New favorite author! This is smart and thoughtful and charming, though I skimmed some of the other critical reviews and can see why some people didn't love it as much as I did. I read Daniels's Island Escape first and had the same puzzling impression: why is this so good? what can I point to to explain why I liked this so much? these books, characters, stories aren't super original or quirky or believable... but they're really really well done. For one thing, the characters have their emotional issues and complicated back stories but they work through them and still manage to treat each other with some respect. Despite the over-the-top plot twists, they are real young people -- confused, immature, and struggling with full lives. And the settings are taken seriously: I love the science details in this one. So, in short, if you like NA definitely give this a whirl. I'll be rereading it again.