This was so much fun! A great exciting plot, and an instantly lovable band of protagonists who have to save the world while dealing with their own problems and secrets. Plus queer and trans representation, a racially and religiously diverse cast, and a narrator voice that really sounds like a older teen (who really likes making jokes about kicking). Loved it! ( )

2.5 Stars ( )

3,45 stars

The Goodreads star system is annoying with it's lack of half stars, because some three star books I've read have been a lot blander than this one. However, this doesn't quite reach four stars either, so I'm forced to revert to mathematically rounding it down to three.

I feel like this book reads better for the under 20's audience. The thing that most often grinds my gears with YA scifi is the cast consisting of 17-year-olds saving the goddamn world. I'm not saying I don't get the combination of a YA book and teenaged characters, just that in no universe will I be able to stomach the glaring lack of competent adults involved.

I appreciate the author's effort to make this as diverse and inclusive as she was able, but the incredibly forced "love-triangle" (not really, but you know what I mean) wasn't the best way to include bi-rep, in my humble opinion. A nice objective with a really lackluster execution. What I did like was the inclusion of non-christian religion, I felt like that was done in a lot more organic manner.

The plot itself was, well, fine I guess. A story that's been told a hundred times in recent years with nothing surprising or unexpected. Everything went off a little too easy (I attribute this to the YA target demographic as well) and was in no way believable.

In summary, this was a very fast and easy read with good representation, mediocre writing and an unremarkable plot. I'm sure whatever the author comes out with next will be a lot better, though, considering this was a debut. ( )

I was given an ARC by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Grab your helmet and get ready for an awesome space adventure! M. K. England gives us a fantastic, and intricately developed crew, and a thrilling adventure in Disasters. I don’t think I read about a single straight white man in like the entire book, and the whole crew is a diverse bunch that each bring something significant to the table. I loved that our main character Nax, is a hotshot troublemaking pilot who goes through a lot of character growth, AND he’s bisexual. Lots of POC rep, Bi rep, Gay rep, Trans rep, and lots of characters actively practicing Islam. I can only speak for the bi rep myself but it was tastefully done and made me giddy with happiness to read about a character like me. (It doesn’t hurt that the world building is great, and the characters have great senses of humor!) ( )

I listened to this audiobook in one day; I couldn't put it down. It was a fun, fast paced teen space adventure/thriller with political intrigue, diverse characters, snappy action and relatable relationships. A group of drop outs heading back to Earth, find themselves in the middle of a terrorist action. Escaping with their combined talents, they are thrown headlong into an ongoing fight for their lives. The terrorists pin the blame on the group so they are on the run from every authority, as well as the enemy. This becomes a race to save millions of lives. Each character has a talent and a 'flaw' such as anxiety, a secret past, etc. The characters are refreshingly diverse in terms of culture and sexuality, and the main character, Nax, adds much needed humour to the situations and the story. Note: there is attraction (no explicit sex) and language, so for mature readers. The tagline doesn't capture the story for me: Space is hard. Grab a helmet. ( )