Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers: A Review

*I received this book for free through Goodreads Giveaways* Really and truly, when I received the e-mail that I'd won a copy of the third Wayfarers book, my reaction was giddy triumph mixed with a lot of squealing. I may or may not have woken up every day and waited for the mail to arrive to see if my book was there. It was a long wait (maybe?) but worth it (definitely)

When I finished reading The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, I thought of my Dad and how he would love the book. I raved about the book to him, telling him everything it reminded me of, and he bought a copy to read not long after that conversation.

When I finished reading A Closed and Common Orbit, it was close to 5 in the morning, and I immediately felt the urge to call my Mom just to see how she was doing. I convinced myself to call at a more reasonable hour and then told them all about this wonderful book.

After reading Record of a Spaceborn Few, I thought of my sister, my brother, friends I grew up with and people I know now that I'm older. It's a strong book, carefully exploring the issues of belonging to a family, understanding your place in the world, and realizing the importance of remembering your past while building a better future.

The focus is on a small cast of characters, each working to better understand themselves as the world changes around them. The best part about the characters is that while they are each going through similar struggles about their identity, they are actually each from a different backgrounds, they are different ages, they have different skills and interests. The answers they find are important to them, and in turn to us, because any reader could see themselves in this book and understand the yearning that it seen through each character as the story moves towards its ending. The writing is strong, the plot concise, and while readers could read this as a standalone book and appreciate it, it truly benefits the readers who have followed this series from the start. There is something for everyone in this book and that makes it one of great releases of the year.

I have loved every book in the Wayfarers series and I honestly hope that there will be more books set in this world published in the future. This was a beautiful book.

Rating on my Blog Scale: 10 STARS.

And guess what? There will be a book four titled The Galaxy, and the Ground Within, tentatively scheduled for release on February 16, 2021. I say tentatively because 2020 has been a buzzkill and lots of books have been pushed back for publication this year. Usually only by a few months so brava publishers, books are our saving grace this year and most likely next year. Please continue in your endeavors of keeping us reading folks sane.

Fingers crossed this book is right on schedule because I already have a signed copy on preorder.