Daphne's Reviews > Starclimber

Re-read: March 2024
I love this series, but omg are Matt and Kate immature. I hope they have a long engagement (though they are still cute as a couple!).

Re-Read: April 2022
The last book that I'll finish at the beach (at least for a while), unfortunately :(

This book doesn't scream 'beach read' to me, but I still had a great time with this. Kate still annoys the hell out of me sometimes but I appreciate how consistent her character is. And I understand why she made the decisions that she did even if I agree with some of them.

I'm so upset that this series is so short but at least all the books in it were great. Now I need to go find a new book to read...since I have a 6 hour bus ride to look forward to **cries**

Re-read: January 2020
I still love this.

Re-read: May 2019
The Matt Cruse trilogy is one of my favorite series of all time. There's something about it that's so charming and lovable. I've read it so many times and I love it just as much each time I pick it up. I love revisiting the characters and seeing what crazy adventures they're up to now.

This is the last book of the series, and you can tell. I'm not saying that in a negative sense, but this novel has a sense of finality in it. Everyone's story comes to a close in this. (view spoiler)[Captain Walken's story is nicely wrapped up with his retirement, Matt and Kate get engaged, and even Bruce's character arc is completed! We find out that he actually did have a passion and that his passion is what inspired his father to even create the spaceship used in the book. I'm glad his character was brought up again, but reading about him made me feel really sad. I felt for his father.

Another thing that completely killed me in this book was Sheppard's death. I will admit that I wasn't a huge fan of him, but before he died he was beginning to grow on me! Since I was re-reading, I knew his death was coming, but I still wasn't prepared. It doesn't help that being lost in space is one of my largest irrational fears. (hide spoiler)]

On a happier note, I loved seeing Matt and Kate just doing couple things. Despite their differences, they make each other so happy! Obviously they work well together during their adventures, but it was nice to see that they are still compatible even when no one is trying to kill them. I got very annoyed at Kate in this book, but I can see why she did everything that she did, and I get why Matt forgave her. Both Kate and Matt are realistically imperfect and they fully accept each other. This is what great ships are made of!

Another great thing about this series is its semi-realism. I say semi-realism because, well, in this book they essentially travel to space (view spoiler)[on an elevator (hide spoiler)] and they are constantly discovering new species, but within the rules set in the world, it's very realistic. The characters' personalities are consistent but you still see their growth, characters reference past events, and everything always seems plausible given what we know about the world. The least plausible thing is that the entirety of this series happened before either Kate or Matt turned 18. (view spoiler)[Though I suppose having Matt technically not make the cut for the space launch adds a bit of realism to series. (hide spoiler)] To add even more realism, Kate even has a consistent chaperone! Miss Simpkins has grown on me throughout the series.

This was a very satisfying conclusion to the series but I wish there was another book, if only because I don't want to say goodbye to these characters. I love absolutely everything about this series and I'm already dying to re-read it.

Original Review
Why does this have to be the last book!? :(