The Disasters

WHY ARE THERE SO MANY AMAZING YA SCI-FI WRITERS?! I really try my best to branch out to different genres but I always find myself back reading science fiction. Who can resist so many great adventures--especially in space?

As I was reading reviews of this fun book, one review compared it to a mash up between The Breakfast Club and Guardians of the Galaxy. After reading it, I am completely in agreement. And for those of you who liked either movie, you'll definitely love The Disasters by M.K. England.

The Disasters is about a group of misfits who have just been rejected by the Academy and are on a shuttle back to Earth when the space station is attacked and they are accused of destroying it. Suddenly they are thrown into an intense fight to prove their innocence, stay ahead of the law, and save the rest of the galaxy from the real threat. 

One thing that I loved about this book is the natural way that the characters represented so many different aspects of diversity. Nax (a bisexual), Case (a child prodigy with two moms, one latinx and the other asian), Rion (a Black guy also attracted to men), Zee (a trans female athlete), and Asra (a Bengali Muslim) all team up together and in the end find so much in common. But at no point did I ever feel like England simply wrote diversity for the sake of diversity. It is so natural for the characters to be representative of the culture and sexuality that so many young adults already experience. 

Students really need the opportunity to see representations of themselves in literature. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who needs to see a little of the representation of themselves in this book but also those who just love amazing science fiction.

Oh and THE COVER IS PURPLE!!!!!!!!!!! Purple is my absolute favorite color so I couldn't resist picking this book up off the shelf.

There is a lot of fast-paced action going on as well as some great humor. So think Guardians of the Galaxy type sci-fi rather than Star Wars and you won't be disappointed!

So far it is a standalone book, but according to Goodreads England said that they have already outlined a sequel, so I hope that they will have the chance to publish it. If not, they also have another novel coming out next year called Spellhacker. 

Anyway...you should ALL read this book. I've recommended it to everyone I've talked to today! And if you need anymore reasons to read it, here you go: