Rebel Genius

3.5/5

full review maybe pending? overall a satisfying read - loved the characters and the concept, although it takes some wincing to get used to the sacred geometry/tools - but the prose, for which i am always thirsty, is average. not generic-YA-voice, but not anything spectacular, either. as a result i found myself bored of the prose, but not of what was actually going on, if that makes sense.

zan and ozo are good. as are all the kids, but aaminah especially is my girl.

I wrote this review when I was only halfway done with the book and hoped that it would get better and I would have to scrap what I've already written, but it didn't. So here are my issues with this book:1. Chunky blocks of exposition, all done through dialogue where one character is explaining something to another.2. One dimensional characters, most of whom are just unlikable.3. Stiff dialogue, many of the conversations feel unnatural. Sometimes they use phrases and words that just don't fit the setting and it really takes you out of the book.4. Some things just happen so conveniently that when the character's accomplish something it feels un-earned.5. A lot of terrible cliches that make my eyes roll.6. The pacing is... not great.7. There's so much superfluous detail added in that doesn't add to either the plot progression or the storytelling.It's very hard to immerse yourself in this book.The concept was really exciting, I was drawn to it even before realising that the author was a co-creator of ATLA, but overall I feel very let down.The only compelling storyline was that between Zanobius the tulpa and his creator, I found myself wishing I was reading about them instead every time I had to slog through another chapter with the kids and Pietro. But even his story got progressively less interesting as the story progressed.I would be harsher to it if not for the fact that I know this is a middle-grade read and I am by no means its target audience, but that being said I've read plenty of middle-grade books that I could rave on and on about ([b:The Thief Lord 113304 The Thief Lord Cornelia Funke https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327960342l/113304.SY75.jpg 3313414] by Cornelia Funke comes to mind), with vibrant characters, gorgeous world building, and emotional payoffs that feel significant and don't read like an insult to the reader's intelligence.DiMartino is super in your face about the moral takeaways of this story, almost to a point where its offensive. Maybe this would've worked out better as an animated series like Avatar was but for sure a novel was not the media to go with for this story or author.