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What: Defending the Galaxy (Sentinels of the Galaxy #3) by Maria V. Snyder

Who: HQ Young Adult Australia

When: December 2nd 2020

How: A copy of this novel was provided by Harlequin Teen Australia for review.

Year 2522. Oh. My. Stars.

Junior Officer Ara Lawrence here, reporting for duty. Again. It’s situation critical for the security team and everyone in the base – including my parents – with a new attack from the looters imminent, a possible galaxy-wide crime conspiracy and an unstoppable alien threat. But this all pales in the face of my mind-blowing discovery about the Q-net. Of course, no one believes me. I’m not sure I believe me. It could just be a stress-induced delusion. That’s what my parents seem to believe…

Their concern for me is hampering my ability to do my job. I know they love me, but with the Q-net in my corner, I’m the only one who can help the security team beat the shadowy aliens from the pits we discovered. We’re holding them at bay, for now, but the entire Milky Way Galaxy is in danger of being overrun.

With battles on too many fronts, it’s looking dire. But one thing I’ve learned is when people I love are in jeopardy, I’ll never give up trying to save them. Not until my dying breath. Which could very well be today…

Defending the Galaxy is the third and final instalment in Maria V. Snyder’s mot recent YA sci-fi series Sentinels of the Galaxy. Even though I wish I’d had the time to re-read the first two books to really re-immerse myself in the series, Snyder gave enough flashbacks and references that I never felt like I was lost in the story, which was a relief.

This series is geared towards the younger end of YA (which is fantastic, we need books for younger teens), however the themes in this book were a bit more serious than the previous two. For example, Ara has a mental health stay in the medical wing. At first she’s annoyed and even makes fun of the situation before correcting herself and realising that mental health is important, and so is getting the help you need. I appreciated that passage because the mental health of teens is so often dismissed as melodrama or unimportant so for younger readers to see such a strong character acknowledging her mental health and taking her stay seriously was wonderful to see.

I think my favourite part of Defending the Galaxy would be the new character, Q. Q is the actual Q-net (kind of like an advanced internet) and a sentient being from the previous wave of living creatures that came before humans. Q is very dry and literal, and I loved the way they cared for Ara and believed in her. I would have loved to see they pronouns used for Q because a gender for them was never inferred or revealed, however “it” was used instead. I think using they pronouns for Q would have been an amazing way to introduce the use to readers, and I feel like it was such a missed opportunity. Even so, Q was a great addition to the series!

Even though Defending the Galaxy was roughly 500 pages long, the story never felt dragged out. There were a lot of mysteries and questions that needed to be answered, and I feel like almost all of them were given. The mini cliff-hanger at the end was fun, and it did leave the door a tiny bit open for Snyder to return to the world of Sentinels of the Galaxy one day in the future. I know I would read whatever book Snyder wrote in this world (and any other!).

The only thing I felt was missing a tiny bit in this book was Ara and Niall together. They didn’t have that many quiet moments with just the two of them, and while I understand why this was the case (everything going to shit), I still missed seeing their relationship. I love how supportive Niall is of Ara, even when she’s doing dangerous things or sharing revelations Niall can’t quite wrap his head around. The two of them are very good for each other, and it’s great to see such a healthy relationship in YA.

Overall, Defending the Galaxy definitely did not disappoint in any way. Snyder again showed her talents in the realm of sci-fi, and produced an exciting adventure in space. If you like science fiction, space, technology, and a little bit of romance then I think Sentinels of the Galaxy would be a great fit for you.

© 2021, Chiara @ Books for a Delicate Eternity. All rights reserved.

trigger warning

use of ableist language, explosions, reference to death of a friend, main character in coma, mental health hospital stay, hostage situations, multiple deaths, reference to murder of a friend, reference to teen pregnancy, attempted murder, kidnapping

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Posted on: February 20, 2021 • By: Chiara

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