Earth Girl, Book 1
Synopsis: I KNOW WHAT YOU CALL US. THROWBACKS. NEANDERTHALS. APES.
In the far future, the universe is divided into two different groups: the Norms, who can portal between planets, and people like Jarra, the one in a thousand born with an immune system that doesn’t allow them to survive anywhere but Earth.
BUT I HAVE A PLAN.
Norms come back to Earth for one reason: to study human history – like the ruins of what was once New York City. But only if they don’t have to interact with any Apes along the way. 18-year-old Jarra has a plan to change that.
THIS IS ONE EARTH GIRL WHO WON’T GIVE IN.
My thoughts: Earth Girl intrigued me from the moment I read the first review. Science fiction is not my regular cup of tea, so I was a bit hesitant at first. However, the book continued to call to me, so I finally decided to purchase and read it. Well, it only took a few pages for me to fall in love and drop into a world I was loathe to leave. Wonderful world-building and a strong female protagonist kept me awake long after midnight.
Earth Girl is a fascinating story about a teenager filled with bitterness and anger about the way Handicapped people are treated by Norms, who believe apes like Jarra are lacking in intelligence. When the time comes to choose her future, Jarra decides to apply for a Pre-history Foundation Year at an off-world university. All the courses in the first year are held on Earth, which will enable her to fool the Norms into thinking she is one of them. Her plan is to prove to them that she is every bit as intelligent and capable as they are before telling them the truth and feeding them all her fury.
I really love Jarra. She is smart, capable, strong and utterly disarming. She knows what she wants and will do everything she can to achieve it. But what seemed so easy at first, becomes more complicated when Jarra actually meets her Norm teacher and fellow students. I really love the way Edwards portrays Jarra’s emotional roller coaster and her confrontation with her own prejudices. Jarra is quite a dominant character and she really sticks out, but several of the other characters were also worked out quite well.
Earth Girl was a joy to read. Although it’s not a SF Romance, the romantic storyline was quite charming and had me smiling numerous times. In my opinion, Edwards created a believable world that takes place in the future. A most intriguing world and one that I would love to read more about. Thankfully this is the first book of three, so I have two more books to look forward to. I cannot wait to read more of Jarra’s adventures!
Jessica @ Rabid Reads
Great review, Melliane. I just added both this book and the next one to my wishlist. This series sounds like exactly my kind of thing–I want it!
Melliane
it’s not my review, it’s Mirjam
Jessica @ Rabid Reads
And by “Melliane” I meant “Mirjam” SORRY!!
Mirjam
No problem and thanks! I hope you’ll enjoy Earth Girl and Earth Star. 🙂
Melissa (Books and Things)
Sounds so good! I do like sci-fi so this one is REALLY for me. 🙂 I do love that you tried it even though it wasn’t your cuppa. Great review!
Mirjam
Thx! I’m just glad Earth Girl was would not be denied. Trying new things can be really rewarding! 🙂
blodeuedd
Sounds so weird…I love it
Mirjam
Weird can be really charming.. and this one sure charmed me.
kimbacaffeinate
Mirjam, this sounds fantastic and how the heck did I miss this book? It sounds like my cuppa. Yep, I just added it 🙂
Mirjam
Always a pleasure to introduce people to wonderful books! I hope you’ll enjoy this trip to the future. 🙂
Braine Talk Supe
Eh, not my cup of tea. It sounds like a watered down Planet of the Apes to me. Happy to see you appreciate the plot and that it met your expectations despite your initial hesitance.
Mirjam
It can’t be everyone’s cup of tea.
Carmel @ Rabid Reads
It sounds like you fell insta-in-love with this book. Looks like I’ll be adding another one to the pile. Thanks (I think?)! 😉
Mirjam
Ha ha. Sorry about that! 😉
brandileigh2003
The emotions sound great and glad you enjoyed Jarra’s adventures
Mirjam
Thank you! 🙂
Lily B
I really enjoy science-fiction, so I am quiet glad you enjoyed this one! I love how strong the main character sounds and always enjoy a good world building.
Mirjam
I have read a couple of science fiction books the past few months, which I really enjoyed (Gini Koch, Janet Edwards), so perhaps I can be converted! 🙂
kara-karina
Great review, Mirjam! I have this one on my shelves but haven’t had a chance to read it yet.
Mirjam
I hope you will get to it one of these days and love it as much as I did. 🙂
Tabitha
I absolutely loved this one and how she starts out that way like you said trying to proove something with her bitter plan to reveal things at the end to change like she did, it was amazing!
Mirjam
I’m really looking forward to Earth Star. I hope it’s a worthy sequel. Have you read it yet?