Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is being pitched as Star Wars meets Doctor Who, and I can definitely see why, I think it also has some Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy thrown in. This is a super fun YA space opera (and I really hope the first in a series). The quirky crew is great and love the found family amongst the earthlings, I wish there had been a bit more development of some of the alien crew members. I loved how diverse the cast was and how the emotional ramifications of leaving earth to join an alien spaceship and intergalactic war were explored. The world building was super interesting, and some great use of technology but again I wish there had been a bit more depth to it.
Overall super fun, probably leans towards the younger side of YA

I really enjoyed reading this book. The character development was subtle in a myriad of ways, and the plot moves along quickly enough to keep interest. I could have used a little more expansion around the ending of the book, but on the whole found the experience very enjoyable.

Victories Greater Than Death is a high-spirited space adventure with abundant humor and heart that speaks some important truths about how we come to accept who we are. It digs into challenging questions of identity and oppression while slinging us through the universe and its many worlds.

Anders is interested in the challenge of balancing who you are with who the world expects you to be, The novel's core family of Earth kids undertaking the mission to save the universe are all facing this challenge in themselves, and through them, Anders celebrates the joy of finding your power in embracing who you are at your core.

The whole thing is wildly imaginative, treats the identities of its characters with loving respect, and understands how to make systems of oppression understandable to teenage readers. It's a smart book that will satisfy a YA audience hungry for aliens, intergalactic battles and out-of-this-world romance. But it will also teach readers what a loving, equitable, respectful universe might look like.

This book was received as an ARC from Macmillan-Tom Doherty Associates - Tor Teen in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

This book will be for you if you are a fan of Pan's Labrynth and Star Trek. This book had the best of both worlds which made my eyes glued to the pages and I never wanted it to end. The emotional strength Tina had throughout her entire journey and being the keeper of an interplanetary life force and once it activates she will be given powers that are beyond comprehension. She is also the clone of an alien hero and now her burdens arise but adventure awaits. I was smiling from ear to ear throughout this entire book and every page was filled with excitement feeling like you are in the experience and along for the ride. I am curious to see how our teen book club will view this book and the opinions they share, I hope they will love it as much as I did.

We will consider adding this title to our YA collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

Have not had a chance to read this yet, but will keep it on my list for a rainy day! Appreciate being offered the reading copy!

I love it when Charlie blesses us with another story. This one takes us to the far reaches of space as we follow along with a crew of new human recruits to an alien civilization. There are many wonders to see, described by Charlie’s rich prose. Little touches that remind us these characters are human and struggling. Tina finds out that joining a group of peacemakers means waging a lot of war. As she journeys with her new crew she comes to the realization that saving the galaxy doesn’t have to mean sacrificing herself for the greater good. I really enjoyed this book and cannot wait for the next installment. Also as a queer reader I loved the worldbuilding that included pronouns in every introduction.

Tina has spent her entire life knowing that she would leave this earth - permanently. Because she's secretly an alien.

She's technically a clone of a brilliant alien commander who passed away unexpectedly. Tina longs for her new life to begin and when her internal beacon lights up - she's ready. She's transported to the wild world of aliens, spaceships and intergalactic wars - but what can one teenage semi-human do against all that? (Apparently - when you download your previous self's memories...a lot).

Essentially she assembles a crew of brilliant human minds from teenagers who wouldn't be missed (the lonely, the beaten, the forgotten) and together they seek to outsmart and outdo the hoard of alien warships.

To put it frank - this book was a mess. There's so many small plot holes and inconsistencies that it was maddening.

The cast of characters was SO bloated that I was grateful when someone died purely because there was one less name to remember. I couldn't keep track of anyone other than Tina's best friend (Rachel) and eventually, I stopped trying.

I think if the characters had less shallow of personalities? Or if there were less of them? I might have been able to hold them in my head better. But as of now, all of the characters were the equivalent of names-on-the-page rather than individuals.

It frustrated me that there were real, serious issues being brought up (like abuse or neglect) but they were minorly dealt with rather than delved into. It felt like every time we ran into an issue, the MC would just solve it within the next few paragraphs.

The main character is given so many "Mary Sue" qualities that I disliked her from the start - she literally just downloads memories from her former-self and then spends the whole book going, "ahh yes. a Goobleflorf. Such a rare species of Kandkand. Truly an expert in Flying Peanutfific Aerial Combat."

It was frustrating to see her just being SUCH an INCREDIBLE genius and then she'd be hit by these "paralyzing" moments where she wonders - am I not enough? How do I become better?? Which really isn't a great flaw to combat infinite knowledge.

I'm so disappointed cause I was SOO looking forward to this one too. I loved the concept and that cover is divine. But the actual book didn't pan out at all.

When I read the first chapter of Victories Greater than Death, there was something I couldn’t quite put my finger on. I went in expecting a Queer YA Sci-Fi and that’s definitely what I got, but what took me a few more chapters to realize was that this wasn’t specifically targeted at older YA, but younger YA instead. The YA genre has matured so much over the last few years that I didn’t even register the fact that this is for a younger audience. And when I changed my perspective, the whole story changed to a resounding ‘YES!’

Our protagonist is Tina, a clone of a now dead Space commander, hidden away as a human on earth until she’s to be retrieved. There’s always a little clunkiness when it comes to Sci-Fi stories that begins on Earth and not immediately in space. Unfortunately, this flaw was definitely evident in the first few chapters and dampened my interest at the time. Once Tina is with The Royal Fleet though, the plot evens out to a smoother, more fast-paced and interesting story.

I really appreciated the focus on friendship and on inclusiveness (cause if you’re building a Sci-Fi world, who says they have to function one way or another?? I very much enjoyed it) and as a final add on, I think people who are fans of the new She-Ra series will absolutely fall in love with this story of flawed but still badass teens trying to save the galaxy.

Victories Greater than Death is a Queer space adventure for younger YA readers. I’m so, so excited that there are going to be some young Queer people that pick this book up as some of their first taste of YA and I know they will feel so, so very seen. I really hope this is the group that will be targeted in the marketing campaign because they will be the ones to benefit most from this series.

What a beautiful story! I love a good YA novel set in space. I absolutely loved Tina, and I loved the Star Wars, Star Trek, Doctor Who themes. I will be purchasing a physical copy and I am highly anticipating the sequel!

I am not a big sci fi person but if all books are like this i might have to start reading more of them.

The diversity and representation was *chefs kiss*. I think most of my stars and enjoyment came from here, because while the plot was enjoyable it fell flat in a lot of moments and the pacing was odd.
Looking forward for more from this author because i really enjoyed the overall style.


*Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review*

This was a very enjoyable, quick read. Remember the movie Galaxy Quest? I haven't seen it since it came out, but this book reminds me of watching that - quirky and light-hearted. There's humor throughout the story. Alien cultures - almost everything, really - are quirky and strange, but explained matter-of-factly.

Yes, there's a serious bad guy to defeat. Bad things happen, and there's plenty of dread to go around. But it's mixed with the sense of wonder at the universe.

Gender is a pretty fluid thing in this novel. Aliens include their gender pronouns when they introduce themselves, and with alien cultures, there's more than he/she/they. I've only recently seen nonbinary characters represented in novels with the pronoun "they." I even recently saw an actual email that included a person's pronouns in their signoff; this was a good preparation for me for this, and so including these pronouns isn't an invention just for this novel.

So, there's plenty of representation. There's a transgender character, and lots of discussion of consent (asking even to touch another person). All of this comes up without controversy among the main characters, which makes it even more natural.

At its heart, this is a coming-of-age story, with accepting who one is, not who one is supposed to be. Stepping outside of your expected roles, even if that role is what you want to be.

The novel wraps up concisely, and I really enjoyed it. Then, there's the twist - a surprising, cliff-hanger ending, which reads exactly like the last minute of the final episode of a season of a science fiction episode. Perfect, thematically, for a book that reads like a fun sci-fi show or movie.

I received an advance copy of this via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked the characters in this book. They are fun and so diverse and I wanted to know everything about all of them.

Unfortunately the plotting in this story was so all over the place that it was difficult to follow what was going on. Sometimes you finish a section and the next you’re thrown right into the middle of an action sequence with no explanation of how they got there or what they’re even there for. The timeline was so hard to keep track of because things like this.

Most of my issue really could be fixed with more editing so I think it’ll be fine by release. I really did love the characters and would love to see more of them.

Space adventures are so much fun! I had a really fantastic time reading Victories Greater Than Death, it resonated with me for several reasons.

Growing up, my favorite stories were adventures and survival stories. I loved it when the main character fought against obstacles and triumphed over adversity. But for me, most of these stories had a male protagonist. Not all, but most. I call these characters ’knights’ because they were always brave, self-sacrificing and had hearts for helping people. I put myself into these roles in my imagination to the extent that I dreamed adventure dreams. But even in my dreams the knight was male.

Tina is actually one of the closest characters I’ve read who thinks like I do. She’s got a military mind, appreciates teamwork and understands chain of command, but also has an open mind and values creatives. She feels a strong sense of responsibility to take care of her people, with a tendency to over-commit and sacrifice her own needs. She’s strong, but also vulnerable. I love her growth and how she both comes into her own path (outside of any clone destiny) and figures out there’re more options to handling conflict than killing or dying. It’s really nice to read a non-stereotyped military character.

I was reminded, while reading, of A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet, where characters are introduced and we find out about the many ways people can come from different cultures and environments, but with basic civility, are still able to get along. In VGTD, pronouns are given when introductions are made, and permission is asked when people want to touch. I thought it was organic to the story enough that even though the word choices still seemed a bit strange to me, I didn’t feel like I was being hit over the head with it. It is my firm belief that when we can change the language we use, we change our world. We change minds. This is a great step forward into normalizing a way of speaking that develops inclusive thinking.

Final thoughts: - Big ‘YES’ to brave, female knights! Give girls a real hero to dream about!
- Wonderful, thoughtful diversity of characters
- Fast-paced action with a menacing villain and a deeper, mysterious threat to safety that feels relevant to issues confronting us today

Thank you to #Netgalley and Tor Teen for letting me read a free digital advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.
#VictoriesGreaterThanDeath

Tina is not the ordinary 16-year old human living on Earth. She's actually an alien clone disguised as an earthling. She's been waiting to fulfill her out-of-this-world destiny for so long, that when the time finally comes to complete her galactic mission, it's nothing she could've ever expected. But she knows everything--I mean, everything--is depending on the outcome of this mission. She, along with the space crew and her best friend, has to save the world. 

First off, Victories Greater Than Death is an amazing title that pulls you right in. The worldbuilding is thoughtful and intriguing. It was so clever how the author was able to introduce the complex world to readers, e.g. Tina recalling technical information from her previous life. As a reader, this helped immerse me into the world with digestible doses of exposition. 

As a lover of YA, I enjoyed the voice of the MC and the portions of datajournals, e.g. the beginning of chapters 36 and 40. I feel like the datajournals propelled Tina's internal journey throughout the book.

My favorite aspect of this book was how the outer space characters introduced themselves by stating their pronouns. I've noticed that when we talk about other life and worlds in space, we often have the assumption that we are more advanced here on Earth. Like, in my science classes in school we were always taught that other life in the universe isn't as evolved as us. I absolutely LOVED that this book squashed that belief. Having the outer space characters introduce their pronouns showed how we, as humans on Earth, still have a lot of progressing to do. This was genius!

As for the characters, I loved Tina's friendship with Rachael and would've loved to learn more about what Rachael feels when she needs to be alone. I feel like it was an important aspect that touched upon mental health. I also liked Elza's backstory! Because I adored Tina's mom so much, I would've loved to read more flashbacks about Tina's time on Earth. 

There were some moments where character plausibility and story pacing didn’t feel right. For example, the mother's love for Tina is so prominent in the first chapters, and I thought the witty dialogue and quirky relationship was fun to read. Her mother kept lovingly telling her to run. So, in Chapters 4 and 5 it would've made sense to me if her mother stopped baking and tried to "run" to Tina and find her. Secondly, the way that the other characters were recruited (the creation of the app) felt like it happened very quickly. Clearly, these are super minor things that don't overshadow the amazing world and journey that the author created. 

Overall, this was an amazing book (with a set up for a second, I hope!!) I can’t wait to buy the physical copy!

A Sci-fi journey with a whole lot of heart Victories Greater Than Death is a wild ride through the stars. A slow uptake on this book creates a feeling of ambiguity, however once the main ensemble starts to show it really picks up in a lovely and surprising way. Tina is our not so fearless leader feeling a pull of both worlds she finds herself in. If I had to take issue with any aspect of the book it would be the style of "Hey I'm YA- look over here!" writing that felt almost like it was added in as an after thought to soften the read. The action was a little packed tightly for the read and could of spanned into another book easily, which made the read sometimes confusing at points.

Representation is delivered in droves with this book- something the YA space is still lacking. It was clear that author Anders is deeply invested in proper acknowledgement of orientation and identity of all individuals.

Overall I would rate it a 3.5 (rounded up to 4), a nice jaunt into another world.


NetGalley has provided this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fun young adult sci-fi. It was a little hard to get into as it moved slow, there are a lot of characters and things to learn, and the writing style took some getting used to. Overall though, the story is enjoyable, and It is worth sticking until the end.

I am not the biggest sci-fi reader (I am trying to read more for the students who request it), but I think the target audience will enjoy this book.

This ARC was generously provided by Netgalley!

The book follows Tina, an alien clone brought to earth and raised by a human adoptive mother. She also has a human best friend, formerly from school, Rachael. Tina, her mother, and Rachael are all aware that one day, a beacon in Tina’s chest will begin to go off, and at that point she will begin to be hunted by a group of aliens. Once the beacon finally activates, she gets whisked into a world that is both everything and nothing like she’d hoped.

tldr up front: I enjoyed the book, though there were some issues that kept it from being one of the greats in my opinion. I’m excited to see where the story goes from here in the sequels! 3.5 stars

Let’s talk about the positives first: I really enjoyed the sci-fi setting that Anders created, a diverse universe that feels original and full of life, with interesting technology to boot. The characters who get a focus are done well, particularly Tina, Rachel, and Elza. Bringing on the human characters is a nice way to keep the story grounded as we learn about all these alien races and technologies. Anders worked with several sensitivity readers during the writing of the book, and it (to my eyes, at least) shows; the cultures depicted in the book all seem to be done so with respect, but as I’m a white American there very well may be some things that slip through the cracks. Anders does a neat trick with the plot point of giving memories back to Tina, as this allows her to explain things that we as readers wouldn’t know about the world to her human friend Rachael, while still saving twists that should have been remembered for later in the story. The prose, when not straying towards the bit I mention in the negatives section later, is frequently beautiful. The idea of the greetings is one of my favorite examples (e.g. one character says “Wild voyages and unexpected beauty” in greeting, the other character says “safe arrivals and haunting memories” in response), though the way Anders describes aspects of her universe is also greatly enjoyable.

Now unfortunately I have to get to the parts I didn’t like as much: The writing style felt a bit pandery to an imagined YA audience to me at times (lines such as “an involuntary cry of pure WTF”), which ended up taking me out of the story every time it popped up. I’m not sure if it’s because I’m older than the intended audience or if this type of thing is common with YA novels. Either way, not a deal-breaker, just something that bugged me a bit when it popped up! Since there are so many characters, the characters other than the couple that get main focus are a bit flat and two dimensional, and never really get to have personalities other than “this is my one interest”. I also wish a bit more focus was given to the alien characters, as the human characters are the ones given most of the backstory opportunities. Hopefully the other characters get expanded on in future sequels! The book is on the shorter side, which means transitions between scenes can occasionally seem disjointed or rushed. Sometimes it cuts at what you would assume is halfway through a visit to a planet and jumps back to everyone on the ship after everyone’s done and getting ready for the next task, sometimes after a chapter break you get dumped into the middle of an action scene; this is clearly an intentional decision from the author, it just didn’t end up working too well for me.

I am in love with this story. I will be singing its praises to anyone who will listen. Victories Greater than Death is a cozy scifi, hopepunk adventure about found family, learning your identity, and the harmful legacies we inherit. It is full of brilliantly realized queer representation (including bi, pan, trans, nonbinary, and polyamorous). It is smart, funny, and sweet. It made me cry and feel safe. I absolutely cannot say enough about how good this novel is.

I was provided with an ARC of this novel via NetGalley in return for a fair review.
It’s a SciFi novel with a diverse range of human and alien characters. I loved the normalisation of LGBT+ life experiences, struggles with mental health & anxiety & small touches - like the universal translator which makes it impossible to misgender anyone.

I was immediately captivated by the main character, Tina, a teenage girl who knows she is the clone of a dead alien hero, Captain Thaoh Argentian. I would have liked to see a bit more of the relationship between Tina and her mother - who has prepared Tina for the aliens who will be coming for her - not all of them friendly. Perhaps we'll get to revisit this later in the series.

Tina is initially obsessed with working out how to set off the beacon in her chest which will summon the alien fleet to come & collect her - and will signal the beginning of the rest of her life. Tina knows she is supposed to be or do something special, even if she isn't sure what that might involve. That adolescent frustration and impatience felt genuine, as does the fear that she won't live up to Captain Thaoh's legacy.

Once Tina and her best friend Rachel make it into space to join the Royal Fleet it becomes a fast paced adventure, trying to out run and out think the bad guys and save the universe as well as themselves.

I look forward to reading the next instalment in this series, and I'll be recommending this book to my niece

I'm torn about Victories Greater Than Death. I've enjoyed Charlie Jane Anders' previous work, and there's plenty to enjoy here too - the heart of the book, the messaging, the diversity of representation - all of these are spot on. Unfortunately, I found the actual reading experience a bit more hit and miss. There was lots of action, but this was sometimes to the detriment of a cohesive plot or well-developed characters. The pacing felt slightly off - there was such constant building action that any resolution felt quite unsatisfactory. I felt myself getting confused as more and more characters were added, and frustrated that we didn't really get to learn a lot about anyone. That said, this was a mostly enjoyable read, and I may pick up the sequel - I'm hoping the characters will be developed further as we go along in the series, and I'm intrigued to learn more about the Firmament!
2.5 stars rounded up to 3.