A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away . . . Fassen Ruust, a fifteen-year-old, is recruited as a child soldier by a rebel army fighting imperial forces. Ruust has great instincts and natural talents, progressing rapidly in the ranks. It's all very Star Wars until the war crimes.

On the side, Ruust maintains a forbidden long-distance zine-writing relationship with Lu, a member of a neutral science utopia hiding from the empire with the help of an artificial intelligence named Field. Lu likes to science, exploring worlds and secretly helping Ruust figure out new technology stolen from the empire.

There are interesting gender diversity aspects, but that all gets lost as the overly long book mires down in muddled action scenes, complex and yet still vague world building, and simplistic nice-people-win-because-they're-nice plotting.

I've enjoyed Blue Delliquanti's previous books, especially the down-to-earth Meal, but this space epic is a fizzle for me. ( )

teen graphic sci-fi body-positive, abiity-positive adventure fiction, standalone (multiple nonbinary and trans characters, brief discussions about binders and hormone availability, nonbinary author/artist)

Lu, a Black tween from a team of researchers and Fassen (they/them), a brown-skinned tween whose rebel family was killed trying to get to safety, and whose pronouns are understood by everyone without having to explain them, become unlikely intergalactic penpals/teen BFFs in a futuristic battleground filled with innocent people, unbelievable technology, and superpowerful AIs.

All the people and names and world building and scene changes had me a little confused, but just roll with it and don't worry too much about it-- you can still enjoy the story without fully understanding it. At the very least you can enjoy visiting a place where everyone welcomes people from anywhere in the gender spectrum, even if they haven't completely solved the need for affordable health care (or water that you don't have to pay for). ( )

So many emotions were felt when reading this. I loved this so much, the art style, the characters, and the story were just chef kiss. It hurt my heart but also built me up. The diversity of everything especially the cast was so amazing. I would read more from this author. ( )

Beautifully illustrated, this graphic novel is a classic sci-fi story in the vein of Ursula K. Le Guin's Hainish Cycle, exploring themes similar to The Dispossessed and to The Left Hand of Darkness, but with a lot of colorful, kinetic action. What makes a person? What do people deserve? The political and moral questions are advanced, but the reading level is not, and the story is fast-paced and never dry or too dense (much like a great quickbread). I absolutely loved it. ( )