Becky Chambers books have that wonderful duality of making me feel both curious and assured. They are books that comfort the soul and expand the mind, asking us to look at our human experience through new lenses while also offering something so authentically healing it is easy to forget we're reading about alien races and futuristic worlds. In AS YOU WAKE, BREAK THE SHELL, we're given a stronger focus on romance than Chambers has offered in the past, and she portrays the love story between Cora and Signy beautifully against a backdrop of her ever-insightful and intriguing world-building.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this ARC for review.

This is the first book in a new duology from Becky Chambers, and contains many of her trade-mark themes: cosy world-building, heavy on characterisation rather than plotline, found family, loss and hope, community and survival.

The Monk and The Robot books were just too gentle and cosy for me, but I enjoyed this a lot more than I was expecting to. While it won't satisy anyone who prefers more science and space action in their sci-fi, there are some really intriguing elements. Especially the rorquals. The relationship between Cora and her rorqual Colibri was just as wonderful and heartwarming as the central romance. I greatly enjoyed both Cora and Signy individually and together, and although the dual timeline was disorienting at first it ended up flowing beautifully by the end - which I should mention is a total (and unexpected to me) cliffhanger! Come for the struggling colony on a hostile planet and sapphic romance, and stay for the rorquals, botanical expositions and recipes.

This book was pure poetry. I don’t even know how to do it justice in a review, except to say that it spoke to me and moved me in ways I didn’t know possible.
This was my first book by Becky Chambers (a shame, I know), and this is so far my favourite read of the year. The way she was able to mix scifi and high stakes with a beautiful love story? I still can’t comprehend how she made that happen, but honestly this book was perfectly written, and beautiful and also sad in so many ways, I can’t wait to read the next, and I will go binge all of her works as soon as I can.
The love story between Signy and Cora was beautifully written, and the found family aspects of the plot were amazingly done. I can already say that this is a book I’ll re-read until the end of times.

I always find it harder to write a coherent review about books I loved - and that's definitely the case here. I think As You Wake, Break the Shell is one of perhaps 3 true five-star reads so far this year (it's June). In some ways, it feels like a culmination of themes in Becky Chambers' work so far - the emotional power and deep hope of Monk and Robot, alongside the social and scientific considerations of Wayfarers. Not to sound too over the top, but this book is honestly a bit of a masterpiece. The emotions in the text are real and, perhaps most importantly, complex - the acknowledgements / author's note at the end brought this home further, and really moved me. I enjoyed the almost mixed-media approach - the reader is met with multiple POVs and different narrative styles, alongside snippets of conversation and even recipes. Cora and Signy's relationship was beautiful to watch grow - it felt so helpful.
I loved the rorqual in general, and Colibri in particular - I found myself empathising with her point of view a lot (perhaps strangely!)
In short: Becky Chambers remains a wonder, and I can't wait to read whatever she writes next - no matter how distant in the future that may be.

I hadn’t realised how much I had missed Becky Chambers’s writing until I got into As you Wake, Break the Shell; it was like easing back into a comfortable pair of shoes, sitting an old favourite armchair.

I have been a fan of her work since first reading The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet and have never yet been disappointed, but this may well be a new favourite. We see 2 characters across 2 points in their lives — in their future, where they have been together for a couple of decades, and in their past, when they first meet and fall for eachother. Clearly a lot has happened between their meet-cute and them being a middle-aged couple in a different location and finding out some of how they get there was really good fun; I had forgotten how witty Chambers’s writing can be.

Her worldbuilding is, as always, superb. We are introduced to a sentient beast-of-burden species, one of whom I love just as much as our deuteragonists, and a colony seeded from a distant corporation and the details Chambers puts into this setting make it feel very real.

Genuinely my only complaint is that it was only as we approached the end of the book that I realised it is the 1st half of a new duology. Not only do I have to wait for the 2nd half to be released but, as I had the privilege of reading an ARC from NetGalley, I even have to wait for this book to be released 😂

For anyone who already loves Becky Chambers, this book will delight you. For anyone who has yet to discover her work, this is yet another wonderful, compelling entry-point into her work. If you even slightly enjoy hopepunk as a concept, I recommend this book to you in the strongest terms.

I loved this, so it may come as a surprise that I'm going to disagree with most of the other reviews so far. Granted, I only skimmed them, but most of them state that As You Wake, Break the Shell feels like a comforting, warm hug.

It doesn't. It really, really doesn't.

As You Wake, Break the Shell is not a comfort. It's a sharp twist in your stomach, a small pinprick in your heart as you realize something is wrong. It's a dying houseplant, it's sunlight on hardwood floors, it's childlike wonder while looking at a cloudless star-strewn sky, it's the feeling of falling in love with space but knowing you'll never have the smarts to get anywhere close to them, it's watching your pet get old, it's your mother's smile as she tends to her favorite orchid, it's having a chronic illness that doesn't endanger your life but still has no cure. It's your sister moving to the opposite end of the country, it's growing up and leaving the house but always looking back over your shoulder.
It is wishing you could go back, and the cold that floods your system as you realize that you cannot.

So, yeah, to summarize all of that: This book is so complex. While reading, I found myself marvelling at the depths of Becky Chambers's imagination and creativity. I just simply cannot comprehend how a human mind can come up with stuff like this. The description of the rorqual, an animal/spaceship hybrid central to the story, left me unable to breathe for a while. I legitimately had to put the book down and stare at a blank wall for a couple of minutes. I was BREATHLESS at some points of this book. Like, yeah, sure, some parts are universal to stories, and some stuff is cozy space/gardening lesbians falling in love, but some part felt almost earth-shattering to me. I was so close to tears multiple times. And I cannot even summarize what this book is being about, except maybe LOVE. Love, family, loss, grief, tears, pain, hope - oh, so much hope.

I haven't really checked out a lot of Chambers's stuff before, except for the Monk & Robot series, which, while lovely, can't possibly come anywhere close to how THIS BOOK altered the chemistry of my brain. I wish I was exaggerating, I really wish I was. This broke my brain in some way that will take some time to unravel.
All in all, this made me feel so many emotions I cannot possibly name and quantify. I could go on gushing forever - but this is my review, and I want to end it now. I'm gonna think of this a lot. I also can't believe I now have to wait for the sequel. Never have I ever wanted one more desperately.

Read this. Go on the journey.
Hold on tight.

I think what I like most about Becky Chambers' books is that you immediately accept whatever world she places you in. From the start of this one, Cora and Signy felt familiar, like old friends, and I accepted their lives without querying what was happening and why. And whilst this is sci-fi, and I loved Colibri the Rorqual, and I was wondering about the world and what was happening, really this was a book about love and about family.
I feel like I learned a lot, too, about seeds and plants, and there are even some recipes sprinkled in there...
Heads up that it ends on a cliff-hanger (that I was totally unprepared for, even though I knew this was book 1 of 2). But because the book slips between timelines I didn't totally freak out because I knew, at least partially, what was coming.
I basically inhaled the whole thing it was so easy and lovely to read. Looking forward to part 2!
I was so excited to get this one!

This was such an easy five star read from the reigning queen of cosy sci-fi. Signy and Cora are two women living in a dystopian future on a planet off Earth. For some reason huge ships were sent from Earth with the provisions to enable generations of humans to be born and live on a distant planet-but this planet comes with its own problems to be worked around. Cora is a rorqual pilot-she is connected essentially telepathically to a giant creature unlike anything we know. The pair of them work together to collect more resources such as ice so that people living on the planet of Freedom can have sufficient drinking water. Signy runs a plant shop where she illegally modifies the genetic code of plants to make medicine for people the government have deemed as too much of a drain on the limited resources available-such as heart medication for an elderly man who lives across the street. This is such a lovely story of the growth of a relationship between two people and their wider social circles and aside from the found family aspect there is a mystery going on in the background that is touched upon but not fully uncovered-roll on book two!

I don't think Becky Chambers can write a book that I won't enjoy. It felt like being lost at sea in a storm in a very cosy and secure lifeboat; I know I'm safe for now and I'll be rescued, but I know that there will be pain between now and then.

Cora and Signy's story is told across two dual timelines, one where they have just met and are both eking out a life on their inhospitable home planet, and the other where they have created a life and a home in a moon system surrounding a gas giant. Chambers explores themes of found family (a classic for her) and what it means to thrive vs survive.

The worst thing about this book was that I didn't realise it was a duology until I finished it.

Becky Chambers is one of my favourite authors, and happily this book did not disappoint. I was in love with the characters and I was in love with their love for each other. I screenshotted recipes (even if I'll probably never actually make them), found biology interesting for the first time in years, and I absolutely need more rorqual in my life. The ending just has me hoping that book 2 comes my way sooner rather than later.

My one slight criticism would be that it can be slightly hard to follow at times as the timelines get more and more mixed as the story progresses and some of the dialogue is missing dialogue tags. However, although it took some getting used to, I found that it really added to the overall vibe of the story and I really enjoyed it. Dual timelines are often a big turnoff for me (I struggle to be invested in them both at the same time), but in this case it worked really well: I was curious enough about both stories that I was never waiting to get back to the time period I enjoyed more. I do think that reading this as a physical, fully-formatted copy would also lower some of the friction I felt in regards to figuring out what was happening when, so I imagine this will be even less of an issue for readers of the final book!

One thing I always like to do when reviewing a book is look at the criticisms of people giving the book around 3 stars - people who liked it, but didn't love it. This helps me think critically about my own opinions and sometimes it can help me figure out what kind of people might like a book. Some reviewers have been saying that they wanted more sci-fi out of this and that it read more as a literary romance set in a sci-fi world than true sci-fi. I don't completely disagree, although that obviously didn't affect my enjoyment of the book. In fact, I would say that that assessment is true of many Becky Chambers books, with her Wayfarers series being perhaps the most firmly sci-fi and also the most popular - even though for me, it's actually my least favourite (around 4 stars, as opposed to 4.5-5 stars, so I still really like it).

My verdict: You have a high chance of loving this book if you enjoyed To Be Taught, If Fortunate or the Monk and Robot duology, and a pretty high change if you prefer the Wayfarers series. Do just be aware that the vibes are less space exploration and more an exploration of everyday life - I'm a big believer in having the right expectations means enjoying the book more.

Thought-provoking and beautifully written, this sapphic sci-fi is the start of a fantastic new duology from one of my favourite sci-fi authors, Becky Chambers.

I adore her writing style, and every book I’ve read by her has been one I’ve loved. This story has so many different elements to it, but at its heart, it’s a story about love in all its different variations.

Rule number 1: always trust where Becky Chambers is taking you. I could have had so many questions about this book but ultimately I let it all flow over me because I always have faith in Becky Chambers and it definitely paid off. Somewhere along the way, Signy, Cora, Colibri, Otto and everyone else managed to sink under my skin and make a home there and I found myself voraciously reading just to be spending more time with them rather than wanting to find out what happens. Such brilliant storytelling; so good it made me cry several times

I finished reading this book and ran to record a voice note about everything I loved in it before I forgot it, so here you go:
1. Becky Chambers' commitment to writing sci-fi that is non-gritty and soft in a good way, about how humans can survive and thrive in community in a sustainable futuristic society, in comparison to hard sci-fi which paints the more bleak, dystopian future
2. This feels like an evolution of Chambers' previous writing where she explores more depth and heaviness than before, really extending dystopian themes and exploring the questions within them. How do we make long-term changes without hurting people in the now? How do we become more sustainable while understanding that the greener option can be more expensive or less accessible?
3. Not portraying the aliens/creatures as cute, shown as complex and difficult to love, nuanced and terrifying, and in spite of it there is no other choice than to of course treat them with respect and love and give them agency
4. Botany, plant biology, fungal mycchoriza, volatile organic compounds, plant communication vs fungal communication! the gap between the technology we have, the restrictions that we have because of legislature/capitalism, and the access people have to science! biological concepts executed well!
5. Treating side characters as people who have their own agency. Eg; Twig as an expression of valid anger towards the capitalistic system, Cora as what adults say, Signy as the factor of "what can you use this anger for that is useful?"
6. In spite of being an introvert and not liking social interaction, Signy forces herself to do it in order to better understand people and to be able to help them. An original justification for socialisation and acknowledging that it can suck but it's gotta be done if you want to play your part in a better society!
I loved this book and I am amazed by how well Chambers always ties things together to explore really complex things while also making me root for her characters. This is how good writing can get.

Once again, Becky Chambers wrote a beautiful, touching book. I loved everything about it: the back and forth between two timelines, the characters, the world-building( I cannot imagine a world without animals in it), even the plants! I was particularly touched by Colibri and her relationship with Cora, it really resonated with me.
However, I think it’s best to get into this book just as I did, without explanations and expectations, and that’s why I don’t want to say more: read this book !

What an amazing read! As You Wake, Break the Shell was my first experience of Becky Chambers, and I absolutely loved it.

The world-building was phenomenal. I was completely drawn into the world and found it so imaginative and beautifully created. Chambers’ writing style is incredible and really stood out to me throughout the book.

The time jumping could be a little difficult to follow at times, but I actually found it really interesting and enjoyed seeing how the different timelines came together.

This was such a memorable read, and I’m definitely going to be picking up more of Becky Chambers’ books. A phenomenal writing style, an incredible world and a story I absolutely loved.

📚I was able to read an advanced copy of title thanks to NetGalley, Becky Chambers and Hodder & Stoughton📚
📚All reviews and opinions are entirely my own📚

As You Wake, Break the Shell invites us into the lives of Cora and Signy and their story is told through dual timelines, we switch between present and future versions of them. Or past and present? I suppose you could look at it either way.
Cora is a pilot, not quite of a ship but a giant creature, a rorqual. They communicate sort of telepathically and try to understand each other even when the ideas are incomprehensible, their connection is deep and full of love. However, Cora is sick, her work with her rorqual, Colibri, has resulted in 'mind-bleed'. She goes to Signy for help. Signy is a botanist, and secretly engineers her plants to make illegal medicine for those the government has decided are not 'worth' the resources. She is reclusive, clever, curious and deeply loves her work.
In this universe humans left Earth and moved into space, somewhere out there there may or may not still be a mothership from that time, it has become somewhat of a myth. The humans we meet live on the planet Fortune, in a crater, on giant rafts tethered to each other. The air is unbreathable, the rain is acidic, volcanos erupt and trap you inside, sometimes rafts fail. There are lots of restrictions to their lives there, some people are content, others are not.

This book was slow and calm and devastating and hopeful and so full of anger and love. I expected nothing less from Becky Chambers and yet again I find she has written something unlike anything I have read before. I loved the way style and form were played with here, with the differing forms of communication and the themes of the wonder of communication as a whole. Everyone is just trying to understand each other as best as they can, everyone is just so full of love. These characters and the world are built up so thoroughly and poetically - it's beautiful. I am interested, as I read others' reviews, whether their reading experience leans toward feeling cosy and hopeful or the opposite. For me, at times it did feel cosy and warm, and at others it felt panicked and angry and scarily recognisable. I think that kind of meshing is one thing Becky Chambers is so great at. My favourite of her previous books is A Closed and Common Orbit and, though not the same at all, the slow, deep focus on characters, relationships and the internal reminded me of that.

At first I wasn't sure if I liked the dual timelines, in some ways the book was spoiling itself as it went along, but it quickly grew on me and made for such a wonderful meeting at the end. What a lovely cast of characters and what a feat to write someone like Colibri. The depth at which Signy and Cora's relationship was explored was so interesting and beautiful to read, I loved watching that connection grow and their curiosity for each other blossom. I greatly admire the respect and care that was depicted within their relationship.

I'm very excited to see where this world goes and whose perspective we see it from next. I'm so happy to be reading Becky Chambers' words again.

Very grateful to NetGalley for allowing my impatient self to read this early!

I was so excited to receive this ARC, because of how much I have loved Becky Chambers' other works and this certainly did not disappoint.
The novel is beautifully crafted, filled with loving and lovable characters, who live in a world that is hostile to them. Following their journey has been a great joy and if you are interested in lesbians gardening in space then you should definitely give this a go!

What a great read but I wish I had known it was the first of two books before starting.
With the T minus scenario I had guessed what and where was going to happen at the finish so it was a big disappointment to be left in limbo.
It was much more than good sci-fi with a love story. It explored relationships of all sorts and what humans need to survive and to feel that they are living. And Cora's relationship with her living tamed space travelling rorqual was explored beautifully.
The pace slowed in the second half and focused on the relationship between Cora and Signy but somehow that made the finish more dramatic and made me ponder about the ways that humanity treats the surrounding ecosytem.
Can't wait for the follow up.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to experience this book before official publication in return for an honest review.

And my honest review is: i don't know how Becky Chambers does it. Any of it. I don't know how she manages to make all of her characters, human and alien alike, into fascinating, rounded people. I don't know how she manages to tie so many thematic touches in together so that they form a gorgeous mosaic.  I don't know how she manages to juggle timelines and making them feel mysterious and interesting without being confusing. And i especially don't know how she manages to do this EVERY SINGLE TIME she brings out a new book.

I've heard the word "hopecore" in relation to the genre of Chamber's books and it's probably silly but it fits. There ARE darker themes and characters in her books but at the end of the day, the messages are about love and hope and belief in humanity. My favourite novels tend to be fantasy but especially "grimdark" stuff like Joe Abercrombie but in the times we live in where people are being shunned, abused and even killed for who they are and who they love, Chamber's books are about as important as it is possible to be.

Literally the only concern i have or issue i had with my reading experience is the formatting of the e-copy i received which was sometimes tricky to parse, but naturally there is no blame on Chambers for this.

This was honestly a beautiful read, and I think it may be my new top Becky Chambers. Similar to her other books, this is mostly character-driven and does an excellent job of making you question and explore the human experience through a different lens via some excellent world-building. The story is not told in a fully linear fashion; there is some time jumping that I found a bit disorienting at times. There was some comfort in knowing where the characters end up, though, while finding out little by little how they got there.

Signy and Cora are both interesting characters individually, as well as when they come together. I initially did find myself more drawn to Signy. She's somewhat paradoxical in that she seems to dislike interacting with other humans (relatable!), but has a strong moral code for helping those in need. Cora's relationship with Colibri was fascinating to read, and she is a well-rounded character who I eventually grew to love too.

Since this is a duology, it did end on a bit of a cliffhanger, and I cannot wait for the next book to come out.

becky chambers UNDERSTANDS people. this book is poetry. this has her signature becky chambers magical unnameable thing all over it. I loved this and teared up on multiple occasions.

This is so character driven and the dialogue and conversations were so next level! And this world was so beautifully created and the way Chambers uses it to zoom in on how beautiful it is to be a human is remarkable. There's nothing else I can say about this book because it goes so deep into Signy and Cora and its structured so well with the jumps between time - while it gave me the comfort of knowing things would turn out okay it leaves so many questions that I'm so excited to see answered in book 2.

I love the way Becky Chambers' books feel. She manages to get you to see spacey/sci fi settings and quite complex issues through a really soft lens. Following Signy through the mundane tasks of her work, her efforts to help people and her relationships with the people she loves feels very comfortable. Cora's bond with Colibri despite it's effect on her is really well done. Behind all the soft/cosiness, characters still experience grief and loss, anger at their situation and the reality of their existence in a way that feels deep and real. I loved this book and can't wait for the next one. My only negative is that at times it was tricky to keep track of which voice and which timeline i was reading (although that may have more do with Kindle formatting than anything) so probably a 4.5.