Pledging Season by Erika Erickson Malinoski

Pledging Season is a page-turning book with a strong emotional core that reads more like a TV drama or movie than a book, but in a good way. As the book’s “synopsis”/ description did not make it clear, I do want to point out right away that this is a heavily LGBTQA+ book with a LOT of possible triggers (scroll to the end for my list).

The summary prepares us for the science fiction element of a scientist finding his place in a matriarchal world and defending it from impending solar storms. It fails to mention, however, that a larger portion of the book—more than a third of the book’s total pages—is devoted to tackling head-on themes related to gender and societal structures in addition to the “primary” tale.

I found the plot to be engaging and unpredictable, and I was eager to read more. But one of the reasons for my grade is that there are simply too many unanswered questions at the book’s conclusion. Is all missing from the first book’s conclusion. I enjoy it when series have overarching, interconnected stories that aren’t fully addressed in the first book, but every concept that was introduced in this book left me with a glaring cliffhanger.

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The world still captivated me, but I wish that either the book had been longer so that we could at least see how one of the major plot points plays out, even if that’s just a temporary “win,” or that there had been less time spent repeating gender norms so we could get to the meat of the plot quicker. There are sections where the same facts are repeated after already being stated, as opposed to just being the accepted “normal” way of life.

This author clearly values equality, diversity, and the worth of life in all its forms. The story’s characters serve as excellent illustrations of how we all possess a mixture of positive and negative qualities. Forgiveness, repentance/restitution, the importance of open, honest dialogue, and social responsibility are masterfully told in Pledging Season.

Injustice done to Ya’shul struck him like a punch to the gut. It is energising to see Andeshe’s desire to break free from a rigid culture that emphasises tradition and making up for slights that are no longer their own. And Nareen’s admirable balancing act between love and duty is moving.

Pledging Season is a book you should add to your list if you’re seeking for one that celebrates encouraging people to find (and use) their voice in order to make a good impact on the world. Be ready to wait until volume two to learn what happens to the characters we come to care about.

About The Book

Brilliant scientist Ya’shul thinks he has everything a man could ask for: the honor of caring for his family, the opportunity to help conceive children, and a groundbreaking chance to prove he’s just as good at science as any woman. But Ya’shul isn’t growing up on Earth.

Instead, his life is shaped by a faraway matriarchy, one whose traditions and power structures demonstrate just how arbitrarily human beings organize gender—and why they choose to do so. When a backlash Ya’shul never expected shatters his dreams, he’ll have to find out whether attempting to have it all will mean losing everything he’s ever known.

Wanderer Andeshe is all too aware that the life her people have led is ending. Looming solar storms will force her family to give up the giant pterosaurs they’ve always flown—unless she and Ya’shul can work together to save the majestic creatures from starvation. But Andeshe is unprepared for the cost of working so closely with Ya’shul.

Suddenly dependent on a culture that sacrifices repair and restoration in favor of punishment and shame, she must choose between abandoning her deepest values and becoming expendable herself. As the unlikely allies navigate a web of ruthless politics and fragile trust, everything is on the table: loyalty, justice, and the meaning of freedom itself.