I liked this book for the same reason I loved books like [b:The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet|22733729|The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers, #1)|Becky Chambers|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1405532474l/22733729._SY75_.jpg|42270825] and [b:To Be Taught, If Fortunate|43190272|To Be Taught, If Fortunate|Becky Chambers|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1552530326l/43190272._SY75_.jpg|67034571]. It's this special type of slow, soft sci-fi that uses things like calamities, space travel, and other classic sci-fi elements to explore emotion, human connection, and other internal things. Because of this, I get why this story is overall rated a bit lower than others in the collection, because this is definitely not a genre/style that's for everyone!

This story is about an Earth that's been preparing for a large asteroid to hit Earth for years, bringing with it the destruction of all life. Samantha is one of the last people to stay behind in order to finish cataloging life left behind and choosing what samples to bring along. It's a plot that seems like it might be intense (the life on Earth about to be wiped out after all), but overall it's a book more focused on Samantha, themes of loss, and the feeling of leaving the only home you've ever known behind for good, knowing it'll be in the process of getting destroyed as you turn your back on it. I enjoyed it because of these elements, but it's definitely not for everyone!

Reading this story did push me to order Roth's other collection of sci-fi stories though, and I'm excited for it to arrive!