Released April 13, 2021 

 

Victories Greater Than Death 

By. Charlie Jane Anders 

Tor Teen 

P. 288 

Format: eArc 

Rating: **** 

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I received an e-arc from @Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. 

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Victories Greater Than Death is Anders’ first young adult novel. The book starts right in the action with Tina trying to activate her alien homing beacon so that she can be taken back to outer space, where she was expected to save the galaxy. It seems like something all teenagers fantasize about - or was that just me - but in Tina’s case it is real. She also brings along some friends. What we get is a space voyage featuring a handful of Earth’s youngest and brightest. 

 

My favorite aspect of the book is it’s diversity. Anders included multiple cultures, genders, and sexual orientations. The universal translator is crafted to announce a person’s pronouns when they are first introduced. I love this and while this is done I think this should just become a cultural norm. Since our characters are teenagers they are dealing with a lot of teenager identity crisis that all happen in the middle of a galactic war. 

 

While I really enjoyed the book it took me a lot longer to read then a 288 page book normally would have. I felt more distant from the characters then I would have liked and kept putting the book down. While the core human group was easily identifiable, it did not feel the same with the aliens. I kept having to stop and remind me who certain people were. 

 

I love Anders writing. While this is not my favorite book of hers, I still enjoyed it and plan on continuing on with the series.