if you haven't heard of it (somehow, it's really popular right now especially because of the film lolll) it's basically this sci-fi novel in which a physics teacher called ryland grace gets roped into going to space to save humanity from a microscopic alien life form that's eating the sun called astrophage and he must go on a suicide mission into another star system to do research on it. while there, he meets this alien called rocky from a planet called erid who is doing research on the same alien life form in order to save erid and they make friends. very abridged version but yea lmao.

to begin with, i found grace's narrative voice a little bit annoying and i can definitely see that his humour is probably not for everyone (OMFG DUDE I KNOW WHAT IMPERIAL UNITS ARE STOPPPP EXPLAINING IT TO ME... maybe his constant mention of units was meant to be thematically important though tbf because he meets aliens and learns about their culture and wtv but like idk im too dumb and tired to analyse if there's anything there or not) but you kind of get used to it and i find that he's wayyy less annoying once you meet rocky. might be because more stuff happens then? i feel like the pacing sped up towards the end of the book. not saying that's a bad decision at all btw i actually think the slow pacing at the beginning really captures how being alone can feel because you kind of take your time to take everything in as a way to entertain yourself without company + also there's quite a bit of exposition to do so yea it makes sense, i liked it. didn't mean i got bored either, it's a page turner throughout.

anyway, i find grace and rocky's friendship really really sweet i love their dynamic sm. i know it was basically the whole book but i want moreeee of it lmao. i love rocky and i know everyone loves rocky but i also love rocky. from what i've seen of the fandom, they do infantalise him a little bit which does annoy me (he's not dumb he's just an alien with limited knowledge of english and a bubbly personality like he's canonically smart asf) but i might've just been exposed to some rogue mischaracterisation that is not indicitave of the majority of the fandom's view on him (i've only been in the fandom for like half a day after all lmao).

i found the ending sooooo sweet it gave me this kind of happy melancholy?? i don't know i think it was just because i was finishing a book i had really enjoyed. the ending might have been my favourite part actually just because of how weirdly emotional it made me. kinda unrelated (?) but come to think of it, i haven't read anything upbeat in a looooooong time. not sure if this is why i felt that way or not lol

i have now seen it!! god it was sososo awesome i can't even express, new favourite movie maybe. whole experienced is enhanced with the aroace grace headcanon because it's just about wanting to live for the love of living and not for a romantic partner and then he finds rocky who just gets him yk, he is more understood by an alien race than he is by his own species (stratt gives him a few hours to think about it and then rocky says 'think about it long time' like omgg kill me already) and there is no romance it is just about finding where you belong and oh god i'm not explaining it well but it really really really speaks to me. awesome film