This bit of sci-fi YA started off OK, but ended up being a huge women's empowerment FAIL.
So, the book basically starts off as taking Snow White and making her Katniss (she fights in cages and has a tattoo that does weird things in black light) but then making everything else Star Wars: the prince is pretty much Han Solo, the first setting (Thandia) is very much like Hoth, the second setting (Garam) is pretty much Tatooine without Jabba the Hut, the other two planets are pretty much Naboo, oh- and one of the seven drones is waaaay too much like R2D2.
All this is OK, even though I got bored halfway through and had to force myself to go on.
But then Lewis turns completely from her original let's-make-the-princess-modern idea.
HUGE SPOILER ALERT
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So, in the end, not only does Lewis have Dane (the handsome prince) tag along so he can teach Snow to fight (even though she already knows how) and follow her every movement, Lewis also has him claim Snow as his sexual property by killing her father when he tries to rape her. Then, of course, she agrees to marry Dane and they immediately start talking about having babies.
NO!!! This turns Snow right back into the mold Lewis appears to be trying to break: the princess is the prize to be won and good only for making babies.
Yuck.
Lewis really misses her chance on the ending.
If she'd had Dane stay behind on his own planet, then lead his forces in AFTER Snow had killed her own incestuous father and taken leadership of her people WITHOUT having to be rescued by anyone, then she and Dane could have met as equals to start a better society.
It could have worked.
But it doesn't.
It's an okay YA sci-fi with a huge FAIL at feminism.
Sigh.
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