StephanieRidiculous
There's a lot to love here. The plot twists are twisty, the reveals are reveling, and the world at large continues to be fascinating and rich. I like our main cast of characters, too. The tie ins from the previous books are navigated well - you definitely don't have to read the original four books, but if you have there are added layers. I loved learning about other magic systems in the world.
Like with the Ember in the Ashes series, I found the romance plot line to be too angsty/pine-y for me, but I get the appeal for others. Generally I think that Tahir is really good at utilizing multiple POVs, but one of my biggest pet peeves happens here, where we break the POV pattern significantly through the book. I hate that, and I don't think it was necessary here. BUT, Tahir is a great writer. This is super engaging, it was hard to put down, and I'm definitely anticipating more installments!
An excellent and approachable history.
Definitely recommend if you're interested in learning more about the nuances of the occupation, the establishment of Zionism, and the role various countries have played in legitimizing Israel and it's policies since the late 1800's.
“The cartography that reduced Palestine to a tenth of its historical self, and which was presented as a map of peace, will hopefully be gone forever. There is no need to prepare an alternative map. Since 1967, the geography of the conflict has never changed in reality, even while it was constantly transformed in the discourse of liberal Zionist politicians, journalists, and academics. Palestine was always the land between the river and the sea. It still is. Its changing fortunes are characterized not by geography but by demography. The settler movement that arrived there in the late nineteenth century now accounts for half the population and controls the other half through a matrix of racist ideology and apartheid policies. Peace is not a matter of demographic change, nor a redrawing of maps: it is the elimination of these ideologies and policies.”
“We have wasted years talking about the two-states solution as if it had any relevance to the issue described above. But we needed that time to persuade both Israeli Jews and the world at large that when you found a state??? even one with a thriving culture, a successful high-tech industry, and a powerful military??? on the basis of dispossessing another people, your moral legitimacy will always be questioned. Confining the question of legitimacy only to the territories Israel occupied in 1967 will never resolve the issue at the heart of the problem. Of course it will help if Israel withdraws from the West Bank, but there is a possibility that it will just monitor the region in the same way it has policed the Gaza Strip since 2006. This will not hasten an end to the conflict, it will just transform it into a conflict of a different kind.”
Like all good sci fi we thoroughly comment on the deficiencies of today while inspiring hope for tomorrow. I really enjoyed this! This is a quick read that's occasionally spooky, well paced, and action packed. We have lovely commentary on family, resisting extremists, and an ongoing Mexican storytelling framing that was so engaging.
My one complaint would be that Petra does an awful lot of unilateral decision making, and some of her notions are wildly illogical to me - but in some ways that added to the tension and thrill, so it wasn't all bad. I had no idea this was a series when I picked it up, so I'm very curious where the story goes next!
While still an overall enjoyable read, we definitely struggled a bit here. Rise of the Wrecking Crew felt a little rushed, a little sloppy, and maybe like Bayron wasn't sure how many books were going to be in the series when writing 1 & 2?
We're still heavily grappling with not sharing all the necessary information with the kids, and while Boog comments on it several times, it doesn't change how the adults approach things. We don't even get a “there's a different between a secret and not-age appropriate information” that would be a reasonable conversation to have with a preteen. Instead, it's kind of subtly communicated that anything not shared with Boog is a lie. It's a strange dance that I was really hoping we could have left in book 2.
New paradigm shifting information continues to be dropped well through book 3, including in the cliff hanger, and some of them did not feel consistent with how things played out in other books. I'm not sure if I just didn't pick up on things, or new back story was devised between books? I do appreciate the final turn of events - the details of which are huge spoilers, but I appreciated Bayron committing to it.
I doubt this would register with most younger audience, but some of the editing could have been stronger. There's a scene, for example, where Boog looks at the FangTime app and comments that there are several hours before Aaron will wake up, and then one simple conversation later Aaron is entering the room. There's also some lacking logic that really bothered me - going to the “secret” training camp location when what you are fleeing is a former member of your party is absolutely wild and, to be honest, moronic? I get swinging by to see if there was any equipment you could pick up, checking on the archive, etc. etc., but trying to actually stay there was a bonkers choice.
ANYWAY, I do really like this series - I love the modern vampire setting, and I love the emphasis on friends and family, and challenging societal norms. Definitely a big ole recommendation from me, despite my quibbles.
Loving this series! Book two was shorter but it still packed quite a punch. We get a lot more about Vamps, Vanquishers, and world development. Book 2 does speak to some of the wonderings I had in book 1 about the global aspect of vampirism, which I appreciated.
There is more of the adults with holding critical information that could determine who lives or dies, which I always dislike, but it is somewhat addressed in narrative, which I do like. We tackle some big emotions, learn more life lessons, and deepen our understanding of how this family and this lore works. I'm really glad that I kind of forgot about this series until I saw that book 3 was coming out, because BOYHOWDY is that a cliff hanger of an ending!
Two frustrations I had that are spoilers:
It's so angering to me that the Vanquishers knew for a fact that vampires were not extinct and also thought that they could raise the kids without having them be a part of the resistance. I don't understand this half-measure of maintaining old customs for protection but not actually equipping them. It feels so much bigger than wanting a different life for them, which I get - but is actively setting them up for failure. And that hasn't been addressed, but maybe it will be.More related to the writing, it feels like a pretty huge plot hole that Mr. Alex gets turned. We spend time in both books 1 and 2 discussing how killing the vamp who bit a person should unturn the victim if done fast enough. The vamp that bites Mr. Alex was killed literal minutes later, and he still turns. I'm totally fine with discovering that killing the offending vamp actually doesn't work, but I really needed it to be addressed in narrative. As it stands it feels like Bayron forgot that was an established things. Maybe, hopefully, this will be addressed in book 3?
I reeeaaally enjoyed this. While the lying between kids and parents got to be a bit much for my tastes here and there, overall it pulled through with the touching relationships, interesting imagining of vampires, and surprises as the plot unfolded. Definitely a great spooky season read & I can't wait to read more about Boog & her friends!
2024 Update: I reread this and it totally held up. I was a bit more annoyed by the adults lying about critical information, and in turn the kids lying about critical information, but overall this is an interesting take on modern vampirism and I'm excited that books 2 and 3 are actually available now. Our main cast of characters is also just so fun and sweet; I love these kids.
One thing that stood out to me more this time that I did not think about at all the first time, is how very American-centric this story is. That's not necessarily a fault, because we're experiencing this through the understanding of a 12 year old and we all know how great public education in America is regarding what happens elsewhere; but I spent a lot of time wondering why everyone was so sure vampires were gone when they were a global phenomenon. We don't get much information one way or another, but it was definitely on my radar that this whole societal move away from precautions felt precarious at best.
I liked these 4 better than the first! I still think that generally these aren't a good fit for people not already familiar, but it's a fun nostalgic read. I felt like we got more new information here with Mollymauk and Fjord, so that was a pleasant surprise! I also liked the art in all four of these a lot.
I love this series. book 2 did not disappoint. My only critique would be once or twice the narrative seemed to break the fourth wall to make a point to the reader, very clearly directly from the author, and it feels strange and did disrupt the story. I didn't disagree with the points, but it was an odd choice that maybe could have benefited from slightly more editing. BUT the story itself was just delightful, and the additions to the cast were so fun & I hope to see them again in further installments!
While there are some really good aspects to this, overall I mostly did not enjoy this or find it that useful. I don't mean this to be rude, but genuinely, I spent large parts of the book thinking about this meme:
I didn't feel like McKnight did a good job of making cohesive or well structured arguments. There is a lot of taking him at his word, or him hand waving something because there wasn't enough time/space in this particular book to thoroughly establish something. A lot of this felt just very slapped together, and not really connected to itself. And also a little bit like an ongoing ad for his other books.
I did appreciate critiquing modern approaches to evangelism - we have totally strayed from sharing the Gospel and have entirely adopted sales strategies. I do think the reduction of the Old Testament to being about Israel is not all that sound. As another reviewer on here said, I think the OT is far more about God and who He is than it is about Israel, and that misalignment impacts the entire book.
There is also a throw away line towards the end about how this book isn't about proving other people wrong.... but he spends the entire book specifically naming people and summarizing their opinions and literally stating what is an isn't wrong about their opinions, sooooo???
All in all, not really worth your time. There are better books that critique modern approaches to evangelism.
A great, quick read. Exploring activism in youth spaces is a big love of mine, and this is a great narrative of what grappling with what it means to take a stand while also juggling obligations, expectations, and laws looks like. It deals with heavy topics, like Syria's revolution, racism, being an immigrant/refugee, loneliness, police and state brutality, and more - while maintaining a steady youth appropriate tone that never belittles or dismissed concerns young people have.
This was great. Definitely recommend!
I highly encourage anyone doing any kind of social work, community organizing, faith work, etc. to pick this up. I appreciated hearing specific stories of people seeking TJ, frameworks and guides for folks to facilitate TJ, and general wisdom/tips/encouragements/reflections overall. This was well organized, well edited, and packed full of good information - along as pointing to many additional resources.
In particular it was striking to me how many of the goals and desires of TJ mirror the processes I see the Church espousing but failing to deliver; I wish more Elders, Pastors, Counselors, and “life group” leaders embraced the concepts laid out here - a deep commitment to community care, built and facilitated by, and tailored to, the community itself.
While Church spaces often fail to remove abusers, secular spaces often tend to dismiss abusers and ban them from community all together, and I have long grappled with what happens to an abuser if everyone kicks them out of community. This spoke so well to that. It is possible to keep a harmed person safe while also helping an abuser recognize the harm they have committed, what led to it, and how to change future behavior.
Big content warnings for sexual abuse and assault, sex work, childhood sexual abuse, physical abuse, and systems failures. Nothing is ever graphic, but topics are heavy and consistent, so be kind to yourself.
Dang! What a good memoir!
Rishi's writing is so gripping and I was always wanting to know what happened next. Rishi does a great job walking the line between sharing devastation and hope. This is a sad memoir. A lot of sad things happen. But still, you're rooting for Rishi to cross the next hurdle, and there is an easy and persistent understanding that she will because of who she has in her corner. May we all find such good found family.
This memoir, too, highlights that a well written memoir doesn't require you to agree or approve of the life in question. There were many moments where I wanted to shout at Rishi, in disbelief that she couldn't see XYZ, and there are some choices and attitudes she has that I personally wish were more challenged or explored in the narrative. But feeling those things never detracted from how excellently it's written.
Huge CW/TW for narcissistic parents & the emotional and mental abuse that comes with that, SA (reflected on, brief description), cancer/terminal illness, suicide, death of family members and pets.
This is a little on the nose, but probably not so much so that it won't accomplish it's goals with the target audience. I love a novel in verse, I love a coming of age story, and this fills a much needed goal of teaching young boys how to experience emotions and treat their partners and evaluate the lessons the culture around them teaches. I loved seeing growth from the dad, too! Definitely need more stories for young folks that also show parents are still learning.
I was ready to give this 5 starts, until literally the last two sentences of the book.
Overall, this is a fascinating look at agriculture in Palestine. Examining time as a tool of colonization is very eye opening and fascinating. Learning about Israeli olive development, “observance” of shmita, resource allocation, and bureaucratic delay tactics paints a very clear picture of the commonly “invisible” and “slow” forms of violence against Palestinians. While a bit dense, as an academic text, it was a pretty gripping read, that I felt was fair in its critique of Israeli government and Palestinian actors.
However, this kind of fell apart at the end of the conclusion. After 200 pages of establishing many of the ways Palestinians have been disenfranchised in the agricultural sector, Gutkowski ends with:
“But in this present moment, Palestinians in Israel are not fighting collectively for the future of agriculture. Giving up the right to produce food should be reconsidered.”
I am baffled at how this long and thorough analysis of oppression, dispossession, and injustice is concluded with the notion that Palestinians are “giving up.” It is true that this book is incredibly niche, and it does not at all analyze the broader spectrum of what is happening in Palestine. However, these final two sentences come across as flippant about the plight of the Palestinian, and overlooks any context as to why “fighting for the future of agriculture” might not be very high on the Palestinian to do list. To suggest that they should simply “reconsider” this fight is highly ignorant and na??ve of what fights the Palestinian people are choosing, or are forced, to focus on instead. Having land to cultivate won't mean much if there are no Palestinians left alive to cultivate it.
Truly, I am flabbergasted and most of what I would have shared in this review is lost in my trying to make sense of this final statement from Gutkowski. Still, I do think this is a worth while read for those seeking a deeper understanding of how Israel functions in sectors that are less likely to make it into mainstream media, and the chapter of olive agriculture is particularly interesting in its own right. I cannot move past this conclusion, though, which is why I am only giving it two stars.