Some Desperate Glory

Wow wow wow, one of my favorite (if not favorite) books of the year. Emily Tesh made me feel like I was reading sci fi for the first time. What an immense experience that caused me considerable distress.

Kyr is a teenage girl who's grown up in a hobbled together space community called Gaea Station. Gaea's leadership insists its militant community are the sole remnants of humanity, dedicated to retribution after aliens destroyed Earth.

Kyr, her brother Mags, and the group of girls she was raised alongside are all awaiting assignments. Each year, some of the girls are assigned to Nursery, where they will give birth to and take care of babies and small children. Don't think about it too much; Kyr doesn't. Mostly because she is secure in the knowledge that she would never be assigned to Nursery. Until she is.

It's hard to summarize the plot from there, both because so much happens and because I think it's better to not know about it in advance. But I want it on record that I adore Kyr. I adored her from the beginning. She reminds me of my past self in many ways: sheltered, naïve, earnest, and insufferably judgmental and severe about things she does not (and will not let herself try to) understand. I am as devoted to Kyr as first act Kyr is to Gaea. This is a Zuko level redemption arc.

This absolutely wild, hopeful, painful ride is full of lots of impactful but not hamfisted messages about deprogramming radical views, righteous anger, collective power, bodily autonomy, queerness, and what it means to build a better world after being indoctrinated into seeing the opposite as inevitable. I know it's long and it may rip your heart out but can you all still read it so we can talk about it? Please and thank you.