Today I am pleased to bring you my review of Do You Dream of Terra-Two by Temi Oh.

A century ago, scientists theorised that a habitable planet existed in a nearby solar system. Today, ten astronauts will leave a dying Earth to find it. Four are decorated veterans of the 20th century’s space-race. And six are teenagers, graduates of the exclusive Dalton Academy, who’ve been in training for this mission for most of their lives.

It will take the team twenty-three years to reach Terra-Two. Twenty-three years spent in close quarters. Twenty-three years with no one to rely on but each other. Twenty-three years with no rescue possible, should something go wrong. And something always goes wrong.

So I am sad to say that this novel has been sat on my Kindle for sometime. I really enjoy a sci-fi novel, but will often pick up another genre over it. I have no idea why I do this, given the fact that I enjoy them once I get started!

Do You Dream of Terra-Two is a novel that explores the possibility of space travel and where it can take us. It is not however a dystopian novel, and I must admit that I probably chose to read it because I thought that it was (or at least an escape from a dystopian world). Whilst it was not the novel I thought it would be, I was not disappointed.

Harry, Jesse, Juno, Astrid, Aria, Eliot and Poppy are our teenage astronauts, graduates of the highly esteemed Dalton Academy, whose sole purpose was to pick the crew for the first space mission to leave earth in order to inhabit Terra-Two, a far off planet which was believed to be a close match to Earth. Each of these individuals were chosen not only for their intelligence, although this was an important factor, but also for their perceived strength and endurance for a mission from which they would never return. Due to the lengthy journey, it was deemed necessary to have a young cohort of astronauts for the mission alongside their more experienced counterparts. They would effectively be trained on the job, trained to take over from their senior officers who would probably be too old for leadership roles in the latter stages of the journey or once they reached Terra-Two.

This novel is very much about the journey. The journey to Terra-Two, the journey to adulthood, the journey to self-discovery. These teenagers were chosen as young children, chosen for a mission that could possibly be the most important mission in Earths history. They were taught and trained in ways that many couldn’t even imagine. All of this impacts on each of them in different ways, as they continue to ensure that Terra-Two remains their one and only focus in life. As they are hit by tragedy before even taking off, as well as changes to their senior crew at the last minute, this mission is fraught right from the beginning. It would be wrong to tell you all that this is a novel about space travel though, because it isn’t. It is first and foremost a novel about characters, and how they develop when forced into close quarters in what is not a normal situation. These individuals are not allowed to grow up or even make mistakes in the way that normal teenagers do. These individuals all experience loss, love, belief and belonging whilst in the confines of a very small spacecraft, on a journey that will take them 23 years.

This is such an interesting exploration of how different characters react to different extreme situations. Despite such diverse backgrounds and upbringings, they are eventually forced onto an equal footing, and watching how they each deal with it is fascinating. Temi Oh really captures each of them beautifully in my opinion, and I am very pleased that I picked up this novel and gave it a read.

I really enjoyed reading this, and I am more than happy to recommend it to you all. I look forward to seeing what Temi Oh brings us next!

Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a copy of this novel via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.