I enjoyed this more than the 1st one and this got me more invested in the Xenogenesis series. I think it was because this story focuses on a human-Oankali child, so we get more insight into how the Oankali operate. We also see more of the human resistance settlements. I thought the Oankali were paternalistic and condescending in the last book, even if they were right about some things, so it was nice to see some pushback from Akin in this book.