Hi again! So, the summer is nearly over, and I have desperately been trying to read as much as possible, because I know I will not get any chances to read during the school year. So many people have recommended I read this book, and I finally did! Here’s my book review for Illuminae, the first novel in the “Illuminae Files” trilogy by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman. 

The beginning of the novel was incredibly slow and quite boring, and I was surprised that so many people I knew loved the book. I thought it was a cliche romance about two people who are separated during some tragic event, and must find their way back to each other while in a dangerous situation. (and the story was set in space, which did not  help my judgement of the book).

Man, was I wrong. The first 200 pages or so were not great, but the rest was absolutely wonderful. I loved it so much!! Everything started to make sense, the plot thickened and became so much more complicated, and the new characters were so utterly intriguing. I was hooked as soon as the novel turned out to be more than a romantic tragedy set in space. At first, the format was confusing and hard to read, but it soon became perfect for the storyline, and everything made sense.

I didn’t much like the two main characters, and their romance was a little bit annoying and cheesy. However, under that kind of life and death, mortal danger threat, I can kind of understand why they were written in such a way. I enjoyed the hacking aspect of the novel, and especially how sarcastic Kady was online. My favorite character was definitely the AI; it was just so stunningly complex, and I loved seeing how it rationalized murder and death. (that sounds strange. I’m not a psychopath, I promise) The end scene was definitely interesting, and so I’m on my way to get the second book now!

I recommend this book to anyone who’s looking for something unique, but with classic elements, or looking for a good science fiction space novel. There is quite a bit of swearing, and though they are blacked out, it doesn’t mean the words are not there. It’s probably good for ages 13-18, which isn’t a wide age range. Overall, this had quite a slow and boring start but ended up being a wonderful and interesting novel.

Thanks for reading everyone. Please leave a comment down below about your thoughts on Illuminae!! See you all soon!