3.5 stars

Don't judge this book by it's cover, or it's title. Both make me think of a motivational speech. And this a book is about space travel, set in the future, and a competition to be the fifth astronaut on a secret mission. So secret we don't find out what it is until the very last chapters. Cassandra Gupta, an only child, has always wanted to go to space. She's been geneered, genetically modified to be gifted, and have enhanced physical abilities. She's driven and is used to being the best. As the youngest competitor, she is not used to being near the bottom of the list. Super motivated she slowly moves up until she is at number two and cannot seem to get to the first spot. When the reveal happens, which I did guess, the set up for the next book is complete.

Bonus points for having Cass be asexual. ( )

“The universe seemed open and waiting for me, and I was ready to meet it."

I’ve really gotten more into sci-fi this year, and I was very excited to read Dare Mighty Things! And while it didn’t blow me away like some other reads have, it did not disappoint me either. We follow Cassie Gupta as she competes for a chance to fulfill her life’s dream and go on what may be her only chance at an actual space mission. But as Cassie and the competitors vie for the single spot on the mission, they face physical and mental challenges that will push them to the edge.

Things I Liked
The competition was great! We get really purposeful challenges and tests that help set up what to expect in the future and show the character’s skills.

I really loved the banter and camaraderie that we see develop between some of the competitors. It added some great levity to the more intense training scenes, and I really loved seeing friendships develop between the characters. Emilio was one of my favorites.

I liked Cassie as a MC. She was so smart, driven, and brave. She really loves space and we see her dedication, to not only the program and her studies, but her dedication to her dreams. It was really admirable! Cassie also identifies as asexual, and explicitly says so in the text. It was great to see such a severely underrepresented sexuality in the story! (Mitsuko, Cassie’s roommate and friend identifies as bi!)

Things I Didn’t Like
Pacing was a little too fast, and created a lack of tension in who would win the competition. Because we only really knew a few of the characters, it was obvious who would be selected for the mission.

There was some clunky and awkward scenes. They felt a little rushed and the dialogue was stilted, specifically in the scene where Cassia and Mitsuko talk about their respective sexual identities. The conversation felt forced and removed from the overall story.

Hanna wasn’t a bad character by any means, but I just didn’t connect with her and it seemed that she got more slack than the other competitors and that kinda bugged me.

Overall, Dare Mighty Things is a fun sci-fi story, that sets up the sequel to have more space elements (always a win) and higher stakes! I’m excited to see the relationships develop further, and I know will get some awesome worldbuilding! I think I’m most excited about what Dare Mighty Things promises for the future, and a book leaving me wanting more is always a win.

I received a copy of the book from HarperTeen in exchange for an honest review. ( )

This book was fantastic- one of my 10* faves! I absolutely loved the twist at the end with Luka. I'm going to be watching out everyday for the sequel. I hope it comes sooner rather than later! ( )

*Read at work for review for ROYAL*

As someone who is most interested in sci-fi and space operas, I was really looking forward to reading this book, so when I saw it at my review group, I snatched it up. Unfortunately, it left me with a lot of mixed feelings.

Cassandra Gupta is a geneered human being, living in the 2030s and interning at NASA when she’s offered the chance to compete against other gifted young adults for a spot on an upcoming classified mission to space.

Cassie is very confident and strong, both physically and mentally. She’s someone who has always kept to herself, and worked hard to achieve her goals. All that she’s known and been before is challenged when she enters this elite training program. She’s socializing with other people her age and actually making close friendships for the first time in her life. She’s well developed and diverse which was really great to read.

The diversity and the well researched science are in my opinion the best parts of this book. I think the author did a lot of research when plotting out the STEM aspects of the story, as most of the science stuff seemed real, seeing as it centered around NASA, a real space organization, rather than the author building her own sci-fi world. The diversity is also a huge aspect of the story. Our main character is half Indian and asexual, which is something I’ve rarely read about, so it was refreshing to get to experience a main character so different from myself and mainstream YA fiction. The side characters were also really diverse. One of the main points this NASA program made was that there are gifted individuals all over the world, so it was really cool to also get to see representation for so many other cultures. I think my two favorite characters were Emelio, the goofball who was always good for a laugh and brightened any scene he was in, and Mitsuko, who was very self confident and knew who she was as a person. She takes crap from no one, and is willing to do whatever she has to in order to get the job done.

I think one of the issues I had with this book is the inconsistencies in character development. Cassie, Emelio, and Mitsuko are very fleshed out and feel like real people. Luka is perceived to be the male main character. Cassie frequently makes internal comments about him, and watches him, always noting how he’s ranked first in the training program, indicating that we as the reader are supposed to care about him more than some of the other side characters. He’s unfortunately not that fleshed out, so when he’s involved in a plot twist toward the end of the novel, I didn’t really feel for him and I kind of had a hard time rationalizing Cassie’s reaction as well. The two had spent some time together throughout the course of the story, but I felt like we didn’t see enough of it develop to really care.

The plot was okay, but I felt like not much happened until the end of the book, when it started to feel rushed. Everything was kind of creeping along, training montage after training montage with a little dash of friendship here and there, until the last third of the book when everyone who’s been so cutthroat to stay in this completion suddenly decided they don’t want it anymore and just up and leave.

Overall, I liked the science and diversity this book offered, and Cassie was a great main character, but the plot wasn’t anything overly exciting like I was hoping to obtain from a space opera. It wasn’t even really that character driven, shown in the lack of development in Luka, someone perceived to be one of the main characters. It was an enjoyable read and I’m interested to see what comes next, because the ending was a bit of a cliffhanger and I’m hoping that now all the space training is over, some action can finally start taking place.
( )

Literary Merit: Good
Characterization: Fair
Recommended: Recommended
Level: Upper middle and high school

As someone who is most interested in sci-fi and space operas, I was really looking forward to reading this book, so when I saw it at my review group, I snatched it up. Unfortunately, it left me with a lot of mixed feelings.

Cassandra Gupta is a geneered human being, living in the 2030s and interning at NASA when she’s offered the chance to compete against other gifted young adults for a spot on an upcoming classified mission to space.

Cassie is very confident and strong, both physically and mentally. She’s someone who has always kept to herself, and worked hard to achieve her goals. All that she’s known and been before is challenged when she enters this elite training program. She’s socializing with other people her age and actually making close friendships for the first time in her life. She’s well developed and diverse which was really great to read.

The diversity and the well researched science are in my opinion the best parts of this book. I think the author did a lot of research when plotting out the STEM aspects of the story, as most of the science stuff seemed real, seeing as it centered around NASA, a real space organization, rather than the author building her own sci-fi world. The diversity is also a huge aspect of the story. Our main character is half Indian and asexual, which is something I’ve rarely read about, so it was refreshing to get to experience a main character so different from myself and mainstream YA fiction. The side characters were also really diverse. One of the main points this NASA program made was that there are gifted individuals all over the world, so it was really cool to also get to see representation for so many other cultures. I think my two favorite characters were Emelio, the goofball who was always good for a laugh and brightened any scene he was in, and Mitsuko, who was very self confident and knew who she was as a person. She takes crap from no one, and is willing to do whatever she has to in order to get the job done.

I think one of the issues I had with this book is the inconsistencies in character development. Cassie, Emelio, and Mitsuko are very fleshed out and feel like real people. Luka is perceived to be the male main character. Cassie frequently makes internal comments about him, and watches him, always noting how he’s ranked first in the training program, indicating that we as the reader are supposed to care about him more than some of the other side characters. He’s unfortunately not that fleshed out, so when he’s involved in a plot twist toward the end of the novel, I didn’t really feel for him and I kind of had a hard time rationalizing Cassie’s reaction as well. The two had spent some time together throughout the course of the story, but I felt like we didn’t see enough of it develop to really care.

The plot was okay, but I felt like not much happened until the end of the book, when it started to feel rushed. Everything was kind of creeping along, training montage after training montage with a little dash of friendship here and there, until the last third of the book when everyone who’s been so cutthroat to stay in this completion suddenly decided they don’t want it anymore and just up and leave.

Overall, I liked the science and diversity this book offered, and Cassie was a great main character, but the plot wasn’t anything overly exciting like I was hoping to obtain from a space opera. It wasn’t even really that character driven, shown in the lack of development in Luka, someone perceived to be one of the main characters. It was an enjoyable read and I’m interested to see what comes next, because the ending was a bit of a cliffhanger and I’m hoping that now all the space training is over, some action can finally start taking place. ( )