The Planets We Become

"When history is the only guide, what room is there for the future?"

My Goodreads goal for the year is met, and yet I couldn’t help but pick up this novella when I saw it in my ARC recommendations. I’m kind of a sucker for speculative sci-fi concepts, and the fact that it’s in a bite-sized novella/short story format was ideal. I will say it left me wanting, but in a good way.

Rahnia is stuck on a planet, looking for a thing that may or may not exist, in order for her people that she grew up with to have a home. In a moment of despair, after she’s given up hope of finding this thing and wondering if it even matters anymore, it finds her. It being the voice box, a real Lorax-esque “I speak for the planet” type being. Without giving too much away, she’s presented with an offer that she can’t easily refuse, but ends up spending the rest of her life fulfilling the best way she can.

The prose is incredibly lyrical and moving, for one. I thought the author did a fantastic job of describing the setting, describing Rahnia’s fragile state of mind in places, and the constant conflicting emotions she feels throughout the story. I also loved the idea of Rahnia being able to (plot spoilers here) manipulate nature/the planet like she’s able to, but I do wish a bit more had been said here about how that translated to creating a better future for the planet. I get that she was able to put the planet on a better path towards peace and prosperity, but nothing was said about how Rahnia was able to do that with what she was given.

Just a really great read, a short one too. This will unexpectedly stick with me a bit, I think.

Thanks to BookSirens and the publisher for providing me with a free ecopy in exchange for an honest review.