The Disasters Review, Audacity Book Club
By Nic Daniels
Welcome back, Audacity Readers!
Hope you had a fun shift into fall, a time that represents change and transition. However, let’s hope those changes were far less drastic than the characters in The Disasters.
You see, this book takes you through what I like to call a Disney Weekend. The main character has normal problems on Thursday and by Monday their whole life is changed forever.
The Disasters starts with Nax Hall flunking out of the only chance he had to become a space pilot and preparing for a humiliating return to Earth from the moon, where the school is located. However, moments later, he and three other students who have flunked out (Case, Rion, and Zee) are put in the middle of a conspiracy plot to end space travel for good and kill millions of Earth settlers on different planets. Oh, and they only have five days to stop it.
I’ll be the first to admit that I love sci-fi books, and this has everything I enjoy about the genre. First off, the action is literally non-stop. From the protagonists narrowly escape a death trap in the first 30 pages to stealing ships and guns to escaping a planet to gaining shady allies — it’s all there. There’s also some romance woven between the narrative, because of course there is. It’s five teenagers running for their lives and being left alone all the time. Something is bound to happen.
Yet, this isn’t your typical romance. Nax is openly bi and has two choices to consider: Rion and Case. What I really like about this is that neither character is a clear choice for Nax like most love triangles. You can tell he would be happy with either one and he considers each person seriously and respectfully, which makes me love Nax so much as a character!
Another highlight of the story is that there is such a wide range of diverse characters from Black to Muslim to transgender and more. England does a good job of putting them together in a way that doesn’t feel weird or forced or like they're ignoring the difference of cultures. It all feels natural, as much as it can be given the circumstances.
The icing on this literary cake is that it all feels real. No one is excited to run for their lives. People are getting hurt and losing trust in each other. Some are handling it better than others, but some are losing their minds. Also, it shows how tired everyone is. Even I wanted to nap while reading too because there was so much going on!
A part that is especially relatable to me is how Nax is put in the default leader position of the group, even though he literally never wanted to be. I like how he has to learn how to be a leader on the go and the anxiety that he experiences while doing so. Trust me, Nax, I feel your pain. And believe me when I say, you had every right to say, “you’re welcome” at the end.
I hope you guys had as much fun with this story as I did. What do you think you would do in that situation? Who do you ship Nax with? What was your favorite part of the story? Comment below and let me know what you think!
Until next time, don’t forget to read audaciously!
