The Calculating Stars

I'm shocked that this book won the double. The base premise is fascinating, and somehow the book manages not to capitalize on a single aspect of it. The primary antagonism of the book is the protagonist coming to terms with taking anxiety medication, while the Earth is dying and millions of people are killed in the first two chapters. Other injustices and social justice topics are awkwardly shoe-horned in, most characters exist for no reason other than to embody injustice, even though the protagonist is absurdly privileged (the daughter of a general who went to college at 14? Come on). This is supposed to be a period piece, but somehow every single female character has the social consciousness of the modern day.

Not to mention the incredibly corny sex scenes, bizarre character motivations, and confusing historical sense. Maritn Luther King is somehow a massively influential figure despite pending extinction and that he was deeply unpopular in the real timeline. The Soviet Union collapses and it gets less than a sentence mention.