Nyxia

Nyxia

Scott Reintgen

Crown Books

Emmett Atwater isn’t just leaving Detroit; he’s leaving Earth. Why the Babel Corporation recruited him is a mystery, but the number of zeroes on their contract has him boarding their lightship and hoping to return to Earth with enough money to take care of his family.

Forever.

Before long, Emmett discovers that he is one of ten recruits, all of whom have troubled pasts and are a long way from home. Now each recruit must earn the right to travel down to the planet of Eden—a planet that Babel has kept hidden—where they will mine a substance called Nyxia that has quietly become the most valuable material in the universe.

But Babel’s ship is full of secrets. And Emmett will face the ultimate choice: win the fortune at any cost, or find a way to fight that won’t forever compromise what it means to be human.

     I was trying to remember the last time I read delved into the YA genre because it feels like it's been forever. It was before school started, so that's probably why. Sometimes I have mixed feelings on Young Adult books, but I always love their imaginative plots, and I was really in the mood for reading one.

     Nyxia is a difficult book to review for me, because I did find it entertaining, but I think part of that reason may be because all I've read lately, with a few exceptions, has been classics and comics. (after dissecting Paradise Lost for a couple months any book that I don't need every cell of my brain working at full capacity to understand is going to come across as blessed relief). So looking at Nyxia in retrospect is hard because I'm trying to balance writing an objective, truthful review with the fact that I neither loved nor hated the book, but enjoyed it as simple, mindless distraction.

     There are a lot of Biblical references in this book: the planet is called Eden, its natives are known as Adamites, and the company sponsoring the trip is called the Babel Corporation. I'm not sure what I thought about that; when it comes to Christianity, I much prefer to find my faith interwoven in a theme, not simply slapped on all the names. It kind of reminded me of those slightly-cheesy Christian fiction allegories you'd find in a Christian private school library, which was maybe why I found it difficult to take it seriously. (also, there was a scattering of language in here as well, not enough to be overwhelming, but enough so that I wouldn't pass this book on to my younger siblings.)

     What I did love was that for most of the book, there was no romance, which is so rare for a YA novel! (No love triangles! Yay!) Instead, there was a beautiful male/female friendship that was almost sibling-like, and I loved it. There is some romance in the last 1/4 of the book that I wasn't keen on at all, but for most of the book I was pleasantly surprised with the lack of romantic drama for Emmett. I liked the cast of characters- they were all diverse (in both ethnicity & personality) and I enjoyed watching their interactions. While the plot dragged with the endless training simulations, the characters helped keep my attention.

     I want to read the next book- it's just so long until the sequel comes out that I'm worried Nyxia might not be memorable enough for me to make it to the next book before forgetting all that happened.

I received this book for free from bloggingforbooks.com in exchange for my honest review.