Space force who?

BY: MALLORY J.

Humans crave emotion. Love. Sadness. Fear. Happiness. People feel these emotions every day. For some people, connecting to others is easy because sharing their feelings is easy. But for most, connecting with people is hard. So instead, they turn to books to be able to relate to somebody.

With the release of the third book in its series, Obsidio, millions of fans were brought back to my memories of reading the first book of the trilogy, Illuminae, written by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff.

Illuminae is a futuristic, science-fiction, fantasy novel set in space. It follows Kady Grant and Ezra Mason in the year 2575 after their planet, Kerenza, is attacked. This story isn’t told in a typical narrative format, which makes it unique and intriguing to readers. The story unfolds using files, chats, pictures, and interview transcripts. Illuminae is perfect for readers who enjoy high fantasy with a romance subplot; there is a sense of humor that is quite relatable to most high school students.

To start the novel, the first page is a letter to somebody from “The Illuminae Group”. It starts off saying, “So here’s the file that almost killed me, Director.” If that doesn’t hook a reader in, nothing will. From there, this book is just a wild ride until the very last page.

The very first feeling that is grasped in this story is sadness and grief. It opens to interview transcriptions from Kady and Ezra the day after their planet was attacked. This was something a reader can feel empathy for. Everything they have ever known was destroyed. The citizens were all evacuated and forced onto a ship and life as they knew it changed forever. Each character had a different way of coping with humor.

Kady has a weird sense of humor, which is her coping mechanism for all the bad happening to her. In one instance, the interviewer asked how it felt to have her planet attacked. She responded with: “All kittens and rainbows. Apart from the screaming and explosions.” Another instance is on one of the spaceships. Ezra is shocked to have seen her fight like she did. In response, she says, “I am frequently underestimated. I think it's because I'm short.”

Speaking of Ezra, this novel had plenty of romance. Kady and Ezra were on completely separate ships, but their love for each other makes everything okay. The way he is able to comfort her and protect her all the way across space is something everybody should look for in a guy.

This book was an entertaining read and there were also some life lessons. Losing somebody doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re gone. Memories are the one thing a person really needs to hold on to. Once there are let go, they are gone forever.