added by Hwa Young's messy identity. She's a clanner at heart. That's what she was raised to be. That's where her first loyalty can be found, but... She hasn't been a clanner in years. She was raised by the Empire to be a good and loyal soldier, and as much as she misses the family that was taken from her, she isn't unhappy in her new life. In fact, she wants to rise among the ranks, to prove herself in this new identity. And that sort of underlying tension, a clashing of who she was and who she wants to be, adds an essential element to this plot that would otherwise have been much more generic.

Good Ideas: Even though the ultimate execution here fell short for me, I do think some of the sci-fi elements are really cool ideas. I love the Empire's colony ships, ready and able to transform from space vessel to earthbound housing unit as quickly as possible. Of course a colonial empire would have nailed a deconstructive sort of technology like this. This and other elements really do come alive throughout the book, and I can appreciate that, at least: the elements here, the science and tech of it all, are really very cool.


CONS
Neo Trickery: I'm all for experimenting with neo pronouns. I think we need to test them out in fiction, after all, to figure out how they can and do work in language (or, conversely, how they don't work, given whatever scenario). So I appreciate Yoon Ha Lee's effort here to include neo pronouns in the worldbuilding, but... it didn't quite work for me. They're so abundant, first of all, that this representation felt a little over-represented. And sometimes the utilization felt grammatically inconsistent. I had to stumble over passages where the pronouns didn't actually make sense, and that's never a good thing. Of course, I read an uncorrected ARC, so things may change before final publication. I can only hope a layer of polish makes it to the page. In my ARC, it was a little difficult to read.

Repetition: This book isn't very long. Which isn't a problem in and of itself. But with the amount of narrative repetition that goes on here, it really felt excruciatingly short. There's a certain amount of trust authors and editors have to lend readers, and that trust was not extended here. I should be able to remember what happened in the first chapter well enough that I don't need a reminder in, you know, Chapter 2. In such a short novel, the rehashing of events was just too much. I know readers can get lost, but save that recollecting for the end of your epic tome, not chapter after chapter after chapter in your short sci-fi piece. Respect your readers more than that. They don't need their hands held.

Payoff Where?: With the length (and the repetition), this book really was too short for its own good. There just wasn't enough time for these characters to develop, to bond, to grow. I just didn't get to spend enough time with Hwa Young to really care about her. Which is super unfortunate, considering some of the major plot points at the climax of this book depend on readers actually caring about the main character(s). Because I didn't care--because I wasn't invested enough--this whole climax felt a little boring, to be honest. There wasn't enough history. There wasn't enough groundwork. I just couldn't be bothered to care.


Rating

⭐⭐⭐
3/10
Fans of Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game will like the subtle machinations of these epic space battles. Those who enjoyed the science-fantasy blend found in N.E. Davenport's The Blood Trials will like this world of uncertain gravity and vitally-necessary imperial loyalty.

This was unfortunately a DNF for me. I found the prose on the clunky side, and felt like I was constantly being bombarded with names and information at rapid speed. I liked the concept of the story but found that I just couldn't get into it.

I don't generally like to leave reviews for books that I didn't finish, but I want to mention why I don't want to finish it and tell people why they may be interested in it.

So, I initially picked this up because I love mecha books. I loved Iron Widow and growing up I watched Gundam with a fervor that was probably unhealthy, however, this didn't quite recapture the magic of those moments for me as an adult and nothing probably ever will. This book I think is going to be excellent for young adult readers who love space operas and mecha like I did growing up, however, this is not going to be a crossover darling. The characters are not nuanced enough. Hwa Young is a fine protagonist, but I feel like she should be more conflicted from the very beginning of the story. I know the idea of survival and what you will do for it, but I still feel like she was old enough when she was orphaned that she should have a more rebellious streak. Bae felt very much just like a mean popular girl and most of the other characters felt quite flat.

However, one of the things that I think that Yoon Ha Lee does well is set up a world. I'm interested in the world and I want to know more, but I want to know about it in an adult science fiction type of way. I also want to give credit for Lee's queernormative worlds. Young non-binary readers will probably find some comfort here and in other works by Lee. Also, some of the non-binary characters use neopronouns, which are popping up more and more often in literature and that's great. It may take readers unfamiliar with them a little time, but this generally wasn't for me.

Thank you to Netgalley, and Random House Children's | Delacorte Press for providing me with an eARC of this novel, however, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thoughts when I first finished this book: Disappointed
Thoughts after about a week finishing this book: Still disappointed

The plot: an orphaned girl because of war that feels the need to prove herself to those who destroyed her home in a military/space academy, who becomes the "special" one. Also has a friend who comes from privilege and is a nerdy engineer. SHOCKER, there's a plot twist, that well read readers will most likely see coming a mile away. Oh yes, throw in enemies to friends, and a peer that they feel some type of undefined stirrings for.

When reviewing this book, I need to keep in mind that Moonstorm is considered Young Adult, and the level of reading and content is going to be different than Adult literature. I cannot recall immediately if there was a disclaimer about pronouns, but it took a while for this reader to get into the swing of the use of the pronouns used in the book. Don't get me wrong, use what pronouns you want, that's all fine and dandy. However, there were times where it felt stopped the flow of reading. I want to say there was something that I liked about this book, but it's hard to find anything. Ah, I will say that I did enjoy the descriptions of the fighting scenes. It ends right about there. It reminded me of The Poppy Wars LITE if it took place in space, minus the gore, sexual assault/rape, and make it PG.

Thank you to Netgalley, and Random House Children's | Delacorte Press for allowing me to read this ARC for an honest review. I hope that the this series is successful.

This review will be shared on Goodreads, Instagram and Storygraph.

I really loved the sci-fi world-building of this book. I wanted a little bit more clarification toward the beginning - instead of the requisite information dump mistake that most other authors make, I felt that this book started without enough explanation of the world in the beginning. However, this issue did not impact my reading very much because I was able to figure things out later on; it was nice that the world-building was logical in that sense.

My favorite character was probably Bae, but I was left wanting some more depth from her characterization. I always appreciate some top-of-the-class queen-bee trope in any form, but I thought that there could have been a lot more emotional investment along the way. She felt too predictable at times, while other aspects felt completely glossed over. However, I can also see more characterization coming along in the sequel to this book, so I'm not entirely upset about the character depth as long as there is more as we go.

Overall, I enjoyed the way this book was written as a cultural and scientific blend; I could see Korean culture melding really well with the interplanetary world. My biggest issue was that, like with Bae's character, the book felt like it was building too much into a sequel; the cutoff of the book as a whole felt like it should have been the end of the first act of the story, rather than the entire story for the time being.

Embark on an exhilarating sci-fi adventure following the journey of a teenage girl, Hwa Young, determined to become an Imperial pilot. Formerly a resident of a rebel moon home, Hwa Young dreams of joining the elite group of warriors known as lancer pilots, who engage in battles using advanced technology. A sudden attack on their boarding school fast-tracks Hwa Young and her classmates into intensive lancer training, where amidst the chaos of combat preparations, layers of intrigue and secrets unravel.

As Hwa Young navigates this labyrinth of conspiracies, she becomes entangled in a web that threatens the stability of their entire civilization. The journey forces her to confront the remnants of her insurgent roots, weighing them against an empire whose loyalty she begins to question. This adrenaline-fueled story, perfect for readers of all ages, will captivate fans of "Iron Widow" and "Skyward."

My sincere thanks to Netgalley for providing me with an advance copy of the book for an unbiased review.

In a world dominated by Imperial power, the central question emerges: conform or fight? In a captivating twist of the genre, Hwa Young, once born a rebel, now finds herself fighting for the Imperial forces. As she advances on her path to becoming a pilot, a startling truth threatens to upheave her entire life. Desperation guides Hwa Young's actions, yet the rebel-blooded girl is faced with unanswered questions that challenge her allegiance.

For those enchanted by galaxy-spanning battles for the greater good, coming-of-age narratives, and tales of rebellions, this is the book to delve into.

I deeply enjoyed this book! Moonstorm is a fantastic bit of Gaysian Mecha scifi, and does a fantastic job of setting up expectations and delivering on them. While I do wish it was longer and that we’d gotten more exploration of the world and story, what we were given was still excellently written and incredibly enjoyable. Furthermore, while I wish there had been more of it to read and wish the author had perhaps been more creative with some plot points, for the intended audience of middle-younger high schoolers this book is absolutely perfect. I recommend it for anyone.