Dare Mighty Things was a book I put off because it was a competition about winning the chance to be the first teen to go to space. And space? It used to be an instant hard pass for me, but something has happened this year that has me slowly reaching for science fiction more and more... to the point where I realise I might have a niche interest in space cadets stories.

Regardless, there was a lot of things going against my enjoyment of the story but it ended hitting all of my checkpoints and becoming an instant new favourite.

I could not help but fall in love with our protagonist, Cassie. She was unapologetically ambitious and fierce. She proved herself over and over again and pulled herself through the trials, sometimes on nothing more than her sharp intelligence and unshakeable determination. She hid a funny, sweet and loyal side of herself beneath a layer of awkwardness, cynicism and introversion and well if that ain’t relatable.

Her blossoming friendships were definitely the highlight of the book, though. There is nothing I love reading about more than female friendship,, and Mitsuko was such a gorgeous mum friend to Cassie. I adored every minute of her and Cassie's interactions. I mean, what more do I need than two fierce feminist and brilliantly intelligent queer woc breaking down their barriers and learning to be vulnerable? Don’t mind me crying quietly in the corner. Emilio was also a highlight. He was the personification of sunshine and made me smile in every single scene. His ability to cut to the heart of a conversation and make people feel good about themselves was just gorgeous. I want five hundred stories about these three best friends. Please and thank you.

The plot was also wow,, such a ride. I love books about government conspiracies and training montages and psychological manipulation, where you have to try and figure out just how much is actually real. The nuggets of information about the outside world were intriguing to the point where I almost wanted more but I loved how grounded this slightly futuristic setting felt as a whole.

I know this book is known for its twists and turns so I will comment that I did guess them quite pretty early on myself. It was definitely not a fault of the author though. The suspense is palpable throughout the story and the atmosphere she created that made everything seem slightly unreal - like everyone was waiting for some sort of aha! moment to send their worlds crashing at their feet - was impressive. It was definitely the flaw in my brain that makes me constantly need to solve the puzzle as quickly as possible figure out the reveals.

This next section necessitates some minor spoilers about the romance.

What about the asexual representation? I wasn’t too disappointed. Thank God. At eighteen, Cassie is beginning to think that the label asexual fits her as she finds thinking about sex uncomfortable and has never been attracted to anyone of any gender. I loved how after she discusses this with Mitsuko, it made her aware she doesn't know what its like to be sexually attracted to people. The mental trip she has the next day as she imagines what it is like for allosexuals and starts to try and notice people’s attractiveness was so realistic. I loved that she even commented about the fact she was uncomfortable people might think that way about her.

The fact that Cassie does have a minor love interest wouldn’t have bothered me if - and I stress the if - the book addressed the difference between asexuality and aromanticism or if Cassie decided to kiss Luka for any other reason than she wanted to experiment. I understand that asexuality is a spectrum and not all asexuals are repulsed or uninterested by kissing but the fact she specifically used the term asexual and described being sex-repulsed but felt the need to experiment bothered me.

This could have been so easily avoided if she said it was because of Luka specifically and/or if gray-asexuality or demisexuality had been specifically addressed in the text. Labels are not always constant, and growing into the right ones - if you want any at all - is an important part of the queer experience. However, this was not a narrative about labels or even coming out so the result of the scene felt too familiar to acephobic tropes. I know that this may represent some people on the ace spectrum - and if it does, I am so happy for those people - but it was a tad disappointed for me to see a this happened to a character who specifically used asexual as a label.

🍂 Rep: Cassandra (mc) is Indian-American and asexual; Mitsuko (sc) is Japanese-American and bisexual; Emilio (sc) is latinx; multiple other poc scs.

🌻 Trigger warnings for medical procedures, mild physical injuries, attempted murder, alcohol consumption, dubcon kissing scene, and claustrophobia.

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