Loved it! 😍

Great characters (especially the MC) and story, though it takes a bit to get into it. I had one major issue with the plot, though!

3.5 Stars - It takes a little while to get into Skyward while Sanderson builds the world, but the story and characters are worth it. I think the characters, especially the main one Spensa, is the best part. The other characters and the camaraderie they build is fun to read. After that, the push and pull between courage and cowardice is thought-provoking - does it make you a coward to eject? Should others look at you that way? Opinions vary, and Spensa really struggles with it, as anyone with her history would.

SPOILERS AHEAD:

I was majorly turned off by one major part: when everything is in trouble, all of a sudden M-bot writes a subroutine to make it where he can fly in combat. It's a major point throughout the book that he can't fly in combat, then when it's most needed he just solves it on his own. Way too convenient. I kept waiting for the clever way around the orders, but felt like that was a promise unfulfilled.

I wasn't sure about M-bot's personality. It seems really odd to me that anyone would program the AI to act like he did, though he is a fun character, so I probably just need to get over it!

Reviewed by

Young Justin fell in love with two life-long pursuits: space and writing. He knew he wanted to work at NASA and write science fiction/fantasy. He works for the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space, who manages the ISS National Lab. He lives in the Houston area with his wife and daughter.