I really enjoyed Kass Morgan's The 100 so I was super excited for her next young adult sci-fi book. Light Years did not disappoint I was hooked from beginning to end.

I rate this 4 stars. I plan to review this book at a later date. I also plan to read the next book in the series, even though I don't yet know the title.

4/5

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this. I haven’t read The 100 series, or any other works by Kass Morgan, so I really didn’t know what to expect going into this, but I was pleasantly surprised at how readable the story was. It kept me engaged and I finished it in under a day, which doesn’t happen very often.

I don’t think it was perfect. I think it suffered from the same problem that first books in a series often have, which is there is a lot of world building that needs to happen and plot points that need to be established in order to form a cohesive story. This story felt like the narrative jumped and skipped too quickly through time in order to hit certain plot points, and I would have preferred it slowed down in order to create a better a flow. But that being said, it is hardly the worse criticism to say you wanted more story not less!

I am intrigued to see where this story going and look forward to reading the next book!

Thank you to Hachette Children’s Books, Australia and NetGalley for providing me a copy of this title to review!

'Light Years' by Kass Morgan follows the story of four soon to-be space academy students from socioeconomically diverse backgrounds as they fight adversity, and some aliens too. I don't know why I thought that sounded interesting but it actually kind of was. The story, and the characters were all super interesting, but I found the novel lacking in other ways. Rating this was actually a real challenge for me since while I really enjoyed it I don't think it deserves 4+ stars given that the writing itself lacked a bit of finesse and complexity.

Each of the characters had their own story to tell, and their backgrounds well reflected this. With one rich kid, two poor kids from the outer planets, and an alien? spy, we certainly got to see a few different perspectives. The politics of the world were therefore really interesting, but I felt that they could have been fleshed out more as while the characters often spoke about perceived prejudice, there could have been more examples of it in action, especially in regards to Deva and Chetire, where the prejudice was felt from afar, but not seen directly in action on the planets themselves. My favourite perspectives were those of Rex and Vesper, but Arran's naivety and Orelia's coolness weren't that enjoyable. I liked the role that romance played in the novel, but I don't think that it was very realistic. I mean, who seriously feels 'electricity coursing through their body' when they kiss someone?

There were some pacing issues with this book, and I think that the end was pretty rushed. The first few weeks were really well fleshed out and then the remainder of the year was wrapped up in the same amount of words. I did enjoy the cliffhanger at the end of the book, even if it was pretty obvious. Another issue I had was with the teacher-student thing going on, and that when the student was with this teacher it was the only time they truly felt safe. It's honestly kind of weird, even if they are of similar ages (which was reinforced way too often.)

I received an ARC copy of this book from NetGalley, and would like to thank Hachette Children's Books, and most of all Kass Morgan for giving me opportunity to read and review this book.

Light Years by Kass Morgan was an interesting read I loved her 100 series and I was really excited to jump into this new series! light years follows the stories of 4 Newley recruited cadets to the Quatra Fleet Academy, Vesper, Cormak, Arran and Orelia each from a different planet each with their own secrets. this is the first year that the Quatra Fleet has let students from every planet apply for the Quatra Fleet so as expected there are tensions between the students .we get 4 POV's in this book I usually hate multiple POV's but I really liked each and every one of the four characters, the pacing was a bit slow but that didn't really bother me and of course with that ending I now really want book 2!!!! overall I really liked Light Years it was a good start to the series and im really looking forward to the next instalment!

I wanted to read this because of the diverse characters, and Light Years did not disappoint on that front. Aside from the gay relationship hinted in the blurb, we had a character with a prosthetic leg who was shown to have a fulfilling and prestigious career, racial diversity and also an examination of class differences now that the Academy is including citizens from the 'lesser' planets into its hallowed halls, to the dismay of some of the elite!

I didn't expect the  latter and was pleasantly surprised at how it was incorporated with a great level of nuance with subtle nods at the characters' different backgrounds, for eg. a wealthy privileged Tridian automatically offering a handshake to a Devan character to whom this was a foreign concept, as Devans grow up in a toxic environment where they would never expose themselves to harm like that. 

While I enjoyed the setup with the interesting character archetypes and in-built tension, I felt that some of the potential there wasn't fulfilled. Surprisingly my favorite elements at the start (Orelia's mission, Arran/Dash) lost their appeal by the end as I didn't buy into the emotional reality that drove those characters to make certain decisions. I know what the author intended to depict, but there needed to be a more solid foundation to back up the way the characters acted as it wasn't believable to me.  Orelia's arc in particular was unfathomable and I wish the author had shown us more to justify her actions. 

In contrast, the characters I was less interested in (Cormack and Vesper) became more endearing and I was fully invested in their journeys by the time I finished the story. I thought their interactions were really fun and the banter made me smile, plus there were some moments of vulnerability and bonding between the ordinarily prickly Vesper and cocky Cormack that had me rooting for those crazy kids.

But the main problem for me was that the focus seemed to be on the romantic entanglements of the main four characters, and not enough attention was paid to developing platonic bonds between them. I expected them to become a family by working together to defy other people's expectations and prove they were worthy, but the simulated space battles that were hyped at the start as determining their fate at the Academy barely figured into the story. Dare Mighty Things is a great example of teenagers in a futuristic book working together to solve complex problems to qualify for a space mission where you actually see the obstacles they face in detail and how the characters bond through adversity. The quartet in this book are basically just classmates that sit together in Math for all the relevance of their squadron exercises.

I struggled with rating because of my mixed feelings. I started off loving it immensely and then my enthusiasm waned in the middle. But then the end gripped me and I'm anxious to see what happens in book 2, so I consider that to be very effective writing! Normally I hate cliffhangers and feel they're such a cheat, but I have to compliment the author on wrapping up most of the main character arcs instead of dragging them out for another book, and without going into spoilers, the cliffhanger was somewhat inevitable and I liked it was based in a character moment rather than 'everyone's in jeopardy, tune in next year to see who survives!'

In the end, this was an easy light read and I'd recommend it to those who are normally wary of sci-fi because there isn't a great deal of technobabble or dense world-building to grasp. It's more of a high school drama that happens to take place in space, and while I did like it, I really wish it had lived up to its potential and leaned more into the sci-fi elements that were presented because it could've been amazing.

I received this novel from Goodreads in exchange for an honest review.

After reading the 100, I had high expectations for this book, and wow I was not disappointed!
The world building was world class (see what I did there?) and easy to follow. The characters are so well written and multi-dimensional that they really feel like people, not like characters.
I also loooove the way the space shuttle is described, how it is full of decadence and riches, it isn't just a cold, metallic ship, it is homey and has cosy touches. And that ocean pool!

The multiple point of view, orientation confused me at the beginning, but once I got to know all of the different characters and they began to mingle, it got less confusing, and easier to read.
Vesper's character development is one that I really appreciate, she has so much going on in her personal life, so much anxiety about impressing her mother, that she forgets who she is and what she wants out of life. We see her become her own person towards the end of the book, and that in itself is so rewarding!

I am a little disappointed that the book didn't end up being just about Cormak... although I can see why it isn't... he really didn't go anywhere as a character, I feel like he is almost there for comic support, or as a filler as we learn about Vesper and Dash. Hopefully he gets his character arc in the next book!

The one thing that did annoy me, was that all of the protagonists got love interests... so unnecessary! Not everyone finds love, at school, which is essentially what this setting is. I understand the draw to have romance fill the halls of the shuttle, but for me, it took away from the cool-ness of the setting and the drama that was unfolding.

All in all, I am so happy I got to read this novel and I highly recommend it to any 100, sci-fi or Illuminae fan!