Genre: Young Adult Science Fiction
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Pages: 532
Release Date: March 7, 2019
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet meets The 100 in this unforgettable debut by a brilliant new voice.
A century ago, scientists theorised that a habitable planet existed in a nearby solar system. Today, ten astronauts will leave a dying Earth to find it. Four are decorated veterans of the 20th century’s space-race. And six are teenagers, graduates of the exclusive Dalton Academy, who’ve been in training for this mission for most of their lives.
It will take the team 23 years to reach Terra-Two. Twenty-three years spent in close quarters. Twenty-three years with no one to rely on but each other. Twenty-three years with no rescue possible, should something go wrong. And something always goes wrong.
Do You Dream of Terra-Two? follow six teenagers as they prepare to embark on a once in a lifetime mission of discovering a new habitable planet with the goal of getting it ready for future generations. Since the journey will take twenty-three years, these teenagers have been extensively trained for years for their future roles.
Maybe it was my own misunderstanding of the synopsis, but this is book is not what I expected. This is both good and bad. The trope of discovering and exploring a new planet is one that I will never tire of because of the immense possibility. However, Do You Dream of Terra-Two? went in a direction I was not anticipating, though I didn’t hate it.
The pacing of this novel is slow. Readers get to simmer with the characters and their challenges while also really getting to know them. Unfortunately, the characters are only explored on a surface level. Each character is given a specific characteristic that is never developed further or into something more. Though, because of this distinction it’s easy to quickly distinguish who the characters are and their different motivations and feelings.
There’s a lot of moving pieces happening in Do You Dream of Terra-Two?, while also having nothing happen at the same time. Temi Oh introduces a lot of world building pieces that are used as plot devices and never touched upon further. I would have liked to see more from these pieces, especially the one at the end.
Overall, Do You Dream of Terra-Two? was not what I was expecting. It kept me reading until the end, despite figuring out the novel was not going to be what I wanted it to be. Would I recommend it? Probably not. It’s a too slow paced novel that doesn’t pay off in the end. It’s a character centric novel that doesn’t do much with its characters.
*I’m not sure why they compared this to The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet. They have absolutely nothing in common. It’s definitely more in line with The 100.
Book reviews and more! 
This was one of my favorite books last year, and it wasn’t what I expected either. But for me, the story and the characters made me see it for what it really was. Not an action packed thriller but a careful character driven story.
I probably should have noticed where the story was going way before I finally figured it out, but I was distracted by the new planet and her visions. I still enjoyed the experience.
So Tammy loved it and you didn’t hate it. I’m unsure at which point in the spectrum that would leave me. Lol. I will say I would probably pick this novel up for similar reasons as you (New planet/space exploration). But I’ve loved some good character driven novels too. Maybe I should give it a try when I’m in the mood for that sort of thing and be prepared to DNF? Lol. Great review Nadine!
This is definitely a mood read and adjusting expectations. I hope you enjoy it more than I did.