The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

 

In the distant future, Rosemary Harper (resident of Mars) joins the crew of a spaceship that drills wormholes through space-time to make shortcuts from one location to another that would otherwise take much more travel time. Rosemary is withholding information about herself in order to stay under the radar. The crew of the ship are a bunch of interesting characters from all walks of life. As this adventure story progresses, and the crew members agree to a major new job that will keep them from being “planet-side” for quite a while, the story delves deeper into the lives of each crew member. The major job they've hired on for has a big payoff that will take them to the next level in their field, but it comes with a lot of risk. It's not certain all of them will make it safely home.

I don't read a lot of sci-fi, space opera types of stories, but I really enjoyed this book. The ideas were fresh, and I enjoyed the diversity of the characters and the openness with which the story was told. I was drawn in by the characters and their stories more than any other aspect. It was a delightful adventure, and I look forward to picking up the next book in the Wayfarers series.