Firewalkers

Strange, dystopian - so much world building but such a short book - it's hard to get into the story because there is so much that the reader has to process.

3.5 stars

It was a solid 4-star read for me.
Even though there was little space for worldbuilding, it was neatly done.
I'm still on the fence about the ending. It felt a bit rushed and not entirely just for me. The way the new society was being organised is described basically in one sentence - that there was a council from different neigbourhoods. But who's to tell how they will use their newly acquired power and whether they not come up with something that's even worse than it was?
I liked the characters and the way they complimented each other. But I wasn't entirely convinced by how Lupe turned into a leader. I saw it kind of building when Mao fell to pieces a few times and she took control of the mission, but it feels to me that there were some steps missing between taking responsibility for a team and the whole humanity. I can't see her moving from being totally against the massacre to OK-ing sending kids into open space. I'd like to have seen her at least try to limit Aime-Li's revenge to those who actually deserved it.