Book Review: ON THE EDGE OF GONE by Corinne Duyvis

Photo credit: Goodreads

So! Wow, I've been wanting to read On the Edge of Gone by Corinne Duyvis (author of the awesome Otherbound) basically since the publication announcement, and I finally did! And it was every bit as awesome as I hoped. :)

Before I tell you guys why, here is the Goodreads summary:

"January 29, 2035. 

That’s the day the comet is scheduled to hit—the big one. Denise and her mother and sister, Iris, have been assigned to a temporary shelter near their hometown of Amsterdam to wait out the blast, but Iris is nowhere to be found, and at the rate Denise’s drug-addicted mother is going, they’ll never reach the shelter in time. 

Then a last-minute encounter leads them to something better than a temporary shelter: a generation ship that’s scheduled to leave Earth behind and colonize new worlds after the comet hits. But each passenger must have a practical skill to contribute. Denise is autistic and fears that she’ll never be allowed to stay. Can she obtain a spot before the ship takes flight? What about her mother and sister? 

When the future of the human race is at stake, whose lives matter most?"

I love me some YA Sci-Fi, and On the Edge of Gone was soooo different from any other YA Sci-Fi I've read and it was awesome. Usually apocalyptic-type books are post-apocalyptic, but On the Edge of Gone starts right before a massive comet strikes Earth and obliterates everything, then continues on in the days afterward and people try to survive and Denise tries to get her family safely off-planet.

Denise struggles with a lot—her autism makes everything she experiences more difficult for her to handle, all the while she resents people knowing about her disability (particularly when she isn't the one to reveal it), and because she's Black in a very white area that comes up as a subtle obstacle several times too. At the same time, her Dutch mother is an addict, and her mother's struggle with addiction and how it affects Denise and her family plays a major role in the book. Plus trying to survive on a dying planet. Plus trying to find Denise's missing sister, Iris. Plus trying to get her family aboard the ship bound for the stars.

On the Edge of Gone was fascinating and totally captivating.  I really connected to Denise and felt her highs and lows while reading, the characters were really complex and interesting, and honestly the whole thing just felt like something that could really happen, which made it a tad chilling, too.

All in all, I very much enjoyed this book, and I can't wait to see what Corinne Duyvis has for us next. Super recommended if you like YA Sci-Fi and are looking for something different, or would like to read an authentic portrayal of an autistic protagonist, or just want to read a great book.

Diversity note: As the author puts it, "The protagonist is an autistic, biracial, part-Dutch part-Surinamese Black girl. The story also features a prominent bisexual trans Black girl, as well as lesbian, Muslim, and Jewish characters, among others." The author is also autistic, so that part is #ownvoices.


Twitter-sized bites:

.@Ava_Jae gives 5 stars to ON THE EDGE OF GONE by Corinne Duyvis. Is this unique world-ending YA SF on your TBR? (Click to tweet)  

Want to support #ownvoices books? Like YA Sci-Fi? Check out ON THE EDGE OF GONE by Corinne Duyvis. (Click to tweet)