Literally Leander discussion

Our featured book for July 2019 was The Final Six by Alexandra Monir. As always, we would like to warn everyone that there will be spoilers for the novel in this thread. Read at your own risk!

Our staff members are on a roll lately; once again, our prompt questions are written by one of our employees. You're free to post any comments, observations, or questions of your own, if the prompts don't entice you.

1. The novel is dual narrated by Leo, an Italian swimmer, and Naomi, an Iranian-American girl with a natural aptitude for science. Did you prefer one narrator over the other? How would you describe their voices?

2. The near-future setting of the book brings forth a world devastated by rising sea levels, natural disasters, and food shortages. How realistic did you find the setting?

3. Leo and Naomi feel a bond between themselves immediately. How did you feel about their growing romantic relationship?

4. Naomi begins to believe that Europa has alien life. The possibility of alien life is a constantly debated topic that has shown up in books, movies, and television. Do you have an opinion on the possibility of intelligent extraterrestrial life?

5. Did you foresee the ending? Do you have plants to read the sequel, The Life Below?

6. The Final Six is not the first book about colonizing space. Did you think it was able to stand out in the genre, or did other books do it better?

We're looking forward to your discussion! Have fun!

I'm a little sad about how I felt about this one, to be honest. I went in with relatively decent expectations (it had some good reviews by friends and reviewers I follow.) I was also aware, going in, that it was going to have to do a lot to stand out in the crowd of science fiction space operas. I've read a little over 20 YA space-related books, which, in the grand scheme of things, isn't a whole lot. But it's a fair amount for gaining an expectation for genre tropes, a pit that I think The Final Six definitely fell into. Overall, this one fell a little flat for me. It's also been a while since I read it, and I can't remember a whole lot (it's either been completely deleted from my memory or it's been blended with other, similar books.)

1. The novel is dual narrated by Leo, an Italian swimmer, and Naomi, an Iranian-American girl with a natural aptitude for science. Did you prefer one narrator over the other? How would you describe their voices?
The narrations of this novel was just one part of the book that left me wanting. The voices of Leo and Naomi are extremely similar, and I remember having to flip back to a chapter heading often to remember whose POV the chapter was in.

Out of the two of them, I think I preferred Leo over Naomi, but it really wasn't much of a race. I felt like Leo was overcompensating for his losses by being too overly optimistic. Naomi, on the other hand, was his opposite: as one of the few characters whose life hadn't been filled with as much tragedy, she complained nonstop.

For instance, I write down and save quotes that I might use in discussion. This time around, I saved nine quotes, and six of them were of Naomi complaining, ruminating on how her own brilliance keeps her from being optimistic, etc.

If this collection of strangers pinning their hopes on us is representative of the world, then that means millions are depending on the success of the Twenty-Four. But don’t they realize all the risks involved with the mission? Don’t they know that we’re just glorified guinea pigs, forced to perform under Murphy’s Law, which practically guarantees something going horribly wrong in space or on Europa?

And she wonders why the majority of people aren't interested in her.

3. Leo and Naomi feel a bond between themselves immediately. How did you feel about their growing romantic relationship?
Ugh, instalove at its finest. I didn't think Leo and Naomi had much chemistry; really, I don't think any of the cast had memorable bonds. I definitely prefer the slow-burn romance, one filled with tension and organic growth. But this one was quite the opposite: before they even know each other, they're staring into each other's eyes (via video screen, but still.)

6. The Final Six is not the first book about colonizing space. Did you think it was able to stand out in the genre, or did other books do it better?
Like I mentioned before, I've read a handful of space-related books, and a decent fraction of those are related to teens being "drafted" for space. Almost all of those are competition plots.

I don't think The Final Six really stands out against others in the same genre. Honestly, for ones in the same vein (competition for numbered spots to space) I'd suggest Nyxia or The Raging Ones. For drafted-into-space, I'd say read Honor Among Thieves. There are other ones, but these are the ones that I rated three stars or higher. ;)