The Evaporation of Sofi Snow by Mary Weber (Website, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads)Published by HarperCollins Christian Publishing on June 6th 2017
Genres: General, Romance, Science Fiction, Young Adult Fiction
Pages: 352
Format: ARC
Ever since the Delonese ice-planet arrived eleven years ago, Sofi's dreams have been vivid. Alien. In a system where Earth's corporations rule in place of governments and the humanoid race orbiting the moon are allies, her only constant has been her younger brother, Shilo. As an online gamer, Sofi battles behind the scenes of Earth's Fantasy Fighting arena where Shilo is forced to compete in a mix of real and virtual blood sport. But when a bomb takes out a quarter of the arena, Sofi's the only one who believes Shilo survived. She has dreams of him. And she's convinced he's been taken to the ice-planet.
Except no one but ambassadors are allowed there.
For Miguel, Earth's charming young playboy, the games are of a different sort. As Ambassador to the Delonese, his career has been built on trading secrets and seduction. Until the Fantasy Fight's bomb goes off. Now the tables have turned and he's a target for blackmail. The game is simple: Help the blackmailers, or lose more than anyone can fathom, or Earth can afford.
The Evaporation of Sofi Snow is set in the future. Earth is no longer ruled by a government, instead there are a system of corporations that are aligned with the Delonese… the inhabitants of the ice-planet that arrived eleven years ago. Sofi has had only her brother, Shilo, to count on since the death of her father… with her mother more interested in Corp 30 she has made sure that she’s the one person he can count on.
As part of a team representing Corp 30 in the Fantasy Fighting Arena Sofi is a talented online gamer and hacker with the one goal of winning to keep Shilo safe. The fights are a mix of real and virtual and only the most skilled succeed. When something goes wrong in one of the final fights and a bomb goes off, killing most of Sofi’s team everyone is convinced that Shilo was killed, but Sofi knows that’s not true… she knows he’s on the Delonese planet and she’ll do anything she has to in order to get him back. The one catch is that she’s not allowed on the planet, which means she’ll have to ask the one person she dislikes more than anyone.
Miguel is an Ambassador to the Delonese and someone is blackmailing him to keep the truth about the bomb in the Fantasy Fight games a secret. When Sofi comes to him for help, he knows she’s desperate, and he has to choose whether to help her and possibly start a war, or leave her behind and save his reputation.
I love alien books… and honestly, there are just not enough of them.
I also love books where our heroines are super smart and talented, and skilled and honestly, Sofi is all that and more. She’s a talented hacker/coder/gamer and everyone around her knows it. She hasn’t depended on anyone for years and she certainly has no urge to start now, but when her brother’s life is at stake, she’s willing to put her ego and the history she has with Miguel aside to help him. Sofi is just such an exquisitely developed character and there are so many layers to her. The girl who really wishes she had a mother who cared more about her and her brother than her job… the girl who, for the first time, had feelings for a boy that she was experiencing for the first time, the girl who is willing to do anything and everything to save her brother’s life. It’s so hard to just pin her down to one or two amazing things.
And Miguel … his story was a bit more subtle, but what we learn about him is that he’s way more complicated than he lets on. I just didn’t know what to think about him from the beginning but as the pieces of his story fall into place, you can’t help but want more for him and Sofi and you can see that despite this character he’s showing to the world, there is so much more to him.
Even the secondary characters jump off the page!
The story itself has some twists and turns and the ending is something I did NOT see coming. Weber had me thinking one thing the entire story and then BAM that is so not what was actually happening and I LOVE when books do that to me!
I want to know more about Sofi, I want to know more about Shilo, I want more Miguel!
If you don’t have this book on your radar yet, I highly recommend you get it there. This was an action packed, fast-paced story layered with the complications of politics, family bonds & relationships, loyalty, and betrayal. Fans of Sci-Fi and smart, complicated characters and relationships are definitely going to love this and I can’t wait for more in book 2!
Thank you to the publisher for an early copy in exchange for my honest thoughts!
About Mary Weber
Mary Weber is the multiple-award-winning author of the bestselling young adult Storm Siren Trilogy, and The Evaporation of Sofi Snow series (all by HarperCollins). An avid high school, middle school, and conference speaker, Mary's passion is helping others find their voice amid a world that often feels too loud. When she's not plotting adventures involving tough girls who frequently take over the world, Mary sings 80's hairband songs to her three muggle children, and ogles her husband who looks strikingly like Wolverine. They live in California which is perfect for stalking L.A. bands, Joss Whedon, and the ocean.
Mary's debut, Storm Siren, was featured in the Scholastic School Book Fairs, and her novels have been endorsed by bestselling authors Marissa Meyer, Jay Asher, Wendy Higgins, CJ Redwine, and Jonathan Maberry.
You can also find Mary's fun interviews in the paperback of Marissa Meyer's NYT bestselling, CRESS, and in Jay Asher's 13 REASONS WHY movie tie-in edition. Most recently, you can see her and her family as extras in the NETFLIX Original Series, 13 REASONS WHY.
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