DO YOU DREAM OF TERRA-TWO? by Temi Oh – Review

I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Do You Dream of Terra-Two? by Temi Oh
Published by Simon & Schuster UK on March 7 2019
Genres: Adult, Science fiction
Pages: 520
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads

The nitty-gritty: An exhilarating, character-driven debut that touches on such themes as mental illness, the tenuousness of life and death, and the power of true belief. If you’ve ever dreamed of traveling beyond the stars, Do You Dream of Terra-Two? is a must read. It left me breathless.

It occurred to Astrid, in a disembodied instant, that already this moment was accelerating away from her. In a second, being young and full of laughter and standing with all her friends on Earth, would be only a memory. Nothing more than a memory ever again.

I actually read this book back in September of 2018, because a very kind UK publicist sent me an ARC and asked me to blurb the book. (Which has never happened to me before, so that was fun!) For that reason, I read it six months before publication, which is something I never do. And now I can finally post my review! You guys, I absolutely LOVED Do You Dream of Terra-Two? It’s beautifully written, thoughtful, thrilling and touches on many themes, not the least of which is mental illness.

The beginning lulls you into a false sense of ease, a coming-of-age story that imagines a future where the UK has developed a program to establish a colony of humans on the distant planet of Terra-Two, miraculously, a planet that appears to be Earth’s twin. For the past six years, exceptional young people have been studying at the Dalton Academy for Aerospace Science in the hopes of being chosen as one of the Beta, six young astronauts who will take the twenty-three year journey to Terra-Two. The six Beta team members are finally announced, and emotions are running high with those lucky students who were chosen, and those who just missed the cut. Harry, Ara, Poppy, Astrid, Juno and Eliot begin the final preparations for the launch of the Damocles, while Jesse, who was selected as an alternate, mourns the fact that he won’t be going with the others, but must attend the last weeks of training just in case.

But right before takeoff, a tragedy occurs that changes everything: Ara, who is having second thoughts after being selected, jumps into the icy Thames and drowns. This opens the door for Jesse to join the crew, although as the mission gets underway, Jesse discovers that most of the other crew members resent him for taking their beloved Ara’s place. And the tension only increases as the Betas, along with the adult crew members, begin to realize just what it means to be cooped up on a ship with the same people for the next twenty-three years. Personality clashes, homesickness, depression, and the ever-present danger of flying through space begin to take their toll, as each of the Betas wonders, Why am I here? What makes me so special? And Am I good enough for this mission?

As with most books, it’s best to go into this one with very little information. And so I’ll try not to give too much away, although there are story elements that I must touch on. Do You Dream of Terra-Two? is a most surprising book. If you think you know where the story is going, you just might be wrong. I was. Temi Oh takes her time introducing us to her characters and setting the stage for what’s to come, so if you’re expecting a fast-paced space adventure, you might want to adjust your expectations. And this is by no means a bad thing. Reviewers are comparing this book to A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet for a reason: the characters’ relationships, back-stories and emotional growth are the driving force of everything that happens. And when things take a turn for the worse—and they do—you’ll feel their emotions much more keenly because you know them so well.

In addition to the focused, personal aspects of the story, Temi Oh does a great job of showing just how global the “race to space” is. Even though this is alternate history, her comments on the politics of getting people into space and establishing a home on a new planet hit close to home. Oh is a UK author, so of course she’s focusing on the UK space program, but we also get a glimpse of what other countries are doing, especially since the race to get to Terra-Two isn’t limited to the UK. There’s also a Chinese ship called the Shēngmìng that’s also trying to get there (although there is a bit of mystery surrounding that ship!), and I loved the tension this creates with the crew of the Damocles.

I want to briefly touch on the way mental illness is portrayed in this story, because it’s a running thread throughout and brings up lots of questions. We already know what happened to Ara, who must have been dealing with depression before the mission even starts. Once the others are in space, the cracks start to show. Eliot “sees” Ara through the windows of the ship, floating in space, and questions whether she’s real or not. Poppy retreats into her cabin after several weeks and is unable to get out of bed. And Juno turns out to have an eating disorder that she tries to hide from the others. The author brings up questions about the pressures of space travel and whether or not the Betas were prepared for the loneliness of space. 

And I can’t end this review without talking about Astrid. That’s Astrid on the cover, by the way. There is an interesting backstory about the woman behind the founding of the Dalton Academy, a pioneer named Tessa Dalton who had dreams of Terra-Two before anyone even discovered it. She was a prophet of sorts, indirectly responsible for the eventual mission to the planet. Astrid relates to Tessa on an emotional level, so much so that she herself is having dreams about Terra-Two. She’s dreaming impossible things that the scientists insist aren’t real, but could she be a prophet herself? I loved the implications of this idea and the way the author uses this theme as the title of her book.

Temi Oh ends her story on a bittersweet note that gave me goosebumps. There are surprises galore in Do You Dream of Terra-Two?, not the least of which is what happens in the last quarter of the story. Ideas and events that popped up in the beginning are brought back at the end to great effect, adding to the “surprise” factor. I know I’m being vague, but honestly, this is a book that needs to be read with as few spoilers as possible. If I’ve convinced you to give it a try, then I’ve done my job. Beautifully written, emotionally resonant and ultimately a story of survival, this book is a must read for all humans.

Big thanks to the publisher for supplying a review copy, and additional thanks to the author for hooking me up!

Note: This is a review of the UK edition, and for all you U.S. folks out there, the release date of the Saga Press edition was pushed back to Summer 2019.