“The only way to really appreciate your way is to compare it to somebody else's way. Figure out what you love, specifically. In detail. Figure out what you want to keep. Figure out what you want to change. Otherwise, it's not love. It's clinging to the familiar--to the comfortable--and that's a dangerous thing for us short-term thinkers to do. If you stay, stay because you want to, because you've found something here worth embodying, because you believe in it. Otherwise...well, there's no point in being here at all, is there?”

God I loved this book so much. I didn't think I could love this series more, but then I read Record of a Spaceborn Few.

This novel has a more human focus than the other novels, and is once again more of an internal journey of the characters than an external one through space that teaches the readers as it teaches the characters. I was worried at first that I would miss the diverse space that Chambers explores in the other novels, would miss the Sissixs and Taks of the story, but Chambers managed to make humanity as this universe knows it just as beautiful and intriguing and layered as the other species we were introduced to.

The Exodus Fleet, the descendants of the final humans who fled Earth, have stopped their wandering, and now float around a star given to them by the GC. But these humans are nothing like the society that they came from, the one we know today. These humans learned from the destruction of their planet and have changed their ways, have learned to take care of every one of them and how to reuse and recycle. They've moved on from (most) prejudice and hate, and have formed a society that seems impossible to us from where we are now. Not only is it beautiful to see the growth of our own species, an ideal to somehow aspire to, but the amount of effort and detail Chambers put into crafting this society is actually insane. Everything is thought of, no stone unturned or detail to small to give some though to. Honestly, reading this series would have been worth it just for the tremendous skill Chambers has shown in world-building every step of the way. It's a joy to read and learn about, textbook amounts of information delivered in such a way that is actually enjoyable. Everything you might wonder about this future universe, these alien species, these new humans, is laid right out for you to pick over and think on.

Once again, the plot is heavily interwoven with the characters, with the focus being more on how these events can affect individuals rather than how individuals can affect plot. It was definitely an adjustment after reading a lot of YA fantasy/sci-fi, where books are way more action-based, but I'm starting to really love this style.

Chambers has once again crafted a both touching and harrowing story in Spaceborn , somehow even more so than the books before. I think I probably cried in each story line multiple times, and I loved watching all the characters through their troubles, their ups and their downs, their final decisions. I think I loved Kip's story the most, as it felt like something I could very intimately relate to, and even learn from. But there was something I found in each of the stories, in Isabel's fierce defense of a society many found to be outdated, Tessa's desire to do what was best for her family and for her self, Eyas's search for something more, and Sawyer's innocent and heartbreaking journey back to the home of his ancestors. All of these were so intensely touching that I know they'll be sticking with me for a long, long time.

While I've always loved science fiction as a genre, from the possibilities it lays out and the dreams it creates within me, Chambers has somehow deepened that love even further. She's written three sci-fis that are both excellently crafted as well as a truly beautiful experience to read. I absolutely cannot wait to see what she writes next.