We Are Satellites

I had wrongfully assumed that We Are Satellites is hardcore sci-fi. With space shuttles and planets and all that. It's not! It's about the wives Val and Julie and their kids David and Sophie and how it affects their family through a decade or so after a device (and this is the sci-fi part) called a Pilot that's basically a brain implant that makes you focus better becomes available. Everyone gets a Pilot because if you don't, you get left behind (and discriminated). But is it the miracle solution it's made out to be?
Our family of four consists of a parent that's pro Pilot, one that's against. A child that gets a Pilot and a child that can't get one because of health issues. It's bound to cause a bit of family drama, yes?
I really enjoyed this book and how it explores the consequences of this Pilot device. I love the characters. I love that it focuses on the family aspect. I wish I'd read it sooner (and I would've if I'd known it wasn't hardcore space sci-fi... but that mistake is entirely on me)!

3.5 rounded up! I didn't read the reviews that warned me this is more family drama than sci fi! Oops!! This was like a family saga (skipped through the year etc) and it was engaging but I wish we got more satisfaction out of the resolution out of the sci fi/political part. It was VERY much in the background

Plausible near-future Science Fiction that reviews the impact of a technology like Elon Musk's Neuralink might have on our society and those who cannot participate, as well as the dangers of giving corporations like that too much unchecked control. Themes include LGBTQ and disability, and it's refreshing to see an unconventional family (Sophie and David have two moms) at the center of this story, without the story being about that.

I refuse to categorize this as sci-fi. This is a family drama with the barest hint of a sci-fi element, like the La Croix of genres. I probably should have put this book down as soon as I could tell where things were (or were not) heading, but I wanted to finish it so I could feel justified in leaving an actual rating.

The book follows Val and Julie, and their two kids Sophie and David. Society has begun adopting neural implants called Pilots that augment human attention, allegedly letting them multitask better and be more productive. A rift quickly opens up between the “haves” (people with Pilots) and the “have nots” (people without). David is the first person in the family to get a Pilot, followed soon by Julie. Val is staunchly anti-Pilot, and Sophie can't get one for medical reasons. We watch this small family grow up, grow apart, and grow into different aspects of Pilot life–Sophie becomes an activist, David becomes involved in the military (and then washes out with PTSD-like symptoms), and Julie and Val become increasingly irritated with the other's stance on family.

And then....the book ends. There's some weak mystery about whether the company behind Pilots is up to something shady, but that never goes anywhere. Interspersed with this family's drama are attempts by the author to push a certain narrative. Social media is bad, screen time is bad, military members are knuckle dragging cavemen and college is superior in all ways, ride share programs steal your information and aren't to be trusted, the list goes on and on. It comes off super preachy and not at all organically integrated into the non-story the author is trying to tell.

I was super disappointed with this book, and think the premise and summary is misleading. The sci-fi element (the Pilot implants) is barely used beyond being the catalyst for drama, and I was incredibly disappointed at being given a family drama I wasn't signing up for.