My problem with this novel was that I struggled with the characters. This is a huge part of what makes a great dystopian. Bao made it easy to hate the government she created, easily displaying strong themes of race, gender, and social inequality parallel to that of real life-but with just enough differences to make them intriguing. People on the base have to pay for everything, from rent to food to sheer stuff, but the level of control that their government has in their everyday living makes it difficult for most people to survive beyond a minimal stage of living. Bao created very different sects within society, from the people in Shelter (the base’s poorest living quarters) to those at the highest ranks of Militia. I enjoyed learning about the Militia system and the way the different levels operate. We got to know a lot about the land on the moon, and Phaet’s base in particular. The world building in this novel is terrific. The setting is an elaborate location on the Moon six separate bases exist to house the Lunar people and protect them from what they refer to as “earth-dwellers.” Phaet goes from working in a greenhouse to training for the Militia-the Lunar equivalent of an army-in order to save her siblings from being sent to Shelter after their mother is arrested. Dove Arising, by Karen Bao, is a typical dystopian novel that tells the story of Phaet Theta and her struggle to save her family.
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