Daring Dreams

Debris Dreams by David Colby

* Provided by the publisher for review

4 out of 5 gnomes

This is book is full of science, space, and one truly long distance relationship.  I love books that take place in space because the environment  has the whole beautiful but deadly thing going on.  Space is a claustrophobic yet beautiful place and this story adds in the intensity of a war. 

Dru is a great character because she feels so relatable.  Seeing everything from her point of view makes things feel more feasible/real.  She’s grown up in space and dreams about seeing her girlfriend in person and actually getting to be on Earth.  Her life takes a dramatically different direction after a terrorist attack.

Seeing how all the eligible teens get drafted was really interesting.  In this world you pretty much have the option of boot camp or nothing.  Dru goes with it but at first and later on too the only thing keeping her sane is thinking about her girlfriend Sarah.

The life in space and all the gritty space marine stuff really reminded me of the show Battlestar Galactica.  Also just let it be known that the author is definitely not afraid to kill people off.  People die surprisingly fast, just like I would imagine happens in real world war situations.

Dru starts slow but then seems to be excelling as a space marine.  She quickly without meaning to really, becomes a real leader and hero to everyone.  During all this though her main goal really has been to stay alive.  Through everything you see how crazy a life at war can be.

There is plenty of intrigue and some definite politics in play.  Dru has some serious choices to make because there are a lot of lives at stake. Events really start accelerating at the end with plenty of surprises thrown in.

The ending is done well and makes you wonder what could be next for these characters.  This was quite the exciting reading and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a gritty YA space adventure.