It’s a fiercely compassionate, clear-eyes, and clever novel, exploring mental health through the lens of one of the most buttoned up periods of western history, the consequences of grief and loss on people of faith, and its even greater fallout on those faithful who work in the sciences. It picks at the mindset that kept women out of orbit for decades, and offers up Elma as a logical catalyst to change that, or lock them away from the stars forever. And, most of all, it develops her as a real person rather than an untouchable icon: brilliant, heroic, and just as human as the rest of us.
Many of us are more than a little nostalgic for the Barnes & Noble Sci-Fi and Fantasy Blog. It did a wonderful job at highlighting new books, news, and more. The Calculating Stars had the fortune to be one of its picks back in the day.
This review digs into the humanity of the Lady Astronaut Universe. Elma and the other women are forced into difficult situations, battling the people and institutions that refuse to recognize them as they deserve. They struggle with their own personal challenges and flaws. They are, in short, deeply human.
Read the full review at Barnes & Noble.
