Goldilocks by Laura Lam

GoodReads Summary:
The Earth is in environmental collapse. The future of humanity hangs in the balance. But a team of women are preparing to save it. Even if they’ll need to steal a spaceship to do it.
Despite increasing restrictions on the freedoms of women on Earth, Valerie Black is spearheading the first all-female mission to a planet in the Goldilocks Zone, where conditions are just right for human habitation.
The team is humanity’s last hope for survival, and Valerie has gathered the best women for the mission: an ace pilot who is one of the only astronauts ever to have gone to Mars; a brilliant engineer tasked with keeping the ship fully operational; and an experienced doctor to keep the crew alive. And then there’s Naomi Lovelace, Valerie’s surrogate daughter and the ship’s botanist, who has been waiting her whole life for an opportunity to step out of Valerie’s shadow and make a difference.
The problem is that they’re not the authorized crew, even if Valerie was the one to fully plan the voyage. When their mission is stolen from them, they steal the ship bound for the new planet.
But when things start going wrong on board, Naomi begins to suspect that someone is concealing a terrible secret — and realizes time for life on Earth may be running out faster than they feared . . .
Review:
Goldilocks was not what I was expecting. I was expecting a more adult version of The Final Six where people are sent into space (some authorized and some not) to find a new world for humanity. That’s sort of what happened. But this book was more of a thriller set in space than a search for a new world.
I really enjoyed this story. It’s told from the point of view of Naomi but written in a book as she’s telling her daughter what happened many years later. I thought that was an interesting way to tell the story.
I like Naomi. She’s a girl that has experienced loss, but still acknowledges the privileges she had growing up as a wealthy white female, except for the female part because in this story female’s rights are slowly being taken away. I thought the future world was realistic and terrifying. I liked seeing Naomi’s history and the things she experienced that turned her into the person she was in space.
Then there’s Val. I really liked her storyline. It was interesting and surprising. I could find myself agreeing with her more outlandish ideas, which was a little scary.
The rest of the crew was interesting too. Though I would have liked to learn more about them. I would have liked to see a little more friendship and comradery among these women.
Overall, this thriller was a wild ride. The science-fiction aspect of the story was interesting and horrifying. I liked the characters and the diversity among them. I definitely think this will be a hit for lovers of thrillers and lovers of science fiction.

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.