There are not enough teen/YA sci-fi books, and yet I often get requests in the school library for sci-fi, so I am sure that books about space, in particular, are due a resurgence of popularity.
Silver was born in a lab on a spaceship called Charybdis, and raised with all of the other infants to follow the rules of the founders. To be strong and obedient, and if they failed they would be cast into the ‘vortex’ to power the ship. Silver has been selected for a very special mission – to be the ‘First pioneer’ to infiltrate earth, possess a human, and relay her observations back to Charybdis in preparation for inhabitation and colonisation.
But Silver has always been a little different to the other cadets. She has a little more empathy and curiosity than the others, and an impulse not to follow the rules of the founders blindly.
When Silver arrives and takes over the body of a Polish dog walker, she finds herself part of a family for the first time including a boy called Finch, his mother Stella, and his little sister, Doodles. At first she follows orders and observes the family, but when she touches Finch, and it doesn’t cause pain, as the founders warned, she begins to question everything she’s been told. What else have the founders lied about?
Coincidentally, I recently read Ursula’s Le Guin’s ‘The Left Hand of Darkness’ which has a similar theme, though obviously completely different in style. The only other book I could think of to compare ‘Silver’ to is ‘Hold Back the Stars’ by Katie Khan which is similarly romantic and devastating.
Though there is romance in this story, I wouldn’t describe it primarily as a romance as it also covers broader themes like colonisation, found family, and what it means to be human. ‘Silver’ is an epic and heartbreaking read – I loved it.
Thanks to Hot Key Books for the beautiful ARC.
Swimming in Books 