Review: Aurora Rising

 ★★★★★

I had to wait three days after finishing this book so that I would be able to write a review that was not written mainly in capital letters. That's how good it was. 

I have previously read another series by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff (The Illuminae Files; 10/10 recommend). Aurora Rising had been popping up in my Goodreads recommended for a while, but I believed myself to be above all that dramatic YA sci-fi nonsense. I was very wrong indeed. This book is about as far away from YA sci-fi nonsense as you can get -- the characters are remarkably well-developed, the plot moves at a rapid pace, and the whole world is just so well done. The authors managed to sculpt this incredible futuristic world that literally sucked me in from the first sentence. 

The one thing that kept surprising me was how believable it all was. Perhaps it's implausible to believe that in 200 years we'll have discovered space travel and made contact with alien races, but this novel made it seem very real and very likely. The characters were also relatable, despite being wanted criminals traveling around the Milky Way in search of an ancient alien race. All of the characters seemed like such normal teenagers that it was hard to believe the book wasn't written by one. 

I would highly recommend Aurora Rising. Stay tuned for my review of the second book!

-Ellie