I really really tried, but ultimately gave up about halfway through. I've loved this series so far but I've already read this story, I didn't actually need or want to read it again through another POV.

I really wish I'd liked it more. I've loved every other book in this series.

This is a retold tale of the last Old Man's War book [b:The Last Colony|88071|The Last Colony (Old Man's War, #3)|John Scalzi|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171125412s/88071.jpg|3108039]. Which I didn't know going in. That's hardly [a:John Scalzi|4763|John Scalzi|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1236228326p2/4763.jpg]'s fault, but, I was not as thrilled as I might have been.

Not that it's a bad concept, but when I read the retold [b:Ender's Game|375802|Ender's Game (Ender's Saga, #1)|Orson Scott Card|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1214413570s/375802.jpg|2422333], it had been years since I read the original, not months. So, I might have liked this better had I had more distance from the last one.

Having said that, it was a pretty enjoyable read. I quibble with the self-possession and maturity of the eponymous heroine. I know I was nowhere near that together at that age, and I can't think of anyone who was that witty, magnanimous, and level-headed.

On the other hand, I can't think of another SF novel with a female teenage protagonist besides [b:Podkayne of Mars|50839|Podkayne of Mars|Robert A. Heinlein|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170371992s/50839.jpg|2534895], and as a female formerly-teenaged SF fan, I applaud the effort.

Only took me 5 years to finish haha.

A enjoyable addition to the old man's war universe.

I only discovered after reading this, that it's a retelling of "the last colony" which i have on the shelf, but apparently overlooked when i started this one, anyway it didn't stop me from enjoying the story immensely.

There something paradoxically in telling a chapter of "Old Man's War" from the viewpoint of a teenager and maybe that's the reason Schalzi does it.

Zoe, who we first met in "The ghost brigades" is a teenager who apart from the normal troubles related to growing up, also has to come to terms with, relocating to a new colony world and the small detail of being the de-facto goddess of a whole alien race.

Schalzi tells her story with a lot of humor, a fair degree of teenage bravado and his usual disregard for governments and authorities. it's not totally realistic at all times but it's newer dull.

I'm glad I took a break from the Old Man's War universe before tackling this one. Zoe's Tale covers the same timeline as The Lost Colony but from (surprise) Zoe's point of view. There is some boring repetition until we get to Zoe's big missing scene from Colony.

Zoe's not always convincing as a teenager, she's a little too dry, and almost never acts irrationally, but it's a fun book and a quick read. Even made me tear up at times.

This installment in the series was just "ok" for me. It STRONGLY relies on your memory of the previous book, which, if you haven't read it in a while can be a real problem and really take you out of the book.

I read this right after The Last Colony and was a little worried about it being repetitive, but Scalzi does a good job of not repeating everything you just heard from the adults from the point of view of a teenager. And Zoe is the kind of teenager I love - smart, snarky (see a pattern?), but goodhearted and willing to do the right thing. This book was just fun.