Victories Greater Than Death, by Charlie Jane Anders

After hearing author Charlie Jane Anders talk about this book on a podcast awhile back I thought it sounded interesting, bought it and then forgot about it for awhile as I was reading other things. When I finally picked it up I enjoyed this fast-paced YA science fiction novel, which is the first in a series.

Teenager Tina Mains kind of falls into the “Chosen One” trope, but the news that she’s special doesn’t come as a surprise to her — she was raised as an average American kid with a loving single mom, but a kid who’s always known that she isn’t actually human, but is a human appearing clone of a powerful alien warrior whose people are someday coming back to pick her up. When the moment finally comes, Tina’s supposed to say goodbye to earth and everything on it forever — but her best friend ends up coming along with her. Far from home and swept into the middle of a war between alien forces, Tina and Rachel have to forge new alliances and figure out how to survive and thrive.

This novel has a lively cast of characters both human and alien, and was a quick, enjoyable read. I am pretty sure I will pick up the next book in the series when it’s out.