Rosemary arrives on the spaceship Wayfarer which travels the galaxy building wormholes so other ships can travel quickly and easily. Construction ships aren't that spacious or comfortable, and the multi-species crew sometimes resent an outsider joining them. But Rosemary has sneaked off Mars with a false identity, and she isn't in a position to be choosy. She's taking THE LONG WAY TO A SMALL, ANGRY PLANET.

Rosemary is supposed to be a clerk, straight out of university. She's got a lot to learn. The artificial intelligence running the ship is friendly, and so are some of her crewmates. Even if some of them are lizards. Ashby, the ship's owner, is hoping for extra work to come his way. We follow Rosemary as she discovers edible bugs grilled for dinner, neuroviruses, immune bots and more tech. I noticed that Ursula LeGuin's ansible communicator has made its way in to the ship, many SF writers accepting the need for instant communication over the vast distances of space. The crew disembark at a trading planet to shop and get some R and R. Just like any mariners, they love going ashore.

While much of the tale introduces us to the ship, crew, lifestyle and a chapter on the mechanics of tunnelling wormholes, in the background we get news about ongoing wars, diplomacy and potential hazards around the galaxy. Rosemary picked a bad time to join the ship, because they're about to be boarded by alien pirates.

THE LONG WAY TO A SMALL, ANGRY PLANET is interesting rather than thrilling, full of small detail about the characters and their races, alternative lifestyles featuring and the ship AI computer being recognised as a sapient life form. There's strong language so I don't recommend it for young people but mature young adults should be fine with the book. Becky Chambers is from California and her parents worked in the space industry, but her own studies were of performing arts. Maybe this is why her characters steal the show. If you enjoy space opera you should consider joining the crew. This is the first book in a series called Wayfarers.