Reclaiming Shilo Snow- Mary Weber

My Rating: 2.5 Stars


Description: Trapped on the ice-planet of Delon, gamer girl Sofi and Ambassador Miguel have discovered that nothing is what it seems, including their friends. On a quest to rescue her brother, Shilo, a boy everyone believes is dead, they must now escape and warn Earth of Delon’s designs on humanity. Except the more they unearth of the planet and Sofi’s past, the more they feel themselves unraveling, as each new revelation has Sofi questioning the very existence of reality.

Meanwhile, back on Earth, Sofi’s mom, Inola, is battling a different kind of unraveling: a political one that could cost lives, positions, and a barely-rebuilt society, should they discover the deal made with the Delonese.

But there’s a secret deeper than all that. One locked away inside Sofi and ticking away with the beginnings, endings, and answers to everything. Including how to save humanity.


My Thoughts: I have to admit, I'm not sure why this book is as loved as it is. Like with the first book, the writing is pretty smooth and easy to read, and for the first quarter, I though I was going to like this so much better than the first book. The writing was intense, filled with suspense and some pretty horrifying imagery. That imagery finally had me fully engaged in the Sofi's plan to bring the Delonese down. However, that changed soon after.

Eventually, <spoiler> Sofi and Miguel are apprehended <spoiler/> after which, the characters are subjected to mind games which lead nowhere. The Delonese attempt to break Sofi and Miguel into explaining how they gained access to their systems in the last book, however this takes place over a hundred pages in which the description is repetitive and neither characters are able to pick up on something which I realized after only two pages.

Other reviewers have mentioned Inola, Sofi's mother, as being a new point of view in this book. This addition was something that I both liked and didn't. Her perspective was a great addition to the emotion of the family dynamics (one of the few things I really enjoyed- more in a minute) however, most of her scenes were of conversations and info dumping which I did not care for.

The love between Sofi and Shilo is the only thing that really sticks out to me about this story. Personally, I can fully relate to the lengths Sofi is willing to go to for her brother and I also appreciate the honesty in the relationship between her and her mother. Despite how awful of a parent Inola is, I still felt that she was able to trick herself into believing she did the right thing, not only by her kids but by the rest of the world. However, my appreciation for this facet of the book wasn't enough to redeem the story for me.

I have provided an honest review after receiving a copy of the book from the publisher.