Review: Illuminae

Title: Illuminae
Author: Amie Kaufman, Jay Kristoff
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: Knopf Books
Source: Purchased
Release Date: October 20, 2015
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

This morning, Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she’d have to do. This afternoon, her planet was invaded.

The year is 2575, and two rival megacorporations are at war over a planet that’s little more than an ice-covered speck at the edge of the universe. Too bad nobody thought to warn the people living on it. With enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra—who are barely even talking to each other—are forced to fight their way onto an evacuating fleet, with an enemy warship in hot pursuit.

But their problems are just getting started. A deadly plague has broken out and is mutating, with terrifying results; the fleet’s AI, which should be protecting them, may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what’s really going on. As Kady hacks into a tangled web of data to find the truth, it’s clear only one person can help her bring it all to light: the ex-boyfriend she swore she’d never speak to again.

Review:

Wow, this book was amazing!

This story is told in an unconventional format. It consists of a series of files: transcripts, emails, and memos. All of these files come together to tell the story of how a planet was attacked and the people were evacuated to spaceships, sparking a space war.

The beginning of the story was a little confusing because of the unique format, and the many characters. But after about the first quarter of the story, I was hooked!

The graphics in this book were incredible! They were very detailed. A lot of work went into the design and layout of this book, as well as the writing.

Part of what makes this story so addicting is the blending of genres. It’s definitely a fantasy and science fiction story since it takes place in space. But there’s a lot of romance and thrilling suspense.

This is now one of my favourite books! I can’t wait to read Gemina!

Author: jilljemmett

Jill lives in Toronto, Canada. She has studied English, Creative Writing, and Publishing. Jill is the creator and content producer of Jill’s Book Blog, where she has published a blog post every day for the last four years, including 5-7 book reviews a week. She can usually be found with her nose in a book. View all posts by jilljemmett