Blightfall

Blightfall by Brandon Sanderson and Janci Patterson

There is peace in the Skyward society. They are now going on a mission to meet a human colony that never seemed to be under the Superiority. It seemed simple. However, they ran into problems. There was a dangerous debris field and they were attacked by an AI. The AI is controlling the society with a gladiator game to get the best fighters who she supposedly sends out to fight human enemies. Through some difficult spying they discover that the AI is actually freezing these people as she accumulates a frozen army. The AI has been programmed to save humanity. She had done this by moving earth through the "nowhere", which in the process destroyed the Americas (which became a debris field). Those that survived the earth moved over to this new planet which included walking trees. The Skyward crew manage to get out as they also struggle with relationships among each other and the awkward communication challenges, especially across species. They explore relationships and as "joy" vs. population necessity as well as gender expression as they try to save themselves and this other world. Tone is light, though it does feel a bit long.