I actually Double Cannonballed this sonnuvabitch a little less than a month ago, that’s how behind I am in reviews. But I’m glad I did it with this book, which is one I picked up due to curiosity, and ended up really enjoying despite a near certainty that I wouldn’t. There were so many red flags here. It’s YA. It’s buzzy. The male and female protagonists were obviously meant to fall in love against insurmountable odds. The setup of the worldbuilding indicated a tired hodgepodge […]
Spark of Hope in New YA Novel
This new YA novel has the makings of another multi-book blockbuster like Harry Potter or Hunger Games, but it’s not derivative or formulaic. Sabaa Tahir makes beautiful use of her cultural background (the child of Pakistani immigrants in the Mojave Desert, an outsider who did not feel particularly brave growing up) and vivid imagination to create a world that is dominated by dark spirits and a powerful militaristic elite. The Martials (who remind me of the Spartans) have ruled ruthlessly for 500 years; they’ve enslaved […]