E-Audio, 08:16:34
Narrated by: Michael Crouch & a full cast
Release Date: February 4, 2020
Published by: Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group
Read from: June 15-18, 2020
Stand-Alone
Source: Library (Overdrive)
TW: Depression
For fans of: Romance, Contemporary, Realistic Fiction, LGBTQIAP+, YAAs a successful social media journalist with half a million followers, seventeen-year-old Cal is used to sharing his life online. But when his pilot father is selected for a highly publicized NASA mission to Mars, Cal and his family relocate from Brooklyn to Houston and are thrust into a media circus.
Amidst the chaos, Cal meets sensitive and mysterious Leon, another “Astrokid,” and finds himself falling head over heels—fast. As the frenzy around the mission grows, so does their connection. But when secrets about the program are uncovered, Cal must find a way to reveal the truth without hurting the people who have become most important to him.
Expertly capturing the thrill of first love and the self-doubt all teens feel, debut author Phil Stamper is a new talent to watch.
*MY THOUGHTS*
I put off reading this for one reason. I wasn’t sure how I would feel about it because of the space aspect. And in the end, that was the problem I had with it. I knew it was going to be an issue, but I didn’t take heed to my own warnings.
Cal is a successful social media influencer and he loves it. But his pilot dad just got a job with NASA and his new job means Cal has to stop with his social media show and relocate to Houston. He’s not happy at first, but as they settle down there, he begins to realize things might be going better than he thought.
First off, I loved the setting. I live in Houston, so seeing this as a setting, especially with a part of it that’s such a huge part of this place, I thought it was cool. But they didn’t show much about Houston. I wanted to see some things I recognized. Maybe even some of the things that give us the nickname Space City, especially since this is what the book was about. But I just chalked it up to the fact that Cal didn’t want to be there originally? Idk, but this part of the book frustrated me.
Another part that I didn’t care for in this book was the plot. I don’t feel like much happened. It was actually pretty boring. I think I only finished it because I was able to speed it up. I hate to say it, but it seemed really repetitive. All that kept happening was the back and forth of the journalism videos, him being upset that he moved, and then mixed in some time with his new friends. It didn’t seem to be moving much.
I DID really like the full cast of the audiobook. And the main actor is Michael Crouch, one of my favorites! I was so excited to be back listening to him in this one. And for the full cast, I loved them. I thought it was cool to have the episodes of the Stargazer there. It really showed how slimy everything got.
The romance was another thing I really liked about this. I thought their relationship was adorable. I especially loved how Stamper made it so we see that there was nothing happening just because one of them was sad. (If you read it, you’ll understand what I mean. I don’t want to say anything for spoiler reasons) But I was glad that Stamper made it known that it was not a case of a savior, but they really liked each other.
Although this wasn’t my favorite, there were still some things I liked about it. I won’t write home about it, but I still want to read other things by Stamper. I was sad that I didn’t like this book about Houston more than I did, but I was still glad to see it in a book anyway.
Overall, I give this
