My Rating: 1 heart
Thoughts
on the Novel: Though I’m not a big fan of sci-fi novels, I was pretty
interested in reading Phoebe North’s debut, Starglass, because of North’s
presence on Goodreads and in the blogosphere. Unfortunately, I struggled to finish Starglass due to several reasons.
First, I found it incredibly hard to
believe in the worldbuilding. Having discussed the challenges of traveling to
another planet in an astronomy course I took, I just didn’t find the existence
of the Asherah very realistic. I might have been able to put aside my skepticism
if the Asherah were a spaceship consisting of a few people traveling to a
planet nearby, but North made it almost like a miniature city. There were a few
hundred people, pets, crops being grown on fields, babies being born in a
hatchery … all on a spaceship engaging in interstellar travel!
Another thing I was constantly
focused on was the strong incorporation of Judaism in Starglass. It was very
unexpected, and left me wondering why there weren’t any people of other
religions present on the Asherah. Midway through the book, I finally learned
that the Asherah is owned by the Post-terrestrial Jewish Preservation Society. Had
this been explained earlier, I think it wouldn’t have been nagging me so much,
allowing me to concentrate more fully on the plot.
Speaking of the plot, Starglass’ is
really slow and meandering. For the
first third of the book or so, there isn’t much going on other than Terra going
to work, wanting to be kissed, and planning her marriage. Later on, she joins a
rebel group and is chosen to assassinate somebody but is too busy making out
with them.
As a character, I did not like Terra! Aside from the fact that
she’s a bad friend, I thought that Terra seemed very desperate for romantic
love since she’s constantly thinking about kissing guys. I hate when girls
appear needy in that sense. I also didn’t find her to be a strong character – she does quite a bit of crying – which was too bad because she
sometimes found herself in the wrong place at the wrong time and then would get
involved in things I thought she probably had no business getting involved in.
Finally, I didn’t know what to make
of the absurd ending. Spoiler alert: While the Asherah has been in space, Terra – for
reasons unknown – has not only been dreaming about Zehava (the
planet the Asherati plan on colonizing) being inhabited but also of a
particular Zehavan guy. (The Asherati don't know that Zehava is inhabited until the Asherah gets near and a
team is sent to scope out the planet.) After witnessing something dangerous, Terra
realizes she’ll no longer be safe on the Asherah and so decides to seek
safety with the Zehevan guy she has
been dreaming about, a guy who happens to be a total stranger!
Starglass was released in July 2013 by
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.
Comments
About the Cover: I really like the pretty cover, and think it relates well to the
story because it has a girl looking through a window at a planet. She is
surrounded by leaves, which symbolize Terra’s occupation as a botanist.
In exchange for an honest review, this book was received from the publisher (Simon & Schuster) for free via Edelweiss.
