Skyhunter

Anyone who reviews this book as “average, typical YA but still good” is not reading this book right. I don't typically make that kind of statement either, but given what I am (an Asian-American who immigrated here) and how I am very familiar with being dissimilar to those of my ethnicity and those of my adopted country's, this book touches on a LOT of topics in a very nice way, but subtle and blatant. It goes where a lot of YA books don't go, and I love it.

Talin is a mute refugee from a country, Basea, that has been conquered by Karensa. Throughout the whole book, she constantly struggles with imposter syndrome given that she is a Basean and everyone else looks down on them for their skin color and perceived inferiority. She is very talented in her own right, a gifted warrior who is the best Striker that Mara (one of the last independent countries) has. However, she is the only Basean ever allowed to become a Striker as the rest of her people who escaped with her has to live in the Outer City, unprotected by the high, thick walls that separate Mara from the bio-weapons, Ghosts, and their invading masters. This causes Talin to believe that only through the kindness of her Maran friend, Corian, was she ever allowed on the team. Many background characters and minor characters give her derisive looks and basically never acknowledge her skills, even though she belongs to the only elite fighting group that Mara has to protect them. This rings especially true for those that are uprooted and brought to a society in which they are the minority and are looked down on–Talin is told repeatedly by her friends how good she is, but that doesn't matter (to her) if everyone else thinks differently.

Next, we have the topic of language. Language is very important in this book and in the real world, as it is one of the only ways we can communicate our thoughts and understand each other. Because Talin is mute, she signs in both Maran sign language to her Striker companions and Basean sign language to her mother. There is a poignant moment in the book right before the group is heading out on a deadly mission. Talin and her friends are eating at a feast at the Outer City with her fellow Baseans. There is a refugee who is very paranoid and suspects that the Strikers are there as a spy (people also suspect that Talin is a spy for Mara as well). When her friends sign to one another, the man tells them “oh you're using that secret language!” and someone else tells him “well, maybe you should just learn that language then.” Fear of others through not communicating goes both ways. And if you don't put in the effort to learn the other language but still feel fear, then that is on you. That is how some countries treat their immigrants/refugees, scared of their native language but not learning it. To drive in the point of how important language is, Lu even writes in a moment of a bad translation mistake, instead of “talk and you will live,” the translator says, “talk and we will make you live.” Given the prisoner's suicidal disposition, this would not work as a threat.

Those are the two moments off the top of my head that I can think of. There are other themes of enemy soldiers having to fight due to their loved ones being in danger if they do not obey. The civilians of the enemy country not knowing how terrifying their country really is, or maybe they've been forced to agree with their leaders that they've started to believe it. I personally think that this is one of my favorite books from Marie Lu as she actively inputs social commentary woven into the plot and the characters. Lovely all around.

The only reason why this is four stars is because I wish that there could have been more done with Adena and Jaren, especially his relationship with Aramin. I hope that the sequel has more, as I would like the queer characters to have more of a focal point rather than a supportive position. Additionally, though I did like what she did with Talin, I wish Marie did more with Red? We got a glimpse of his backstory with his dad and sister, but then what else? He was delegated to a protector role, a trump card, and I wish we could've gotten more. I also thought that the romance between the two escalated too fast, so I wanted that to slow down a bit. Otherwise, I loved this book.