Some Desperate Glory is the story of a young woman, Kyr, who grew up in a military cult, located in space, and bent all of her will, energy, and focus towards succeeding in that environment, even if success made her a terrible person. But Kyr didn’t realize, until it was too late, that she was never meant to succeed. 

It’s only when she’s forced to flee the only home she’s ever known that Kyr, the best student in her class, gains enough perspective to start asking questions about her life. Questions like “If the head of Gaea Station is a hero, why did he need to lie so much?” Or, “If the head of Gaea Station is such a hero and he favored my sister so much, why did she run away?” And of course, “How many times will I have to travel back in time and rewrite history to find a future that doesn’t suck?” 

The situations that Kyr confronts cause her to examine who is in command and what are their motives.  She had worked hard to become the best  warrior and had not doubted what was being asked of her. However, everyone has their limits, and Kyr reaches hers when brother Mags is given a suicide mission and she is ordered to produce sons until she dies. She turns traitor to an organization that became corrupted by its own power. 

Watching Kyr come to understand her world without the blinders her past imposed on her, and work to make that world better feels like a timely reflection for a coming of age story. I hope we get as many chances as Kyr does to get it right and use them as well.