Illuminae by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

e-ARC, 599 pages
Release Date: October 20, 2015
Published by: Knopf Books for Young Readers
The Illuminae Files, #1
Source: Netgalley
For fans of: Sci-Fi. Romance, Space, Thriller, YA, Sparkly Covers


     This morning, Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she’d have to do.
This afternoon, her planet was invaded.
     The year is 2575, and two rival megacorporations are at war over a planet that’s little more than an ice-covered speck at the edge of the universe. Too bad nobody thought to warn the people living on it. With enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra—who are barely even talking to each other—are forced to fight their way onto an evacuating fleet, with an enemy warship in hot pursuit.
     But their problems are just getting started. A deadly plague has broken out and is mutating, with terrifying results; the fleet's AI, which should be protecting them, may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what’s really going on. As Kady hacks into a tangled web of data to find the truth, it's clear only one person can help her bring it all to light: the ex-boyfriend she swore she'd never speak to again.
     Told through a fascinating dossier of hacked documents—including emails, schematics, military files, IMs, medical reports, interviews, and more—Illuminae is the first book in a heart-stopping, high-octane trilogy about lives interrupted, the price of truth, and the courage of everyday heroes.

*MY THOUGHTS*

     I can't lie. This book caught my eye because of the GORGEOUS cover. I loved it and I needed to see if the content inside was just as good as what it looked like on the outside. And lo and behold, it was. For sci-fi not to be my absolute favorite genre, I did completely enjoy it.
"You all know fear is poison in battle."
pg. 418
     Can you think of Earth being taken over when all you're trying to do is break up with your boyfriend? That's what happened to Kady and Ezra. All she wanted was to break up with her boyfriend but people came out of nowhere fighting over their small planet. But of course, that can't be the only thing that goes wrong when you're in the middle of an escape on a spaceship. Anything can happen. 
"Am I not merciful?"
pg. 493
     My original rating for this 4 stars, but after sitting with it and thinking, I finally decided on three. This is mainly because it was a bit confusing and really slow in the beginning. It seemed slow because there was so much hype going on for this book and by page 100 it was still just giving an explanation on what had happened. I believe it was a bit confusing because of the way it was written. All the files and pictures and lists and things just made it feel all over the place. 
"THIS IS NOT A DRILL"
pg. 532
     I guess it felt that way to me because I've never read anything like this before. Not saying it was bad, it was just different. And because it was written that way, I couldn't 100% connect to the story. There were many times when I found myself daydreaming while I was reading and I normally don't do that. I figure I just wasn't used to the writing style so it seemed weird to me. 
"...ants can slay an elephant, if there are enough of them."
pg. 533
     After awhile, I did warm up to the book. Things started to get crazy and after that I was in f---ing shock! I had no idea the book would take on THAT. If you're like me and almost decided to DNF, go back and read it! It does get better! There are so many things I wish I could tell, but for fear of spoilers I'll just say READ IT.  
"<error>"
pg. 546
     Although this was out of my comfort zone, I still really enjoyed it. Now that I know a little more about this writing style, I'm sure for the next book I will be ready! 
Overall, I give this


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