I love adventures in space! And I like new planets and such! Especially because this one kind of reminded me of... actually I won't say, for fear of spoiling stuff (for that, not this). But suffice it to say, good stuff! Anyway, some things were hit or miss, but overall I'd definitely say more hit!
The Things I Liked:
- •New planet! I mean, I guess we ruined the old one, no surprise there, so the folks on Earth have to go find new places to
destroyinhabit. Jo and the others getting to discover all the new aspects of the place is so fun. Obviously there is good and bad to explore, and perhaps a few uhhh surprises that you'll have to read to find out about. - •Huge focus on family. From the very first page, it's clear to see what a tight-knit group this family is. They have been through a lot together, and it's taken its toll, but they still care so deeply about one another.
- •There's adventure and action! As you can imagine, it's just all just a quiet planetary exploration. Stuff happens. You know, spoilery stuff. Sorry, not sorry, I shall tell you no more, but I promise it's not just plant identification and gazing at the moons or whatever.
- •But also, there is some planet identification and gazing at stuff? I mean, would you not want there to be? It's a new planet for goodness sake, we want to explore!!!
The Things I Didn't:
- •I felt a bit of a disconnect with the characters. I just didn't have any kind of overwhelming feelings for anyone? Not even Jo, the main character. I mean she was fine, don't get me wrong. They all were fine. I just didn't emotionally connect very much.
- •Parts were a little... cheesy. At first, I thought it was super annoying when they'd say "Watsons do X" and "But Watsons never Y!" like do people actually speak like this? Please tell me no? But I chalked it up to a personal pet peeve. But some of the messages of the story to me felt delivered in a little bit of an obvious way that made me feel a wee bit eye-rolly.
- •Some of the stuff was predictable. Not everything! But some things I called way ahead of time. Again, my mouth (fingers?) is shut due to spoilers but... yeah. Not a dealbreaker-level of predictable, just a minor annoyance.
Bottom Line: Adventure time on a new planet is always fun! While I'd have liked more character connection and shock, it was definitely an enjoyable read.