Tom L

Best described as a dark version of Harry Potter where students go to a school actively trying to kill you. Loved this story, which already has details sticking with me more than Harry Potter. The magic system and lore is far more diverse. 

I don't think I'm the target audience for this book. It felt far too predictable and even infantile, but I'm probably being overly harsh. I think Nyone liking a light superhero story will like it. 

I absolutely loved this book. I had a bit of a hard time following who was who at some points, especially as more characters were added and tracking on Korean and Japanese names, but somehow I still had it together in the end and felt incredibly connected to most of the characters.

Great story winding different cultures and goals together along with a satisfying conversation about grace filled love. 

Really enjoyed the story. The back had me thinking this would be some history with primarily a current time line, but it's the opposite. I definitely still questioned the mystery up to the end, and Loved the resolution arc. 

I loved the other books, but there was something cot this one I couldn't get into 

There was so much focus on messed up relationships, and no discussion on how the characters were redeemed or forgiven. Just felt like it was a book about nothing so much as how awful adult men are. 

Incredibly sonorous prose. I found ti hard to stay connected, and harder to really be invested in how things go. It's definitely a mental challenge with the English language. 

From almost the beginning I realized where the story was going and what the big reveals might be, so I had a harder time staying focused. But I still loved some of the real character and lifestyle flaws and the underlying systemic issues.

This is certainly a Young Adult type of story, with a budding romance between characters throughout. 

Almost a group of many short stories blending together into a wider narrative. The characters are flawed, but I found myself loving each on them (with one exception of a 2 dimensional character). 

This felt more like a mystery or suspense for a while and I kept wondering what would be coming next. 

Good story crossing generations without getting muddled.

Great, incredibly engaging story.

Great conclusion to the story without quite wrapping everything up.

The book was good, very similar to others with a lot of action and a continuing focus on how much smarter kids are than adults. But it was exciting to follow the story.

Interesting read that moves along quickly while introducing a host of characters. It's clear this is a collaborated effort and not purely Orson Scott Card, but it's still a good book that's true to the Ender series.

Excellent book. Having background stories with characters of the same name as the main characters made it a little difficult to follow in the beginning, but it becomes easy to follow.

I'm incredibly glad it didn't veer into the supernatural, which seemed like it might happen.

I loved listening to The Shadow radio show on NPR, and even the movie. I was incredibly excited to have another retelling of the story in modern-ish times. This book is incredibly fast-paced, and with chapters lasting at most 6 pages, a very quick read.

Unfortunately, the writing, lack of character development, and major changes to character abilities without explanation made me just want to finish the book and put it aside.

If you're looking for a quick Summer beach read with little plot and a less deep thinking, this is definitely the book for you.

I wish I could have enjoyed it more. But it just wasn't for me, and I;m not even recommending my kids read it.

Great cartoons, with a bunch that really made me laugh out loud.

While the story is incredibly engrossing, Finna surprised me by continuing to help me adopt using “their” when referring to sexual identification. The story started off in “Ikea” and gave me very little hope for an enjoyable read. Just as the protagonist grew through the story, so did the interest and depth.

Worth picking up, and I may read again.

I went into this knowing very little about the story. I even forgot about Kat writing for Lumberjanes (a series I liked initially, then fell off over time). The story immediately grabbed my attention and kept me thinking about the story between breaks.

The realism of the characters drew me in instantly. Throughout the entire story, the characters all had their own unique and deep personalities, and they seemed like people I would have been friends with in school. The body shapes fit with normal people, and the gender expressiveness was incredible. I can't get the faces out of my mind.

Generally this was nothing like what I expected, and more than I could have hoped for. Definitely one of my favorite books.

The art style lends itself incredibly well to providing a mental image while still letting your mind fill in the blanks. The stories are all creepy without being trite or overused. Magnificent short stories!

This is really an engrossing story where I struggle to figure out how much I like one of the lead characters, but still want to learn more. This could generally have been a self-contained book, but I am glad it's a series.

Great, fun summer story.

The Smuggler's Tales continues the stories which I immediately fell in love with in Quarter Share. These stories certainly have more action going on. It's always been difficult to tell people they MUST read Quarter Share, it's a story about some characters you'll love, even though not much goes on. You just can't explain how drawn in you'll get to someone who hasn't read Lowell before.

Smuggler's Tales has significantly more action and side characters which continue an ongoing story-line while itself being a self-contained event. As with all these books, I read through it within a few days. This is essentially another story of innovative minds helping look at problems from another angle, though this also includes mystery, suspense and action.

Oh, and of course, coffee.

As with every book Lowel has written, I can't recommend this enough.