Aetherbound by E.K. Johnston (ARC Review)

Title: Aetherbound
Author: E.K. Johnston
Type: Fiction
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction
Publisher: Dutton Books for Young Readers
(Penguin Random House)
Date published: May 25, 2021

A complimentary digital copy of this book was kindly provided by the publishers in exchange for an honest review.

Set on a family-run interstellar freighter called the Harland and a mysterious remote space station, E. K. Johnston’s latest is story of survival and self-determination.

Pendt Harland’s family sees her as a waste of food on their long-haul space cruiser when her genes reveal an undesirable mutation. But if she plays her cards right she might have a chance to do much more than survive. During a space-station layover, Pendt escapes and forms a lucky bond with the Brannick twins, the teenage heirs of the powerful family that owns the station. Against all odds, the trio hatches a long-shot scheme to take over the station and thwart the destinies they never wished for.

⤖ My Review ⬻

Aetherbound is one of the few young adult books that I’ve read in my time as a book reviewer that I felt unsure about sorting into one age range or another. While the characters certainly fell into the age group that is typical for young adult books, this book read more like an adult coming of age story to me. This might sound contradictory–let me explain.

As Aetherbound starts out, you learn about the main character, Pendt Harland, as a young child growing up on a spaceship travelling through space and you spend time with her as she gets older and older until she becomes a teenager. This doesn’t happen over one chapter like in some other books, but rather what felt like at least a quarter (if not more) of the book–which is why I got more of a coming of age book for adults vibe from it. The pacing, the tone, and some of the subject matter and the way it was handled all had a hand in it.

As I neared the end of Aetherbound, I found myself wishing that it was a little longer because I would’ve liked to spend more time with the characters. Considering the amount devoted to the growing up phase of the main character I think that it would have made sense if the latter part of the story was longer as well. Maybe I expected the same pacing throughout and found too much of a difference between the growing-up years and the passage of time for the grown years?

All that aside, if I really think about it, the way in which E.K. Johnston told the story still worked. I definitely found it entertaining and I think it’s actually a good sign that I wanted Aetherbound to be longer because I would’ve liked more details about the world, the magic system, and the characters (of course). This was my first E.K. Johnston novel and I will say that I was definitely entertained and became attached to the characters rather quickly. I definitely plan on reading more of the author’s past books as well as keeping an eye out for anything new.

⤖ About the Author ⬻

E.K. Johnston had several jobs and one vocation before she became a published writer. If she’s learned anything, it’s that things turn out weird sometimes, and there’s not a lot you can do about it. Well, that and how to muscle through awkward fanfic because it’s about a pairing she likes.

You can follow Kate on Twitter (@ek_johnston) to learn more about Alderaanian political theory than you really need to know, or on Tumblr (ekjohnston) if you’re just here for pretty pictures.