Ricky Pine's Blog, page 89
August 3, 2017
Review: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer
The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle HodkinMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Reading this book three years ago, I loved it. Reading it again, even with my attention having been brought to some underlying problems re: representation (Mara being biracial but very ambiguous about it, and not terribly connected to the Indian side of her family, not to mention some sadly rampant whitewashing), I still love it, because even though I really shouldn't, it's downright addictive and irresistible. Especiall...
July 31, 2017
Review: The Five Stages of Andrew Brawley
The Five Stages of Andrew Brawley by Shaun David HutchinsonMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Going back a little further in Hutchinson's bibliography, The Five Stages of Andrew Brawley touches on a lot of the same themes as the next two books he's written since this one hit shelves, but on a smaller scale (it's only a shade under 300 pages as opposed to the 400-plus of both We Are the Ants and At the Edge of the Universe) and with less genre inflection, aside from the presence of the comics that the...
July 30, 2017
Review: The Darkest Minds
The Darkest Minds by Alexandra BrackenMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Alexandra Bracken's first big novel, when I first read it a few years back, was a gripping, if sometimes slow, piece of Twenty Minutes Into The Future YA dystopia - basically, a pandemic kills off most American children, and those who survive develop X-Men-style powers. (In this case, however, there are only five to choose from. Red = pyrokinesis, Orange = telepathy including mind control, Yellow = electrokinesis and technopathy...
July 29, 2017
Review: Blood Rose Rebellion
Blood Rose Rebellion by Rosalyn EvesMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
I first tried reading this one a couple of months ago, and at the time, I couldn't get into it. This time, however, I found it an easier read, and while I can't say I love this book, I was able to finish the whole thing and am still intrigued enough to want to read the sequel, which has a pretty interesting-sounding title and cover, no? As for this one, though, it's a pretty strange little story, an alternate-history fantasy focus...
July 27, 2017
Review: Ink and Bone
Ink and Bone by Rachel CaineMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
"What is the most resilient parasite? Bacteria? A virus? An intestinal worm?...An idea."
-Dom Cobb, Inception
"If an item does not appear in our records, it does not exist."
-Jocasta Nu, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
I can't believe I've been sleeping on this series for as long as I have, but seeing the third book appear on the Lucky Day shelf of extra copies of new books at the library, I realized I had to start at the beginning...
July 25, 2017
Review: Ignite Me
Ignite Me by Tahereh MafiMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Another
I must add I was pleasantly surprised to find myself switching ships. God, Mafi not only sank my original ship, she torpedoed it with extreme prejudice for shit's sake (as Kenji would say). And it's definitely for the better, too, because of the character growth and development involved in the victorious ship, and the unexpected character regression in the original (which, I now notice, includes a r...
July 23, 2017
Review: Generation One
Generation One by Pittacus LoreMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
A Lorien Legacies sequel series?
A Lorien Legacies sequel series!
My general reaction when they announced this:
And my general reaction having finally finished reading Generation One:
So. The skinny, the nitty-gritty...it looks like ol' Mr. Frey has decided to keep Pittacus Lore's storytelling career going in a slightly different form, one that borrows a bit from the Endgame trilogy in terms of style. Not so much the strange formatting with...
July 21, 2017
Review: We Are the Ants
We Are the Ants by Shaun David HutchinsonMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I guess I'm reading Shaun David Hutchinson's books in reverse order? Okay then, that's cool. Between this book and At the Edge of the Universe, I've got no problem picking up on a few elements of what seems to be a signature Hutchinson style. Contemporary with sci-fi elements, a gay protagonist making very bad choices because he's very depressed after his first relationship failed, a jackass older brother, family troubles in...
July 20, 2017
Review: Exit West
Exit West by Mohsin HamidMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
For my second Mohsin Hamid book, I picked his latest - on Aimal Farooq's recommendation, just like with The Reluctant Fundamentalist. Rather similarly to that book, Exit West is short and lyrical. Unlike TRF, this book is very low-key, not so much a geopolitical thriller, but very much rooted in magical realism. It follows two young lovers, Saeed and Nadia, as they escape their war-torn home and migrate around the world, going a little furth...
July 19, 2017
An Atypical Response, As It Were, To Atypical
So today, Netflix dropped the trailer for their upcoming YA-oriented comedy series Atypical, starring Keir Gilchrist from It Follows as an autistic teenager looking for a relationship. More specifically, looking for sex. The reactions I'm seeing from others in the autistic community on Twitter have been overwhelmingly negative, criticizing the show on so many levels. I've seen people say that the show is inaccurate in its portrayal of an autistic character, that the show relies too much...
