Holy cow! I can't recall ever reading anything quite like this before. It's science fiction, taking place about the middle of this century. There are two unfinished space stations visible in the night sky. There are bots everywhere, from those helping tourists to those selling merchandise. It will take you a few chapters to acclimatize, but don't give up. It'll be worth your time.

Grothaus, a new author for me, paints a detailed and lavish canvas. The narrator is John, an a8 year old American coding genius who has come to Tokyo to sell his quantum code apps to Sony for a lot of money.( He plans to use that money to pay for an expensive surgery.)

Being jet-lagged and unable to sleep, John drifts into a coffee shop offering a soothing ear cleaning. There he meets the owner, a retired Sumo wrestler and a lovely young Japanese woman, (oh, and also an adorable dog with a funny round head getting a haircut). Interested yet? The story takes off here and is stuffed full of futuristic stuff: mid-century politics, AI, believable permutations of the dark web, propaganda, natural and man-made disasters and many twists and turns you will have to read this book to know. No spoilers here.

In the process of reading, many thought-provoking questions arise. Who is human? How can we differentiate between truth and lies.? Whom can you trust? Everything you read is possible, given our current society and the technical prowess that grows by the day.

As the book draws to its finale, get ready for a heart-pounding, short of breath scene or two. Here's where Hollywood will probably be sniffing around to purchase the film rights. There are a number of places where the beautiful descriptions don't advance the story and you can be justified to speed-read or skip. But overall, this is a Do Not Miss novel worth your time. Were the editing tighter and the descriptions reduced, this would be a strong 5 Star rating.

Thank you to Orenda Books and NetGalley for an early copy.

I really wanted to like this one but I just couldn't get into it. It felt repetitive and the pace was too slow for me.

Beautiful Shining People is one of the best books I've read this year. It's beautifully written, and the story is so captivating that I just could not stop reading. An American teenager with self-esteem problems, a girl who although knows she is an android, believes that she can be like any human being, a sumo wrestler who was disgraced by social media but who loves and takes care of both. Machines have overtaken a good part of the more routine information and care in society, however, traditional values, faith, and friendship are stronger than ever, especially in Japan, where the story develops. Loneliness is also a problem in this highly developed and at the same time aggressive society. This story gives lots of food for thought on human behavior, values, family ties, respect, and love.
I thank Mr. Grothaus, his publisher, and NetGalley for the copy of this book.

An absolutely compelling and engrossing read. Couldn’t put this one down. The story felt fresh and poignant. Definitely some deep thought takeaways here.

“Ah, sorry, I don’t Japanese.”
One of my favorite reads of the year!! This is a book I want people to read. American boy with self esteem issues befriends and falls in love with a Japanese girl working in a cafe who has her secrets.
It’s perfect for all genres-especially for all of my futuristic sci fi lovers.
A story beautifully written and what I’ve come to expect with Japan based books. It has all the cool stuff- Tokyo, robots/androids,a sumo wrestler, a super cool dog with a super cool haircut, coding, self driving vehicles, futuristic atmosphere, and a bit of romance. It’s a story about having faith in humanity and how too much power in the hands of the wrong person can be detrimental for mankind.
Thank you to NetGalley, Independent Publishers Group and Michael Grothaus for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

A book set in Japan in the not too distant future. John meets Neotina navigate a relationship in the middle of a world where robots and AI and cyber wars are part of daily life. John is quite, contemplative and wished he spoke more Japanese. Neotina seems vivacious. Both are vulnerable, raw characters who were looking for a place to belong, to understand themselves and be ‘normal’. This book is centred around them, their growing attachment for each other and their characteristics are explored very slowly throughout the story. Their relationship is almost a metaphor for understanding the intersection between humanity and technology. Their growing love is stemmed in a pureness of innocence, doused with confusion and the unexplained.

I love the fact that a lot of Japanese customs and history is peppered through the book set in a futuristic world – reading one moment about the Meiji Shrine and sumo and eating yakisoba, and then the grounding of drones, deepfakes, and cyber attacks spreading across the world. This was life as they knew it. Watching John and Neotina negotiate these elements through their relationship unique with this digital cold war around them. Their connection through quantum code was an eye opener, and this is where the story also picked up momentum. I was able to connect more to it about halfway through. It was here that the questions emerged about the existence of life, and who is to say what constitutes a life. Both John and Neotina are flawed in their own minds, and have secrets they do not wish to explore, and it is these insecurities that make their connection so real and authentic. Just like Neotina’s code that John discovers, their relationship and affection for each other, and their lives are like jigsaw puzzle, awaiting to be solved and put together in the right way.

An American teenager falls in love with a waitress in Japan. It's our world, but somewhere in the future.

I'm usually not really into science fiction, but I found this one really interesting along with it's description of the future.

An American teenager falls in love with a young woman in a future Japan, but her perfection is hiding a secret—but he has secrets too.

This is an enjoyable YA SFF read that’s not afraid to tackle exciting concepts or complicated personal issues. Among the things Michael Grothaus brings up in Beautiful Shining People*: body dysmorphia, gender, AI, the personhood of artificial people, the new Cold War (China vs the US), cyberattacks, and the dominance of multinational cyber-companies. All of this set in a futuristic, cyberpunk Japan, which he brings to vivid and colourful life with amazing world-building and complete immersion in the mechanics of how such a society would work and still be steeped in old and present Japanese tradition and culture. I commend Grothaus on how superbly this is done; this is the absolute highlight of the book.

What works less well is how drawn-out many of the scenes are—particularly the pivotal climactic scene, where I got really exasperated at how unrealistically the characters behaved. So. Much. Futile. Talking. In general, this novel suffers from an excess amount of telling, and editing could shorten it by at least a hundred pages. I would take off another half-star for this, if it weren’t for how dazzled I was by the world-building.

So, Beautiful Shining People is a very pleasant escape from real life for a while, even with its flaws. Recommend for the beautiful imagined future, and for that lovely character of the girl in the centre of the story. Oh, and the dog!

Thank you to NetGalley and to Orenda Books for the ARC.

This story will have you thinking about it long after you finish it. Far different from anything else I’ve ever read, im so grateful to have been given this arc! This read brings out many emotions and I couldn’t put it down.

This book takes place in Japan in the future. John is a young tech genius who is in Japan finalizing the deal with the company buying his quantum code. While there, he meets the lovely Neotnia, a waitress at a cafe he frequents. This is their love story.

While John is introverted and quirky, Neotnia is intense and full of fun. Navigating their relationship and understanding their complexities makes this book, for me, a bit too long winded. It’s more a deep dive into what makes humans who they are and how technology changes the world.

It’s a very interesting premise with fully thought out characters, but I couldn’t quite grasp the full plot of this story. I give it 3 stars. Thank you NetGalley and Orenda Books for the ARC.

I couldn't get into it. I found it boring and I find the writing repetitive. Too much gazing, staring, eyeing, "her gaze locked on mine" etc. Ugh.
Every third sentence is about Neotnias's smile or gaze 🙄

Dnf at 15%

If you don't mind this kind of writing, maybe give it a try. For me it was a hard no.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I don't even know how to review this book - it was truly like nothing else I've ever read and has left the most wonderful lasting impression. It's slightly dystopian, slightly historical. It's GORGEOUS and I can't recommend it enough!!!

‘Beautiful Shining People’ has a premise that really intrigued me because it is a story based in a futuristic Japan but with a real heartfelt focus on human relationships.
The protagonist John, is a teenage coding prodigy and is attempting to navigate a foreign culture when he stumbles upon Neotnia, a waitress at a cafe owned by an ex sumo wrestler. The first thing that drew me in was this complete mismatch of MCs because they all have their own struggles of finding where they fit in and together their insecurities unite them. There is a sincerity that runs through Grothaus’ work which I enjoyed, although it isn’t a rapidly paced story the way their relationships evolved kept me interested throughout.
There are elements of a science fiction genre within the setting of Japan, where technology is ingrained into society but it doesn’t feel drastically far off from the innovations we have right now, so even for someone who doesn’t read much sci-fi it's still a great read. The way in which we begin to understand Neotnia’s history is through John’s eyes and because he is as much of an outsider as the reader the narrative was easy to get lost in as more questions than answers are given right up until the last chapter.
I finished the novel feeling satisfied with how their story was concluded but also couldn’t stop thinking about the questions Grothaus raises about what makes us human and what capacity technology can make our lives better and worse. Really eloquently written and I would recommend it to anyone who also loved ‘The Bone Clocks’ by David Mitchell.

(4.5 stars) I was very pleasantly surprised by this book. After all, it has a terrible cover, a say-nothing title and a subtitle of “The Extraordinary, Exhilarating, EPIC Speculative Masterpiece”. How could it possibly live up to that? And it doesn’t live up to all of that, but it is a very good book.

Set in Japan in the near future, where drones fly overhead, cars drive themselves and robots are everywhere, Beautiful, Shining People (the title actually makes sense at one point) tells the story of John, a 17-year-old tech prodigy, and Neotnia, an enigmatic waitress at a small restaurant. Both hold secrets that they hope to keep, but that intimacy doesn’t allow to be kept. It’s a story that can’t be summarized without giving away the important parts. Suffice it to say, this book is a page-turner of the first order, a book I could pick apart if I wanted, but which I don’t want because it works so well as a whole. I loved the characters, including Neotnia’s ex-sumo wrestler café owner, Goeido, and his oh-so-weirdly-coifed pet Inu.

At its core, this is a novel of what it’s like to be human. It’s heartfelt and poignant throughout, even while it races from Hiroshima, with its tragic past, to the snowy mountains of Nagano. Highly recommended.

Much thanks to NetGalley and Orenda Books for providing me with an e-ARC of this title.

Tbh, this was a slow read for me. I like the concept but the execution fell a bit flat for my taste. The plot waa interesting but wished it unfold better.

'"You're on the cusp of a new world."
The words stop me in my tracks.'

Not usually the kind of thing I go for, but the futuristic Japanese setting intrigued me - and I'm glad I read it. Set at some point in the future, where drones and robots and giant space stations exist, ultimately this is a story about what it is to be human, to be a parent and a child, to be a lover and a friend. The main characters are certainly engaging, although one of the book's aspects that just didn't ring true was our main hero John, who at 17 doesn't speak or act like any 17yo boy I was or knew at that age!

The primary set-up was a little too coincidental (boy genius writing code happens to walk into this particular cafe), and the ending was pure Terminator 2, but on the whole this rattled along quite nicely and kept me intrigued.

(With thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this title.)

Well, sadly I had to DNF this novel. The blurb and premise seemed really fascinating, plus I find Japanese literature and culture very interesting, that's why I requested this book. It started on an intriguing, mysterious note and I was anticipating some quirky events or encounters but it turned out very mundane. I found the characters and their conversation uninteresting. The pace was really slow and I began to lose patience. I personally feel the blurb is, kind of, misleading; it 'tells' so many things, however the story/writing doesn't show much.

I thought the premise was interesting, however, the first few chapters didn't keep me turning pages. I would still consider picking up this author's other titles in the future. This book just wasn't for me.

I confess that this is not really the story I would normally go for... I'm not really that big of a futuristic sci-fi fan, but I've had the work of Michael Grothaus recommended to me more than once and I decided to just jump in and think about the consequences later. The Japan setting was an added bonus, because it's not a destination I get to visit often in my books... And I'm definitely glad that I decided to give Beautiful Shining People a go now. It's such an unique and captivating story!

The Japanese setting was definitely one of the highlights for me. The descriptions of this futuristic Japan are simply heavenly, and they truly brought this new-but-old world come alive for me. There are so many references to Japanese culture and customs, while also taking in account that Beautiful Shining People takes place decades in the future. The descriptions of the futuristic angle are fascinating, with a focus on AI, robots and life in the future in general. While I'm not usually that into robots and AI, I really enjoyed how it was incorporated into the story here.

I do have to say that it took me a little while to get a proper feel for this story. The beginning was just a little too quirky for me, and I wasn't sure what to make of the story initially. Once I got a proper feel for what was going on, things did improve drastically, and especially the second half of the story hit the mark for me. I started to love this story more and more as time passed, and those final chapters are on fire. There were definitely a couple of twists I never saw coming, and while certain parts of the plot were a tad slow and a little too descriptive, as a whole I liked how everything was mapped out.

One of the reasons this story works so well has everything to do with its main characters. We see the world through the eyes of seventeen-year-old John, who is an American tech genius flown to Japan to sign a deal that will change his life. While in parts he did come over as a bit immature, it's is easy to like his flawed character and development. The key lies with the fact that the cast is basically a bunch of misfits thrown together, and the unlikely bond with the sumo Goeido and waitress Neotnia really take the story to the next level. All characters have a hidden dept and secrets, and I enjoyed seeing them develop over time. The dog Inu is such a cute addition, and I loved what he added to the plot as well.

As a whole, it is nearly impossible to place Beautiful Shining People in a nice little genre box. Sure, it is futuristic sci-fi with a focus on AI and robots. Sure, it is definitely speculative fiction as well. But it is also romance with both some steam and an almost doomed/forbidden vibe... And maybe even a touch of family drama and mystery thrown in to spice things up. In short, it is a fantastic mash-up of different genres and elements, and a story you won't soon forget with a cast of characters that will win over your heart long before that final page.

✨Book Review ✨

Beautiful, shining people - Michael Grothaus

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I’m currently sat in a chokehold from this book. I feel like it has grabbed my insides and squeezed. This is an exception to the usual genres I would read, and at first I was a little sceptical about the robots, technology and AI talk but I’m glad I stuck it out.

Set in a dystopian Japan, this story is the very essence of the meaning of life. What actually is a human’s purpose? A young, American coding expert is travelling to Japan to make a life-changing deal with Sony. On a chance encounter, he enters a cafe where he meets a young Japanese waitress, a sumo wrestler and a dog with a perfectly spherical head. What he didn’t know, however, that this chance encounter would take him on a journey of friendship, trust and sacrifice. But with this, he’d also realise things about himself, and humanity as a whole, that he needed to hear.

This was such a thought-provoking read. The idea that we, humans, can create such powerful, destructive technological forces has stuck with me. It was a mesmerising story that almost shows the reader a glimpse of what could be in both a lovely and terrifying way.

The characters John (the computer whizz) and Neotnia (the waitress) were two extremely loveable characters. Neotnia is desperate to find the father that abandoned her and will stop at nothing to do this. John, having slowly developed feelings for this girl, will do anything to help her. The relationship between these two was so incredibly selfless it almost made me reconsider the relationships I have with those around me.

The plot itself was rather like a chase that was laced with mystery. Genre-wise, the book fits quite clearly in a sci-fi genre but it is so much more than that. The world didn’t seem unrealistic to me and there was so much mystery and YA intertwined that I actually grew to love their strange, futuristic world!

And then the last few scenes - heartbreak. They were drowning in melancholy but showed me the true purpose and meaning of life. This is the reason why we exist and what the very essence of being a person is.

Overall, this was a highly thought-provoking, emotional and powerful read. The futuristic “could be” weaved into this story allowed for a brilliant read. This is my first time reading a book written by Michael Grothaus and most definitely will not be my last.