Published by: Bloomsbury Spark
Publication date: December 19th 2013
Genres: Romance, Science Fiction, Young Adult
Fleeing a destroyed Earth, seventeen-year-old orphan Hope grew up living in the confines of a spaceship heading to CR-3, a new home planet. She’s been kicking the steel walls for too long and ever since she broke her boyfriend’s heart, touchdown could mean open air and a fresh start. But no one expected the Locals.
Hope’s dreams of freedom turn into nightmares when the Locals trap the humans and mark groups for observation. At any moment she can be called into a holographic observation room for testing. Some days she’s drowning in a strange dark ocean, some days she’s locked up without food, and all with the one boy she can’t seem to forget.
As the Locals study Hope, she studies them. She wants to believe the tall grey creatures could be peaceful, but as the simulations become more dangerous, Hope is about to become the human race’s last chance for survival.
The book starts in the present where after Earth having to be abandoned the survivors board ships in route for a new planet they call Haven. Once arriving there they find that the planet is already inhabited and as they deboard their ships are quickly surrounded by walls and what they call stacks. Sectioned off groups are taken into the stacks and basically put to test. The whole novel is really a test of survival and human nature. Things like that always fascinate me because how would we as humans handle a situation like this. This is kind of like one scenario.
I loved Hope! She surfaces as a natural leader and easily respected. She takes charge even when she doesn’t always feel like she wants to. There are times when she thinks I don’t want to make these decisions. I think that’s a normal thing to people to think. I would think the same thing in her shoes. She was overall pretty cool.
There are many different characters and even though we don’t get to them deeply we get to know them well enough to be invested. You don’t want any of them to get hurt. We mostly focus on the group of teenagers and a bit on Chief Upton. I think even him though we see through teenage eyes.
Oh Hope and Chances romance completely pulls at my heart. We start off with them together and not long after they end up breaking one another hearts. Ahhh. I don’t want to give too much away about how they develop but I have to say I was definitely feeling stressed and cheering for them.
So ya I loved Beyond Our Stars. If you are a fan of Sci-Fi like me then read it and even if you are not I think it’s written well enough to captivate you anyway. Come on Marie Langager I’m so ready for your next project!!
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