This Splintered Silence by Kayla Olson Published by HarperTeen on November 13th 2018
Genres: Sci-Fi, Young Adult
Goodreads
Lindley Hamilton has been the leader of the space station Lusca since every first-generation crew member on board, including her mother, the commander, were killed by a deadly virus.
Lindley always assumed she’d captain the Lusca one day, but she never thought that day would come so soon. And she never thought it would be like this—struggling to survive every day, learning how to keep the Lusca running, figuring out how to communicate with Earth, making sure they don’t run out of food.
When a member of the surviving second generation dies from symptoms that look just like the deadly virus, though, Lindley feels her world shrinking even smaller. The disease was supposed to be over; the second generation was supposed to be immune. But as more people die, Lindley must face the terrifying reality that either the virus has mutated or something worse is happening: one of their own is a killer.
I received a copy of this book for review. This does not influence my thoughts on the book or this review.
I have to say I’m not really into sci-fi books usually but this premise was too intriguing. A group of people at Harper pitched this to me as “The 100 except if the teens never really left the satellite” and since that was the only part of the show I liked, I decided to give this one a chance. I’m so happy I did because it totally did not disappoint.
Lindley’s whole life has been spent on the space station Lusca. When her mother, the commander, and all the other adults die of a deadly virus, Lindley is now commander of the station. She knew she’d become a leader eventually, but she didn’t expect to be one at such a young age and only because of the tragedy. But as some of the teenage crew begins dying as well, Lindley has to figure out how the virus’ mutation works or whether something more sinister is going on.
I really liked Lindley as a character. She was just trying to figure everything out, both for herself and for the rest of the space station, and I could really see her as a real teenager. There was a bit of a love triangle which usually doesn’t work for me but I personally didn’t mind it since I felt that it was so well developed. I found the writing totally gripping. I’m usually more of a dialogue reader but I totally connected with the writing and loved it.
Overall, This Splintered Silence is such a compelling read, both for sci-fi and suspense readers. I read it in two sittings and I only stopped reading the first time because I had work. It was such a gripping read and I really enjoyed it!
