Do You Dream of Terra-Two by Temi Oh

Hey Booklovers,

I finished reading Do You Dream of Two-Terra and I'm still trying to put my thoughts into words. This is a character heavy sci-fi story containing multiple povs. 10 astronauts are chosen to embark on a journey to inhabit a new world.  4 of the 10 are decorated veterans and 6 are teens on the brink of adulthood. The story alternates in chapters between Jesse, Poppy, Astrid, Juno, Harry, and Eliot. It's a lot of people to follow and I was glad I got the ebook and audiobook. The smooth narration kept me interested but the ebook was great for sections I wanted to go over again or when I wanted to speed things up in the middle. 

Throughout the book we discover what drew each young person to the Dalton Academy for Aerospace Science and hear about the lives they left behind.

‘What kind of society do we want to be? What will our name be? What will our flag look like? 

  What kind of leadership model will we adhere to? Will we have a monarchy, a president?

I saw comparisons to The 100 but it's nothing like that vapid book series and really not much like the tv series either beyond having featuring teens who are journey to a new Earth.

The story is not set in the future but rather a more technologically advanced/alternate version of the close past where Britain has a highly competitive space program. 

Before launch they must deal with the death of one of their teammates Ara and how it affects each of them. They must also deal with their relationships with each other. Some are drawn closer and some further apart. Since it's a 23 year mission there's a lot of personal sacrifice. Some are struggling with the regrets of giving up a future on earth and some are getting over depression. 

How will they start this new colony? What rules will be in place? Is this a suicide mission? Can they survive living in the spaceship for the next 23 years with only each other to rely on?

This is a slower, quiet read where you exam each character and some of the science is glossed over and explained as technology being much more advanced in this alternate reality. It's a contrast to many sci-fi stories which are fast paced by sometimes lack on the character development. We don't ever get an explanation for how scientists have come to discover much about this world so far from our own. It can probably be best described as a slice of life story. We follow the characters go through the motions day to day. We follow their hookups and losses and reminisce with them over their past traumas.

Temi Oh studied neuroscience and you can very much see those elements present in her work as we explore the behaviors of these young people and how their relationships are effected.