The Loneliness of Distant Beings by Kate Ling

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 320

Publisher: Little Brown Books for Younger Readers

Released: 19th of May 2016 

'It is that quick, it is that strong, it is that beautiful. And it is also totally impossible.'

Even though she knows it's impossible, Seren longs to have the sunshine on her skin. It's something she feels she needs to stay sane. But when you're floating through space at thousands of kilometres an hour, sometimes you have to accept there are things you cannot change.

Except that the arrival of Dom in her life changes everything in ways she can barely comprehend. For a while he becomes the Sun for her; and she can't help but stay in his orbit. Being with him flaunts every rule designed to keep their home in order, but to lose him would be like losing herself.

In the end they must decide what is most important: loyalty to the only home they've ever known, or to each other?

What I Have to Say 

Overall, I liked The Loneliness of Distant Beings. It had a nice story behind it and was written in an engaging and relatable way, but the style put me off a bit. I think that the teenage voice was very accurate is very similar to the way that a teenage girl would write in her diary, especially while suffering from depression. I got into it after a while, but it did put me off a lot at the start. 

I also felt that the action was all clustered too much at the end. There just wasn't much really happening throughout most of the book and then shortly after things start happening, it ended. It's another of those books where I feel like the relationship had a bit too much importance put on it. I feel that I would have enjoyed it more if it was more about a girl who is so desperate to get away from the stifling atmosphere of the ship and feel the sun on her face and the sand beneath her feet for the first time rather than having it so much about trying to have a relationship with Dom. 

It was really an interesting book though. The idea of how humanity would react to potential contact extraterrestrial life and send a ship to seek it out as well as the rules in place to ensure that the human culture stays consistent throughout such a long voyage was really interesting. 

I think if there's a sequel then I would be very interested to read it. 

My thanks go to Little Brown Books and Netgalley for providing me with this copy for review.