A Review of Mary Weber’s “The Evaporation of Sofi Snow”
Christian Young Adult Science Fiction
Mary Weber’s The Evaporation of Sofi Snow was supposed to hit three of my sweet spots. One, any book earning comparisons to Blade Runner is right by me. Two, I’m a bit of a sucker, as well, for young adult fiction — sometimes, you’ll find better stuff written for teenagers than you will for adults. Three, this book is from a Christian publisher, so I was expecting some Christian themes. They are there, but you have to kind of go digging for them. In a sense, this book moonlights as a bit of a secular read. I’m not sure if that’s a bad thing, and the allusions are there, after all.
Basically, this novel hinges on its labyrinth plot. And there’s lots and lots of plot. So much so, that I felt that, as I began the book, I was walking into a movie theatre that had already begun showing the second reel of the movie. Essentially, the book alternates between two characters. The titular Sofi Snow is a backroom tech support chick who manages her younger brother as he competes in some Hunger Games-esque virtual reality competitions, except in these games nobody is supposed to die. Then there’s Miguel, a Hispanic ambassador to an ice planet that has recently appeared behind Earth’s moon, who was romantically involved with Sofi at one point.
Sofi and Miguel have to rely on one another and on one another’s talents (hers: tech; his: interplanetary diplomacy) when an explosion rips through the gaming arena during one tournament, leaving Sofi’s little brother for dead. Or is he? Sofi sees her brother being carried away by aliens as she leaves the wreckage and becomes determined to find him and rescue him.
Already, that’s the plot of the first third of the book, and the book just gets plottier and plottier from there. Not much room is given to, oh, you know, character development, but that’s because Weber is enamoured by all of the tech she’s dreaming up, and finding ways to use it to push the plot forward. Never mind that something such as hacking, in real life, is a slow and labourous process that takes perhaps months to pull off — her characters can whip up a hack job in seconds to get into the next room they have to visit or car they have to steal.
I’ll come right out and say it: this book ain’t going to win any Nebulas. In fact, the plot feels borrowed from ’70s sci fi that we all grew up on. Still, there are interesting elements. While the virtual games of this novel shamelessly rip off a more famous young adult book series (as already mentioned), I read parallels into them as a metaphor for the persecution of early Christians in Rome. And the backroom dealings that go on in this book have shades of Roman Empire-like intrigue.
Another thing I enjoyed about the book is that a likable Hispanic character plays a major role. Now, he does slip into Spanish from time to time and I don’t really know Spanish, even simple stuff, but it’s good to see a role model for teen boys who read the book. Plus, Sofi has sass and a kick ass attitude. Again, her character is going to appeal to its target demographic base.
That’s just a kind way of me saying that I’m not in the target demographic base at all— The Evaporation of Sofi Snow is one of those young adult books best enjoyed by young adults, and perhaps females mostly. The book also ends with a twist that cries out “sequel” — in fact, it seems that the book is part of a proposed duology, or set of two novels. Some of us grown-ups may groan that the book literally ends on something of a cliffhanger. Still, Weber has appeal in terms of her writing (she already has a fan with Jay Asher, the author of the wildly popular Thirteen Reasons Why, in her corner) and the book will be gobbled up by those with less discerning and less well formed tastes. Put it this way: if I wasn’t nearly 42 years old and was instead back in high school, I’d probably find this book to be rather awesome.
Why? This book crams everything in. There’s technology. There’s car chases. There’s political espionage. There’s romance. The only thing this book doesn’t have is LOLcats. Basically, you can feel Weber pulling the money out of your wallet as she goes over and above to provide the very best entertainment she can provide, just with a dollop of the odd bit of symbolism. Christian readers may be a bit disappointed as there’s not a whole lot of Christian stuff in the book, but it is there if you go looking — it may just be that Weber’s keeping her cards close to her chest for a bigger reveal in the second book.
You know what The Evaporation of Sofi Snow sort of reminds me of? A more high-tech version of A Wrinkle in Time. Both books boast a strong female protagonist who goes off in search of a missing family member, which — mild spoiler alert if you haven’t read Wrinkle — eventually becomes the rescue of the brother figure of the family, and, in both circumstances, the rescue is from aliens, sort of. Some may also draw some parallels to Ender’s Game, too. Blade Runner? I’m not so sure, unless you want to start talking about production design as it would be rendered in a book.
I’m not sure where I sit with this novel. I don’t think I’ll be along for the ride in the second installment because I don’t think it’s just for me. Still, I can see that if you’re 13 or 14 years old, and are looking for a really wild ride to go on, book-wise, you could probably do worse than read The Evaporation of Sofi Snow. The grown-up me just wishes there was less plot and more getting to know the characters. Also, there are tantalizing bits of futuristic history offered up but never fully explained: how is it that Earth endures World War IV, and yet is still able to survive and function with a human population? Oh well. Those sorts of things aren’t important when you read books in your teen years. The Evaporation of Sofi Snow is full of a lot of zap, boom and pow. Take that as you will: either as an endorsement or as a warning.
Mary Weber’s The Evaporation of Sofi Snow will be published by Thomas Nelson on June 6, 2017.
Of course, if you like what you see, please recommend this piece (click on the green heart icon below) and share it with your followers.
