Book Review: Astra by Naomi Foyle

Genre: Science Fiction

Series: Book 1 of The Gaia Chronicles

Publisher: Jo Fletcher (February 6, 2014)

Author Information: Website | Twitter

Mogsy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars

If there’s one thing I learned from reading Seoul Survivors and now Astra, it is that author Naomi Foyle has a remarkable way of making me feel. I have been shocked and disturbed by some of the ideas in her books, but likewise there have been times where the touching beauty of her writing has bought me to tears. Her stories might not necessarily read like heart-pounding thrillers or page-turners, but no matter what, they always pack a powerful punch.

That most certainly describes Astra, a bold dystopian tale about a girl growing up in a closed and isolated nature-worshiping community called Is-Land. The novel is divided into three parts, detailing the journey of its eponymous heroine as she ages from a child to young adulthood. Because of the format in which her story is told, it’s probably going to be easier for me to summarize and give my thoughts and opinions on each part separately.

The first part begins when Astra is only seven years old. In this section, we learn a lot about the nation of Is-Land from her perspective. Life seems wonderful and perfect in her little town of Or, where the social structure is highly fluid and everyone lives as naked as the day they are born in harmony with Gaia’s creatures. At the same time, advanced technology exists in his world, used to do things like engineer alt-meat for consumption, or to allow children to learn the ways of Is-Land and Gaia on devices called “tablettes”. Starting with Astra’s generation, children will also be getting the Security Serum, a shot that would make the subject physically stronger, but would also give them a more obedient and pliable personality.

Not surprisingly, many of the details we read about in this section are filtered through the lens of Astra’s youth and innocence. She’s lively, curious, and not just a little bit impish. It’s challenging to write young characters, but I believe Naomi Foyle nailed it perfectly. Astra is good at driving her caregivers up the wall with her unending questions, quick temper and silly antics — in other words, she thinks and acts like a very active and bright seven-year-old. Just thinking about the possible loss of that precociousness really hits home, which is what I think the author intended. Receiving the “Sec Shot” would be the end of everything that makes Astra who she is, and so her Shelter-Mother Hokma devises and carries out a plan to help the young girl avoid getting it.

Then the book skips ahead to when Astra is twelve years old. This is probably the longest section, but it was also the one I found the most interesting. While the previous part amazed me with the depth of the world-building, this part blew me away with its character development and unique take on the classic coming-of-age tale. All sorts of changes are happening to Astra at this point, both physical and emotional. The theme of sexuality also features heavily in this section, and I felt Foyle’s bold and fearless writing style did an excellent job of describing this stage of Astra’s life, conveying all the excitement and poignancy that comes with it. Once again, she gives her main character a voice that is both age-appropriate and believable.

This section also introduces Lil, an orphaned child rescued from the woods who comes to live with Astra in her community. An uncannily realistic “frenemy-like” relationship is forged between the two girls, one of friendship but also rivalry. Astra, who has always felt like an outcast knowing that she has not received her Sec Shot like the rest of her peers, takes an immediate fascination to Lil, who also doesn’t seem to quite fit in. Eventually, the latter’s ideas of the world begin to bleed into Astra’s view of the world, and as everything Astra thought she knew begins to crumble, that’s when things start getting very interesting…

The final part, which is also the shortest, focuses on Astra when she is seventeen. This is the section where everything comes to a head. For the last decade, she has grown up seeing the world differently than her “Sec Gen” friends, and that fateful decision Hokma made with her all those years ago finally leads to some widespread repercussions. A lot of dystopian novels come to a point like this, where the main protagonist’s worldview is shattered by a life-changing event. I can honestly say, however, that there was no way I could have foreseen what happened afterwards. Indeed the conclusion may come as quite a shock.

Like I said, this book isn’t exactly a page-turner, and don’t go in expecting too much action or a grand adventure because that’s not what it is about. But by following Astra through all three life stages, I feel like I’ve come to know her very well, and the author has managed to make me care deeply about her character. I didn’t even realize how completely immersed I’d been until I reached the end, and tears started coming to my eyes while reading a scene that was particularly touching. I don’t know if that would have hit me so hard emotionally if the book hadn’t been so well-written overall.

The sequel will no doubt focus more on the bigger world, now that Astra has discovered some truths about herself and Is-Land. This book, however, was an intensely deep, complex and thought-provoking narrative of the main character’s life. It’s a beautiful story, unique and daring, which serves as a solid foundation for everything else to come.