This is a poorly written book. It seems to be a ten-line short story expanded by AI to fill an incredibly direction-less seven hours. If it was truly written entirely by a human, then the editor should go back to school. Theoretically, this is a family drama, with the added spice of the family in question being involved with maintaining the universe. I can't say the story revolves around that, because there's hardly any development of the concept or themes. Repetition is not reflection. The story essentially is an egregiously long series of events, leading to a brief resolution that feels unearned.Views are never challenged, situations are never insuperable, motivations are never unclear and NOBODY GROWS.Our protagonist, Ellie, has no defining characteristics that come through. She is simply the anchor for a series of banale descriptions. Weirdly, the narrator is extremely interested in describing the superhuman attributes of her cousin, Daniel, lingering on him to the point of obsession. He is the tool through which almost everything in the story is accomplished, and sadly, disarmed. It feels like AI was writing Daniel as a big, strong love interest, but since he's gay and his boyfriend performs musical theatre (sigh), the repeated use and detailing of all his quirks seems utterly out of place. Some elements, like references to classical instruments ('oboe-like voice'), ginger pork, assumed filial piety, and Chinese school, although obviously intended to resonate with an Asian-American reader, feel forced, like marking off points to show legitimacy. Similarly, the inclusion of several 'only if you concent'-style inserts seem aimed at pleasing a 'No means no'-reader. These feel very forced, like the author (AI or not) doesn't understand what concent is and why it's important. The overarching setting is explained only in passing, yet the minutiae of its mechanics are dealt with at length. We hear about the "skunkworks" repeatedly, and the challenges of valves, timings, and propagation are the subject of multiple scenes, yet these are never brought to a cohesive or even interesting whole. Characters do a thing to prevent a thing, but we aren't made to care about any of it. Dramatically speaking, the tension is neither internal nor external. The protagonist is never in conflict with herself, only either surprised or 'not surprised' at the abilities or her cousin, Daniel, who single-handedly stymies any real chance of excitement in the narrative. He just disarms any long term growth. Problem-solved-problem-solved. The pen-ultimate scene, the conclusion of the sibling jealousy narrative, is better written than the rest of the book, and is likely the single colourful seed from which pale tsle was sprouted. Lastly, the repeated inclusion of certain words, especially 'bailiwick' and 'skunkworks', without those words being alternated with a synonym really strikes me as indicative of AI.

Such a fun and imaginative book with the Sci Fi elements and the character developments.