Illuminae

By Amie Kaufman, Jay Kristoff,

Book cover of Illuminae

Book description

'Never have I read a book so wholly unique and utterly captivating.' Marie Lu

'It certainly filled the Battlestar Galactica-shaped hole in my heart.' Victoria Aveyard

The internationally bestselling first book in a high-octane trilogy

Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the worst thing she'd ever been through. That…

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Why read it?

3 authors picked Illuminae as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Illuminae is the first book in a YA science fiction series called the Illuminae Files Trilogy.

The story is told through intersecting first-person narratives constructed from journals, letters, texts, reports, and pictures. You want to absorb all that “found footage” goodness on paper. Trust.

There’s almost no exposition in Illuminae, especially in the first few chapters. That’s the beauty of these books – the narration is so visceral and urgent that you get invested in the story long before you really understand what’s happening. Putting the pieces of the world-building together is an addictive mystery in and of itself.…

From Bridget's list on bold narrators.

There really are no new stories, so when you find something that does feel new it’s amazing. Illuminae is a space opera epistolary novel—it’s presented in a series of letters and documents, including classified reports, censored emails, interviews, texts, and even some poetry. Although the reading experience is unique it feels natural and even modern. I found it interesting that this is how we tell our own stories to each other today! The main characters become refugees after becoming caught in a political crossfire, and most of the action takes place on ships in space. It’s a rollicking good time…

The coolest thing about Illuminae is the sheer variety of storytelling techniques. You weave in and out of people’s heads, journals, and hacked conversations as you try to piece together the frightening story of what really happened on the planet Kady and Ezra had to flee. The story is so fast-paced you won’t have a minute to gasp for breath until the book sucker punches you out of nowhere, leaving you reeling and desperate to learn what happens next!

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Tap Dancing on Everest by Mimi Zieman,

Tap Dancing on Everest, part coming-of-age memoir, part true-survival adventure story, is about a young medical student, the daughter of a Holocaust survivor raised in N.Y.C., who battles self-doubt to serve as the doctor—and only woman—on a remote Everest climb in Tibet.

The team attempts a new route up…

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