Book Title: Aurora Rising
Author(s): Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
Length: 470 Pages
Genre: Science Fiction; Young Adult; Fantasy; Romance
Spice Level (if applicable): 1 / 5
Series: Aurora Cycle #1
Overall Rating: 9 / 10
Overall Thoughts:
I had a blast reading Aurora Rising! It was a difficult book for me to get into but once we had the squad (+ Auri) together, the fun really began. When Tyler rescues an unconscious young woman in cryo, he did not expect to find out that he had signed up for an adventure of a lifetime. Aurora wakes up 200 years in the future, in space, and not where she expected too.
Tyler, Scarlet, Cat, Finian, Zila, and Kal are misfits placed into a squad together (squad 312), and it takes a moment for the group to play together. We find out that Aurora has special powers including telekinesis and a glowing white right eye. I love to watch Kal and Auri fall into a relationship, as we find out that Kal has a mating pull for Aurora while Aurora cannot seem to understand the safe feeling she has with Kal.
This band of misfits falls into an unlikely chance to save the galaxy from an evil blue pollen that wishes to take over the galaxy. This antagonist is ancient, blue, and has a terrifying ability to take over living things and add them to the collective. To achieve the visions and the force that takes over Aurora, the group heads to the dangerous Worldship to commit a heist. Oh my! The heist is a classic, with the plan starting off well and ending horribly.
After that heist, we eventually head to Octavia, the planet that Aurora was meant to head to. The group finds out the reason as to why the government has placed Octavia under extreme lock down. A deadly force that can take over a human body in minutes has been thriving there. After a brief conflict, they escape only to find out that the virus has escaped the planet. The end of the first book is only the beginning, the squad is on the run from the military, and must save the world
” Right. Every security squad is on thier way up here to Level twelve. The docking bay is on five. Cat, you take Zila, Fin, and Kal down there and get the Longbow ready to launch. Quietly. If we’re no abroad in five minutes–
“Ty, I’m not taking off without you,” Cat says.
“I was gonna say give us another five minutes, but no, you’re right, you should totally take off without me.”
Page 154
Illustration Discussion:
Aurora Rising depicts a striking image of Aurora Jie-Lin O’Malley with her glowing right eye and her stripe of white hair. She is a serious character that causes the lives of squad 312 to change irrevocably. This cover does not tell the reader about the contents of the book (other than the main character), but it still draws a visual person in.
Spoilers Bee-ware!
You have been swarmed. Reading past this post means that you understand that you might spoil the book for yourself.
Stats + Facts:
Average Page per chapter: 13.4 pages.
3 parts: “The girl out of time”; “A sky full of ghosts”; and “Black hole Heart”
There were 9 visions.
Auri demonstrates her new-acquired abilities since her 200 years in cryo, showing those skills 7 times.
There are 7 fights.
Kal and Auri are circling each other in this novel, with a surprising amount of romance on the sidelines, with 19 moments.
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