Audiobook Review

We Are Satellites

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By
Sarah Pinsker

2021

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LENGTH

12 hrs and 26 mins

READ BY

Lyssa Browne

average rating is 5 out of 5
Performance
average rating is 5 out of 5
Overall
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Excellent, Unforgettable, Best of the nest

Very good, thoroughly enjoyed, 

Good, Solid, Enjoyed many aspects

STAR RATINGS GUIDE

Gattaca Meets Age of Miracles

THE BIRDICT

🧡 This is an incredibly nuanced dystopia with a smidge of a YA feel. The premise isn’t miles away from the Jude Law/Ethan Hawke classic Gattaca, while the thoughtful tone reminded me of Karen Thompson Walker’s Age of Miracles.

💚 Listen to this for the realistic take on dystopia, for the intricate family dynamics, for the slight skew on reality and for the philosophical quandaries.

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SQUAWKING THE TALK

🎧 Four character voices and one narrator is tricky, especially when two have a similar background.I have to commend Lyssa Browne’s subtle shifts between characters, with Val slightly deeper and smoother and Julie’s voice sharper. The chapter listings and the fact they are read out and written help in signposting the changes too. Having said all this, I think that at least two narrators sharing the load would have made the distinction easier.

🎧 I loved listening to this. Very natural, very light on the ears and completely immersive. I got through it in a day and a half.

BIRDS OF A FEATHER: SIMILAR AUDIOBOOKS

No spoiler for this one. Maybe next time!
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We Are Satellites

THE BLURB

Everybody's getting one.

Val and Julie just want what's best for their kids, David and Sophie. So when teenage son David comes home one day asking for a Pilot, a new brain implant to help with school, they reluctantly agree. This is the future, after all.

Soon, Julie feels mounting pressure at work to get a Pilot to keep pace with her colleagues, leaving Val and Sophie part of the shrinking minority of people without the device.

Before long, the implications are clear, for the family and society: get a Pilot, or get left behind. With government subsidies and no downside, why would anyone refuse? And how do you stop a technology once it's everywhere? Those are the questions Sophie and her anti-Pilot movement rise up to answer, even if it puts them up against the Pilot's powerful manufacturer and pits Sophie against the people she loves most.