“What was it about mothers, that they could know you so well, and not know you at all”

When I first saw the synopsis for this book, my expectations for this story, a sci-fi thriller over who exploded a bomb and how the human dynamics shift when it is determined that the bomber is one of the people on the ship with you. The unfortunate part of “The Deep Sky” by Yume Kitasei is the mystery of who the caused the bombing is the least exciting part of the whole book. By the time the mystery got revealed, I had kinda already stopped caring about it and was more invested in the human relationships with Asuka and the other crew members and the flashbacks to when they were still on Earth. 

The most important relationship in this entire story is between Asuka and her mother. Though the flashbacks you see how estranged their relationship is, how they are both trying to find their way in a world were the future is not a guarantee. Hearing the letters that Asuka’s mom sent her after she went into space, acknowledging her mistakes, while also knowing that Asuka is likely never gonna hear or see her again was heartbreaking. I almost wish that there was not a bombing mystery at all, and 100% of the book was just focused on the human element. 

Specifically to the audiobook, the narrator was fantastic and did such a great job of playing the different roles. It also rolled pretty quickly and made moments like the mother’s letters and the flashbacks more impactful. 

Overall this is worth your time to listen to, especially if you have a Everand subscription. I would recommend the audiobook over the physical/digital version just because of the added emotion to pivotal moments.