Fast-paced, more character-driven than plot-driven, (doomed) YA romance played out against a sci-fi backdrop. With its monochrome cast of characters with English first names, it seems targeted at a white, middle-class, North American YA audience. In universe, this may have some justification, as virtually everyone we meet is either employed by or selected as settler material by a (supposedly) WASP mega-corp.

Overall, the main characters are well-rounded and relatable, while the supporting cast, especially their elders, remain a bit shadowy – very fitting for a tale told from a teenage point of view. Speaking of which, there are actually two alternate povs, which normally is not my cuppa, but here it worked quite well. The stupid teenage decisions they make, the views they hold, the conclusions they draw, are quite in character and following teenage logic.
At one point, Haley, feeling she is getting too close for comfort to unraveling Jorden's hidden agenda, is even having a Scarlett O'Hara moment: “I can't think about it today. I'll have time to deal with it tomorrow.”

The story is set in 2118, however, it rather felt like “20 minutes into the future” (or maybe 20 minutes into the future from a startpoint somewhere in the 80s, seeing as everybody is constantly using fruit-scented shampoos): people are still using phones, have social media profiles, movies AND videos (whatever the difference), ... Sadly, it felt like 100 years of evolutionary opportunity were clean thrown away when female teachers can still be identified by their honorific of “Miss” and their “reading glasses hang[ing] from a string”.

There is some very soft sci-fi: Faster-than-light travel is achieved by means of the fittingly named “Utopium drive”, but otherwise not explained. The world-building overall is a bit weak, with some plotholes. So the “Earthers” live on a subsistence farm, but why doesn't everyone else, instead of starving in megacities (with e.g. the population of Boulder at MM 16)? And does homesteader Jorden stomp around in homespuns and clogs? Nope, this guy shows off his muscular torso by wearing “form-hugging” “flexi-fabric” garments and even owns high-end running shoes. Where did all this come from?

I could, in part, sympathize with the Earther's view on emigration, albeit for different reasons: It's a very, very bad idea, in an already collapsing economy, just to “cut your lossses” and found a colony that, to get off the ground, will necessarily start bleeding _further_resources away from home, both in terms of materials and human capital. However, this huge issue is never addressed by the Earthers, who thus come across as just another bunch of Cloudcuckoolanders with a grudge.

Also, I could not quite follow the logic of having – what, some 1,000 “travelers” cooped up in a space station for months on end for no evident purpose other than plot demands. Quarantining would have made marginal sense, however, this, too, could have been effected on Earth with much less effort and inconvenience.

Some more unresolved questions:
- How did Nancy manage to get into Haley's quarters when her own parents needed to call security to get into their daugher's room?
- Why would you need diesel fuel on a space station?
- Why would there be a scalpel lying around near the hospital bed of a violent terrorist?
- Nancy's hair going from dark to mousy-brown to black without anyone commenting. Is that a some kind of not-so-clever disguise or simply a mistake on the author's part?


However, that's just my niggling brain that can't seem to leave well enough alone. Overall, I quite enjoyed the read and would like to know how the story continues for Haley and Jorden.

I don't think they should have killed the dog though! ( )

So I ended up reading this book, since the plat sounded really nice. It is a YA book, but for me it felt a bit childish if I may say that? There were good aspects on the book; Characters, dual POV, interesting plotline. What bothered me however was the writing style of the book and I could not get over it. It kept bothering me even if the plot was getting interesting. So for me it would be a 3 star rating (for me this means I finished the book but I am unbothered after finishing the book)