Ravi MacLeoud is an engineer trainee working his way through his apprenticeship to become an officer of the fleet, but he is the odd duck of his family. The MacLeouds have a reputation for being on the shadier side of the law and, frequently, at odds with the officers. Unfortunately, his desire to become part of the rank and file has alienated him from most of his family, and his own family history makes him a bit of a pariah to his classmates and teachers. Despite these obstacles though, he perseveres and strives to get through the last few weeks of schooling.
Ravi's routine of fixing issues around the Archimedes is interrupted when he sees a young woman outside of the ship knocking on the window. While that alone is a bit of an oddity, the fact that she is doing so without a spacesuit is what really gets his attention.
Ravi's initial investigation into the mysterious person he saw outside of the ship starts him down a rabbit hole. Along the way, he will find himself interacting with the political activist group called BonVoy, and also butting heads with both his superiors and his family members. Quite frankly, he went into this expecting at least some of those troubles, but when he starts getting headaches and strange dreams involving plates and bathtubs full of precious water (the currency in the fleet), he starts to worry that maybe he didn't actually see anything outside that window and he might be having some more severe medical issues.
At least Ravi won't be completely alone in his investigations. While most of the MacLeouds see Ravi as a traitor, his cousin Boz is at his side and she helps Ravi whenever possible. Given Boz's skill at getting into places (both physically and virtually) that she isn't supposed to, she is a great asset for Ravi to have. Which is good since the countdown to Braking Day sees an uptick in anti-colonization protests, as well as a few explosions, all where Ravi happens to be. Let's just say, Ravi's life has not gotten any easier since he started seeing this strange woman where she doesn't belong.
Adam Oyebanji has done some interesting world-building in Braking Day. Between the fleet of ships, the history of why (and how) they left Earth, and the generations since that departure, the people of Braking Day feel like an interesting offshoot culture of our own. These people feel like they could be a natural consequence to the events happening in our world today and, on top of that, the technology seen throughout the book feels very well-grounded and definitely fits in the harder-side of the Sci-Fi genre.
If you are looking for a book with a mix of mystery, conspiracy, and exploring life on a generational colony ship, then look no further than Braking Day.
