Obsidio by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Finishing my series reread! 

Yes. I am the kind of person who rereads a book without having even waited a year, seven months seemed like a long enough wait. 

I have really enjoyed my reread of this series. I cannot believe how much of the plot of Obsidio I did not have a super clear memory of, though most of it came back about midway through the plot line. But there were moments where I knew the ending but I was full of anxiety because I could not remember the means of arriving there. Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff really really know how to induce anxiety. 

I only cried once on the reread of this book, but that is pretty normal. Also, I listened to the audiobook and it is harder to be 100% immersed in an audiobook because it does not force you to pay attention to nothing else the way reading a book does. But again, this audiobook was a wonderful experience. The people who created these audiobooks completely kick ass. It is wonderfully made, it feels alive and dynamic in a way most audiobooks do not, this format is brought to life in the most amazing way. 

I still had to pull the book out most of the time. You do lose something in the translation, the images really do add that extra layer to the text and at times really serve to add extra emotion to the story that cannot be translated into words. You also miss so much of Hannah in audio format. But the audiobook is still fucking fantastic. 

Also, this is the second book I have read twice this year, and they are both half by Amie Kaufman. I’m a big fan. And I absolutely must read all of Jay Kristoff’s work, I need to acquire money than his whole body of work. 

I will say I am still slightly bummed at the way the tragedy situation ended up. There was 100% sadness and death and consequence but I don’t feel like there was enough. I don’t know how else the series could have gone, and it might have undercut the message of the book for it to go a different direction. I always seem to be the reader craving more intense devastating endings from series. Not everyone dies. Just like 3 more than usual. 

It was great that this book finally had a person of color as a part of the main couple, hey Asha, but it would have been cool to have more than one of the main six. Of course, they had many people of color as secondary characters in the series I just think it is worth noting that only one major POV character is a person of color.

As a political science person, I also find the way Amie and Jay deal with international law, corporations, and what is essentially the International Criminal Court but in the future. I kind of would love to write something about the politics of YA novels. Especially SSF stuff.

I gave this book 5 stars on Goodreads and finished my reread on October 6th, 2018.