Kevin Lau
A satisfying conclusion to this time travel murder mystery, tugging on the heart strings with its message of community. In terms of adaptation, I think the anime does a fantastic job with its ending even if the manga wasn't complete in time for the anime to wrap up.
For anyone who's seen the anime and, like I was, interested in reading the source material, I would say the best way to approach this is that the anime operates as a theatrical cut and the manga an extended director's cut for the more hardcore fans. The story and themes are the same, with some scenes added here and there, and the changes to the climax are purely logistical. There's a lot of buzz about how the anime completely dropped the ball with the ending, and the anime community may crucify me for this, but I don't see the big deal with the changes in the adaptation.
The art and writing consistently improve as the series goes on, culminating in a reading experience that only gets better and better the more you sink your teeth into it. It's a fairly short series too and I think really accessible for new manga readers. It's devoid of the tropes within shonen, being aimed for an older audience, having a level of emotional maturity with each each scene that you can't help but be absorbed in.
I think this series has become a favorite of mine, and I look forward to reading more of Kei Sanbe's work!
I binged the anime based on this manga a couple weeks ago and absolutely loved it. Supposedly there's a lot of the source material left behind in the second half of the story that wasn't adapted into the anime, so I decided to revisit the story in its original glory.
I'll write a full review for the final volume, but for now I'll say that this is definitely a great murder mystery/time travel manga akin to The Butterfly Effect. Big fan of how it handles social topics and its concept with a level of emotional maturity that feels refreshing considering it's about a 29 year old guy who travels back in time to his 5th grade self and tries to befriend a 10 year old girl to prevent a crime in the present. Illustrations aren't the best at times, and some of the paneling cuts down moments that I think should be emphasized more, but it's completely comprehensive and keeps a nice pace going.
Audiobook
A solid fantasy adventure, which is to be expected from Brandon Sanderson. Not only containing entertaining action sequences and humor, but also weaving in interesting themes and ideas which, in Warbreaker's case, is the relationship between prejudice, social inequality, and religion.
I found the Graphic Audio production was very poor, unfortunately. The voice actors within the same gender all sound strikingly similar and don't emote much and the score tends to overpower a lot of scenes where the audio quality isn't the best. This, unfortunately, made the ending feel very abrupt which I'm fairly certain reading book itself would rectify. Will definitely give it a reread once the sequel is out!
This middle-grade series finally has a conclusion and, though I'm giving this 4 stars, it's a very satisfying one. The prose doesn't always feel up to snuff sometimes, partly for narrative purposes as this entry is “being written” by a character lacking writing experience and an understanding of emotions, and occasionally creates a passive reading experience where my eyes kind of gloss over a couple pages until the next event happens.
Still, it's a conclusion that was worth the wait and gave me that funny feeling you get when a story is finally over.
Absolutely wonderful miniseries great for those new and familiar with Supergirl. It's almost collectively agreed that this is the best portrayal of Supergirl herself, separating her identity as “Superman's Cousin” without sacrificing the appeal of the Super family.
Tom King's writing is great as always, leaning more into prose this time around with our narrator, focusing heavy on themes of justice while maintaining a moral code. Bilquis Evely's illustrations matched with Mat Lopes's colors makes every panel a true work of art. Hopefully we can get a deluxe hardcover soon!
This book is all over booktok and though I typically ignore anything booktok recommends, I picked this one up based on John Green's recommendation. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is definitely a good book, and I think, much like most art, the impact will vary depending on the reader. As you can tell from my three stars, it didn't really impact me all too much.
Primarily, this novel is about work. Not just work as in jobs, careers, and accomplishing your goals and dreams, but also the work needed to invest in relationships. Secondarily, this novel is about platonic love and how it can require just as much, if not more, effort than romantic love as the love between friends and family tend to outlast romantic partners. Tertiarily, this novel is about a lot of things that should probably come with a trigger warning, notably domestic abuse, ableism, racism, etc. Though the primary and secondary elements are brought to a standard I consider good enough to get its ideas across, it's the tertiary element that bothers me a little.
That's not to say the novel is of bad intention. In fact, Gabrielle Zevin aims for solid representation and commentary on social issues go through and have gone through in the eyes of gen X. All the details within have clearly been researched and checked with care, but I'm not entirely sure why some of them are included in the first place as it doesn't add much to the narrative of these characters' emotional journeys. As much as I enjoy the ending, it doesn't utilize everything that came before it and therefore I think this could have been a leaner reading experience. It's not long, per se. There's just a lot to process within the text that doesn't entirely pay off.
I still enjoyed my time with this book and may reread it again in the future. I do think some knowledge of video game culture/history is required to comprehend the story to its fullest, as the quick describers of game mechanics aren't exactly explained well enough to non-gamers (see also: most of the negative reviews here), but I think it's nice to have a piece of literary fiction about video games from an author that actually plays and understands them that isn't the incel bible Ready Player One.
Audiobook
The Anthropocene Reviewed is the start of a great idea.
It started off as a fun and insightful podcast with John Green essentially writing Yelp reviews of various things created or experienced by humanity over the past 200 years (i.e. the currently proposed geological epoch known as the Anthropocene). Though my favorite essay is Mortification, I think Googling Strangers, Mario Kart, The Penguins of Madagascar, and Smallpox Vaccine are the best examples of what The Anthropocene Reviewed stands for. They're essays celebrating humanity for its successes while also criticizing its shortcomings, all branching off of a memoir of Green himself.
And here's where I think The Anthropocene Reviewed can achieve more: I want another collection of essays written in the same fashion from other people around the world edited by John Green. Because even though I consider Green to be introspective, insightful, and cultured, he is but one man who's experience of the Anthropocene is limited to his own life. Imagine how even more interesting this idea can be when we can celebrate humanity's efforts through the eyes of other cultures?
I highly recommend listening to this in audiobook form if you can as not only did this idea start as a podcast, but there are also three audiobook exclusive essays, including the aforementioned Mortification, that are worth your time.
I give The Anthropocene Reviewed, as it currently stands, four stars.
Turtles All the Way Down isn't deep, well-plotted, or containing a vast array of characters you can't help but love. Turtles All the Way Down, however, is immersive in its portrayal of mental health in a way rarely explored in media, detailed in a way I have yet to see elsewhere.
The reality of this novel is that the stakes are so low, both physically and emotionally, yet Aza's internal struggle remains engaging and, thankfully, the main conflict of the story. Green's prose here seems simpler than his previous work, but it shows a growing understanding of the craft as Aza's voice feels unique and every scene of her battling herself is so strongly portrayed that I, at least, felt a physical impact. Even though I think the story starts too quickly, that it's a little too predictable, and that none of the characters outside of Aza are all that interesting, I was engrossed to the end.
A film adaptation has the potential, like Paper Towns, to be stronger than the source material. I'm definitely interested to see how this story is portrayed visually.
Mark Waid's four-year run on Daredevil is consistently good, but always plays it safe. The series never feels like it wants to take bold swings as if Waid was worried his run would be cut short at any given moment.
That said, Chris Samnee as the main artist for this run is fantastic, both Waid and Samnee adding a fun flavor to this traditionally dark character and a voice for Matt Murdock you can't help but love. Foggy Nelson plays a great role here, and Kirsten McDuffie is a great character to pair with Matt but I felt she was underused just to get Daredevil to the next big fight.
This run was created shortly after Disney bought Marvel and comics were coming back into popularity thanks to The Avengers, but the Daredevil show was still a ways away. I don't think Waid was truly able to take his time to explore the relationship between Matt and everyone else, notably Kirsten McDuffie who doesn't seem to be anywhere in sight in the following Charles Soule run.
Waid's run is a solid entry-point to those who want to read Daredevil and could be used as the foundation if Daredevil is ever brought to the MCU. However, don't expect anything grand as it fires on the same middling amount of cylinders throughout.
I haven't read enough Batman to claim Tom King's 85-issue run to be one of the best, but I found this to be much more my speed than Scott Snyder's New 52 run. This run never reached a height where I thought, “This is one of the greatest comics I've ever read,” but it was consistently a very good read that creates a giant, complete, and comprehensive Batman story focusing on deconstructing, studying, and reconstructing the character in a way I haven't seen other iterations of the character even attempt.
Some of my friends may have seen my reading history and noticed that I'm working my way through Tom King's work. I really love his writing, his sense of character, and his love for the stories he writes. Knowing he's a former CIA agent who's seen combat in Afghanistan, you can see King's worldview sink into the pages of every comic he writes to make them feel unique and personal. Having that uniqueness and personality in a major title such as Batman is mind-boggling to me, especially right after the more commercialized Scott Snyder run. I mean, right off the bat, the first arc is about overcoming survivor's guilt. There are actual themes at play within these pages.
And it all leads to here, City of Bane. Again, nothing here reaches the heights of being one of the best comics ever, but shows what the standard comic could be: a long-form narrative building up to a definitive ending that ties together everything in its entire run to create not only a strong character arc and a heavy shift in status quo, but also show why these characters are as iconic as they are.
Seriously, when Batman says “I'm Batman” here, you believe him because now you know what that means.
I still have some more Tom King comics to collect, and I definitely have more Batman to read, but I really liked this run and can't wait to collect it all as well as the current Batman/Catwoman miniseries.
I modern take on Greek underworld stories, BUT I like to think of it as Infinity Train meets Greek Mythology (because, as some of my friends know, I absolutely adore that show).
Picked this up from the library based on a friend's review and instantly ordered a copy of my own upon finishing. Only four issues, Submerged follows Elysia Puente as she searches for her missing brother through an old subway tunnel during a flash flood. Magical realism rears its ugly head as Elysia is forced to confront her past and inner demons if she hopes to make it back to the surface.
It's full of emotional pains and growth, highs and lows, with an ending that brought a tear to my eye. Best of all, it's only $14.99 for the volume and I can't wait to read it again!
My friend's (Caleb's) review: https://youtu.be/kkNeC0xnRmc
I have nothing but praise for this final compendium to Invincible's 144-issue run!
This was the best ending I could have hoped for, full of action, suspense, and so so much heart. Truly a love letter to the superhero genre while telling an epic tale about the power of love (call me a hippie all you want). What really surprised me was how Kirkman thematically interweaved the conflict of having parents from very different cultures.
As someone of mixed race myself, it was really interesting seeing how being the product of two cultures worked in the form of a superhero setting. PLUS the show seems to understand this angle and are adapting our hero to be visually mixed race with his mom now being Asian.
This series is a very rewarding experience, and the best part is that you don't have to worry about tie-ins, spin-offs, or missing gaps of the story. This is an independent comic with Robert Kirkman writing it from beginning to end and Ryan Ottley masterfully illustrating over 100 issues of the 144. Looking back at the artwork in the beginning, it's fascinating the how much the art style evolved in its 15-year run.
If you're library is partnered with Hoopla, you can read the entire series for free. Trust me, it's worth it.
Finally getting around to this series. It's been on my radar for quite a few years and I finally decided to take a dive into it after seeing the teaser for the upcoming Amazon Prime adaptation!
I'll start off by saying that I can't believe I've dragged my feet on this series. Though it's a little rough at first, the vibrant art, brisk pace, and Robert Kirkman's use of drama make this one hell of an addicting read. Not a single chapter feels like a throwaway story, even if it may seem like a filler at first. Just the first ten issues alone show how interwoven every idea is to the plot and a clear sign Kirkman knows where he wants to take the series.
I'm not too big on Robert Kirkman's The Walking Dead, and some of the faults I had with that series (such as bloated, almost dull dialogue) are still prevalent here, Ryan Ottley's art and Brian Crabtree's colors really help elevate the writing. I do wish there were less recaps (which were made so anyone picking up a random issue back during it's original run didn't feel too out of the loop), but Kirkman still manages to make the recaps feel natural and thankfully doesn't overdo it.
There are some elements that chalk up to being the product of its time during its early 2000's run (such as a certain R-word used twice so far in the series in a not-so-tasteful manner), but the coming-of-age story alongside Mark Grayson/Invincible's complex relationships with his friends and family feel timeless and are very rewarding to read (hell, even the love triangle was handled fairly well).
I've been reading these in separate volumes on Hoopla (free with a library card!) and wanted to log the first compendium (47 issues, ~1,000 pages) to count towards my 2020 reading challenge. Will be back after reading issue #96!
Revisiting the series for the third time, The Lightning Thief is definitely an odd entry to the series in terms of tone. It's more serious than you'd expect if you read it for comedy, but goofier than you'd think from that description. However, Rick Riordan's voice and characterization for Percy Jackson is still the strongest element of the novel, which made it a breath of fresh air in middle-grade fiction when it first released.
I don't think the younger generation is going to care for this series much with all the variety that's available to them now, especially the ones influenced by this series. It's like watching a modernist film after watching all the post-modernist takes on it; It'll feel basic compared to what you've watched/read prior.
The novel still stands strong on its own, though. Riordan has caught lightning in a bottle with this series combining the perfect blend of fleshed-out characters, fun world-building, and transforming the plots of adult detective fiction to work within its world without sacrificing integrity or dumbing down.
Not much else I can really say outside of my old reviews. It's still a fun read and great to revisit and my 10 year old brother enjoyed it (though not as much as he enjoyed Alcatraz vs the Evil Librarians).
As for the illustrated edition, I was disappointed in the quality. A lot of the more impactful illustrations come a page-turn too late, but that's not the biggest issue. John Rocco's art for the monsters and landscapes are downright amazing, but his illustrations of humans are that much worse. I think have two illustrators on this edition would have enhanced the quality a lot. There are some elements of re-used portions of illustrations and also an illustration that was blown up and pixelated. Plus a few glaring typos that aren't in any of the other editions. Big oof.
It's not worth the $40 cover price, but the $8 I paid for it on Amazon was a good deal. At the very least, it looks pretty on the shelf alongside the Harry Potter illustrated editions I'll never read.
Another book friends have been asking me to read for quite a few years, but I'm a bit reluctant to report that I didn't like it. Not that it's necessarily a bad book, but it wasn't my cup of tea.
I feel this is a case where the author was too clever for his own good, which, though the puzzles are fun and the creation of turning the book itself into a big enigma is a neat idea, leaves the story to become emotionally stagnant. The first 100 pages are the most interesting aspect as we follow Reynie through a series of odd tests as he wonders what the future has in store for him and his newfound friends. However, once the answer is revealed, the narrative slips into omniscient viewpoint without any motivation and the characters become pawns to the story, losing all agency and drive. As the story gets wilder and wilder, the characters don't face any emotional repercussions for their life-changing decisions or change in any significant way.
This novel still has brilliant ideas, though. It's essentially Kingsman for kids before Kingsman came about and contains interesting perspectives on ethics that aren't seen too much in middle grade fiction. On top of that, it doesn't talk down to the reader at all and instead helps them feel smart as they solve the puzzles along with the characters.
But that's it. It's just puzzles and age-appropriate moral quandary with no emotional thread to keep it tied together. And though kids themselves wouldn't know it and would most likely enjoy the book either way, it's one I don't think would hold up outside of nostalgia.
Thematically, this is Katrina Leno's strongest and most interesting novel as it circulates grief from truly astounding (and occasionally chilling) perspectives. There a small bits throughout that I felt slowed the story down, but Katrina Leno keeps to her promises that she sets up. It's definitely a novel where, though not relatively long at 322 pages, readers will have to trust the author through the slower scenes that occasionally pop up.
In terms of being a horror novel, Leno's sensory details create a strong and immersive atmosphere and goes for the slow-burn with a haunting twist. Most importantly (and what I like most about it), the horror is motivated by character and the characters themselves don't make dumb choices. It was weird to me, however, to read a novel in 2020 where the protagonist takes a while to accept the existence of ghosts, but perhaps this is because I've already read a bunch of ghost stories in the past and am wanting a more postmodernist approach. This isn't a spoiler either since the quote on the back of the cover hints at ghosts, as well as the summary, so maybe this is the case of marketing setting expectations the novel itself isn't supposed to set up. (What I'm trying to say is: This is purely subjective and I don't blame the author for not appealing to my personal expectation.)
Horrid isn't the scariest book I've read, but it's definitely one of the more meaningful and I call it Leno's 2nd best right behind You Must Not Miss. I think it's a perfect fit for the target demographic and its creep factor combined with its solid dramatic narrative will definitely leave a lasting impression.
Not to mention the absolutely fantastic cover!
I've been a fan of Dr. Cecil H.H. Mills's work since his debut novel, I Loved Infinity, released back in 2012. I'll spare the details on the reading of that 1,200+ page tome of a novel, but I still fondly recall coming across it on my 16th birthday as perhaps the greatest visit to Barnes & Noble. Dr. Mills was at my store for his book tour and I had just caught the tail end of it. The crowd was dwindling and I managed to have a short exchange with Dr. Mills on his journey as a writer and what I Loved Infinity was all about. It was then that he gave me what I once considered the best writing advice I had ever heard from any author:
“Writing isn't easy. It's hard as hell and sometimes it feels like you have to sacrifice the soul of a loved one just to have something you hope an agent will want to glance at. There are days where, as I'm writing my next novel, that I feel a cold, shadowy presence haunting me, reminding me of past sins, and it's all I can do to just keep my eyes on the blank page and force my fingers to press the keys. But remember this, kid: The page is the medium, but the truth is your ink. Find your truth, write it, and one day you'll sell millions.”
At the time, I lived that advice. I found my truth, I wrote my novel, but it never sold. I didn't give up, though. I kept writing. I kept rewriting. Most importantly, I kept reading. Though Stephen King, Jim Butcher, and Katrina Leno all fueled my love of the medium and inspired how I wrote, the releases of Dr. Cecil H.H. Mills's bi-annual novels were always an event I looked forward to. I always pre-ordered and, once I received my copy, always dropped what I was doing and devoured the 1,000+ novels that explored what it meant to be human.
I never did see Dr. Mills since that day and I unfortunately missed out on his virtual book tour for this book's release. But upon reading his first foray into YA fiction, I can't help but wonder if he's become a sell-out of sorts.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the adventure of the mystery duo J.J. and Valentine Watts (who may or may not actually be brothers) and Trudi de la Rosa's inclusion seems to bring in a fresh spin on the “Hardy Boys” type genre. But... Well, whereas Dr. Mills's work were vast epics, this one barely clocks in at just above 200 pages. A lot of the themes that Dr. Mills explores deeply in his adult novels are barely detailed here, and I couldn't help but feel like Dr. Mills underestimates the intelligence of his audience. Yes, the mystery was clever, full of twists and turns, but I was hoping that at some point Dr. Mills was going to explore the relationship between J.J. and Valentine and how it relates to both their fathers abandoning them during their impressionable years and learning to be strong male role models for others despite knowing that nothing is permanent. And with Trudi involved, I wondered what her relationship with her father was like. Was it similar? Different? If different, how does this affect the group dynamic on a thematic level?
Hopefully we've reached the portion of the review where people have either given up because of the length or skimming over just to get to the end, so here is my actual review of the first Game Grumps novel!
In terms of craft, this is better than I expected. The plot is tight and keeps a brisk pace, but the characters fall flat and definitely fill roles instead of forging their own roles. In terms of comedy, it's not as good as you may hope. Sure, there are solid laughs to be had, but the ratio is about 1 solid joke every 7 pages. “Dr. Cecil H.H. Mills” only inserts himself into the book a total of 4 times, and though each time is the saving grace of the novel, it's nowhere near the same level nor amount other novels such as The Princess Bride have already done.
I liked it, though. It's a light read, but works more as novelty merch than a stand-alone book. Some of the humor of Game Grumps carries over, but it lacks the “anything goes” freestyle that keeps me, personally, watching the show. I always love Arin and Dan's sense of improv and “see what sticks” mentality, but, unfortunately, I didn't see it carry over here except for the few shining moments. I'd still be interested in what else they bring to the table, though, and hope they choose to challenge the form similar to Brandon Sanderson with Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians.
Now back to my fake review!
In conclusion, Dr. Mills has written a good book. It's just not a good Dr. Mills book. I know that I'm eventually going to receive comments from his rabid fanbase that I either missed the point or wasn't intellectual enough to see the bigger picture, but the problem is that I do. Dr. Mills made some shady deals, gambled a bit more than he was worth, and now he must write to a larger market to pay off his debts.
Maybe Dr. Mills's journey as an author serves more as a cautionary tale. I, as a budding writer, hope that I can resist the same temptations that lured Dr. Mills into the situation he is in now. After all, what greater hell is there than writing young adult fiction?
DNF at 58%
Outside of a solid opening chapter, this novel is just absolutely terrible. Magnus Chase's voice is more consistent now than it was in the previous book, but he is also the least interesting character by a landslide when he's surrounded by a Muslim girl whose faith is challenged and a gender fluid teen who fears of being trapped in a certain identity for eternity. Magnus doesn't grow as a character since he has all the answers, but he also has no idea what's going on.
Most of the jokes are still funny, but the plot goes on weird fetch quests with each quest being twice as long as they need to be and, like I said above, doesn't change the protagonist in any way.
There's a whole discussion to be had on this series in comparison to Riordan's other work, but that's a long dissertation I'm not compelled to write.
Oh my gosh!
He DID that! O_O
Man, I kind of regret acting out every scene in this book, but that's what Alcatraz told me to do in The Shattered Lens and I felt like it'd be disrespectful not to do so for the final volume of his autobiography. But now my dad is evil, my mom might be the good guy, and my grandfather...
No, I can't talk about that. It's a spoiler. Everything I did while reading this book is a spoiler to the highest caliber of the strongest entry in the series. Even though I so badly want to talk about it, I can't.
That is, until next year. ;D
It is, by all intents and purposes, a great book, but has really aged poorly. Though the characters, mystery, and pacing are fantastically-realized, the blatant sexism and overall adherence to 1930's male mentality leaves a bad taste in the mouth (especially when Marlowe's flaws are presented as charming and things we should root for).
Read this for research on the voice of Marlowe and maybe one day I'll pick up the next one. It's really intriguing to see how Chandler sets up the mystery, slowly complicates it as the story progresses, and never once contradicts himself.
But man... That sexism though...
Doesn't reach the heights of the series so far, but is still true to the heart and soul of the world and characters Sanderson has created. This is more of a world-building installment, planting seeds and introducing conflict for the next (“final”) installment. The emotional complexity is there, but feels more cut-and-dry than usual.
Still a solid and hilarious reading experience and looking forward to book 5!
To my friends who have been pressing me to read this for... I don't know, four or five years? The time has come. You can rejoice, and may you finally rest peacefully at night.
The reason I finally picked up Mistborn was to do some research for my own novel (of which I am on the 2nd draft of). I discovered this book does the same thing I'm trying to do, which is to modernize high fantasy for the casual American English audience. Gone are the “thee”s and “thou”s, and any play on linguistics is more of a joke than an actual source of information that requires the big brain energy of redditors to understand. Some fans of high fantasy, I noticed, are not pleased with this, stating that Sanderson's prose comes across as plain in a genre known for its flowery language, and they're not wrong. However, I feel that it's more important to make what you're writing understandable than it is to make it pretty, so I may be a bit biased in that regard.
Overall, Sanderson shows he has a fantastic grasp of worldbuilding, structure, and viewpoint. If you have listened to Sanderson's lectures on writing and are wanting published proof of what he says works, Mistborn is going to be your prime example. How do you know the protagonist of the scene? How do set up promises to the reader but not be predictable? How do you make a book that's at least entertaining?
Of course, Sanderson doesn't just stop at being entertaining. Mistborn also integrates commentary on religion and philosophy, of which I know Sanderson is a major nerd about. Every time I felt like the story was about to get a little dry, Sanderson throws something in that creates a new depth to the world and characters. Despite the length, the pace is surprisingly brisk. Though it may be a bit too brisk to be entirely my thing, Sanderson's strengths are in the slower dramatic moments that really know how to engage the reader.
Not a favorite, but definitely a winner. If you've seen heist films or even A New Hope, you can probably tell where this is going. However, that doesn't make it any less of a solid read.
This is what your adoration does. You create for yourselves heroes using our names, but those fabrications are so incredible, so elevated that the real thing can never live up to them. You destroy us, consume us.And I am what's left over when you're done.
After giving us two heist stories in a row, Sanderson shakes things up by flipping the formula. Instead of doing the heisting, the twist is that it's the heroes getting heisted!
Of course, this formula flip alone isn't why I think this is the best installment so far, but also because the writing is so powerful here. Sure, it may seem like things are meandering for the first 75%, but it all concisely builds to the twist and leaves us with a strong “All is Lost” moment with Alcatraz, doubling as the thesis of the series. Seriously, chapters 18 and 19 are breathtaking.
For a middle-grade series, each book is becoming surprisingly more mature and complex, and I dig it. It's almost creating a timeless story, one that could cross generational gaps (and I think the literary device of having adult Alcatraz tell us the story of his thirteen year old self might also have something to do with that, which is used in full force here). Though the previous installment had it's dark, almost eerie moments, this one shows that it's not all fun and games. Sometimes the heroes lose. Sometimes the good guys aren't good.
But there's also that sliver of hope, providing emotional complexity stronger than most middle grade or even YA series.
But maybe that's enough spoiler talk for now. Onto the next book!