The Bookworm's Feast

Release Date: May 2019
Publisher: Rock the Boat
Genre: Sci-fi, YA
Page Count: 470
Goodreads Page
Rating: ★★★★★

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

Kaufman and Kristoff have done it again! We follow Squad 312; a band of misfits thrown together at the start of the book after Tyler – the squads Alpha – misses his chance to choose his squad due to playing hero. This beautiful bunch have totally captured my heart, and seeing their development is so heartwarming!

I love the dynamic of the Aurora Legion squads – these compact groups of six comprised of an Alpha, Ace, Face, Tank, Gearhead, and Brain. Alphas are the leaders and tacticians, Aces are the pilots, Faces are the diplomats, Tanks are the highly skilled and efficient fighters, Gearhead will fix everything, and Brains bring the science and medicine.

Aurora is a girl completely out of time, having just woken up from 200 odd years of cyro-sleep. She must come to terms with everyone and the universe she knew being long gone. Humanity has encountered other lifeforms, her popculture references are lost on everyone, and did someone say conspiracy theories around the mission she was on?

I must admit, I would like to see a bit more of the individual characters, some do take a bit of a back seat, but the fast pace which limits this completely suits the book – packed with action and humour it was a joy to read and so I’m not letting this impact my rating. Each character has their own distinctive style and feel which does bridge some of this gap.

But they have not seen their sun die. Their people burn. Their world end. And they do not know, yet, that there are some breaks that cannot be fixed.

There is a lot of sadness in this story, and a lot of loss that the members of the squad have suffered. I think this makes the little things between them all the more poignant though. The dedication at the beginning of the book is definitely apt, and I’m not going to lie nearly made me cry just in itself- I think everyone has felt a sense of not belonging before, and I know I definitely have struggled with it myself.

I’m certainly looking forward to the next installment!