Book Review: Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

Release Date: May 7th, 2019
Read: June 17-19th, 2019
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Series: The Aurora Cycle, #1
Format: Hardcover, 470 pages
Source: Bought

Description from GoodReads:

The year is 2380, and the graduating cadets of Aurora Academy are being assigned their first missions. Star pupil Tyler Jones is ready to recruit the squad of his dreams, but his own boneheaded heroism sees him stuck with the dregs nobody else in the Academy would touch…

A cocky diplomat with a black belt in sarcasm

A sociopath scientist with a fondness for shooting her bunkmates

A smart-ass techwiz with the galaxy’s biggest chip on his shoulder

An alien warrior with anger management issues

A tomboy pilot who’s totally not into him, in case you were wondering

And Ty’s squad isn’t even his biggest problem—that’d be Aurora Jie-Lin O’Malley, the girl he’s just rescued from interdimensional space. Trapped in cryo-sleep for two centuries, Auri is a girl out of time and out of her depth. But she could be the catalyst that starts a war millions of years in the making, and Tyler’s squad of losers, discipline-cases and misfits might just be the last hope for the entire galaxy.

They're not the heroes we deserve. They're just the ones we could find. Nobody panic.

Review:

Contains Spoilers:

   Just because you're not saying it doesn't mean you're not thinking it.

   Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff are literary geniuses. I read Illuminae back when it first released, but couldn’t get into the story. I blame it on the way the book was written, pictures, text messages, video footage, it just wasn’t my style. 

   I knew that I liked their writing, and not the uniqueness of Illuminae, and so I went ahead and picked up some of their other works. 

   As one does, I became completely obsessed with Jay Kristoff’s Nevernight series. With the bluntness of Jay’s characters and his agonizing cliffhangers, I thought I knew what to expect from Aurora Rising. But of course, I was wrong. 

   I’m a sucker for aliens, I always want to know everything about their species. With so many different aliens in the Aurora Rising universe, I think I’ll just have to settle for knowing EVERYTHING about the main characters and their species. I already loved learning about Fin, and a little bit from Kal. But I hope the sequels go more in depth with them. I’d especially love to know more about the alien virus and maybe a little about Kal. 

   I loved Kal from the moment he was introduced by punching out the other cadet. His dedication to his job and his species just strengthened my love for him. One of my favourite parts of the Night World series by L.J. Smith, was the soulmate principle. So, when a soulmate idea was introduced for Kal and his species, I screamed so loudly that I’m pretty sure my neighbours heard me. I guess I have a thing for soulmates. Saying that, I hope we get a lot more from Aurora and Kal, because they are adorable and I love them. 

   Overall, Aurora Rising was the perfect blend of sassiness and space that I never knew I needed. I’m not sure how they’ll be able to top Aurora Rising, but I’m already dying to get my hands on the sequel, which is slatted to release May, 2020.

Rating:

Favourite Quote:

“Do moons choose the planets they orbit? Do planets choose their stars? Who am I to deny gravity, Aurora? When you shine brighter than an constellation in the sky?”

Recommend to People Who Enjoy:

Young Adult, Science Fiction, Space, Time-Travel, Interstellar, Skyward by Brandon Sanderson