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thewallflower00's review against another edition
3.0
This book has two different halves that have nothing to do with each other. One half is awesome, the other isn't.
The one that's awesome is about Jade, an MMA fighter that goes to Thailand for some training (and to avoid a possible arrest after beating up an MMA fame whore). Holy cow, let me repeat that. A book about a girl American Mixed Martial Artist who travels half a world away to the land of Muay Thai for further training and a chance at a title shot. Doesn't that sound awesome? Doesn't that sound like no other book you've ever heard before? It did to me.
But the other half has nothing to do with this. It's about a girl who can teleport through plants who's being exploited by some rich white guy holed up in Thailand to deliver drugs and human traffic to various parts of the world undetected. It's not even the same genre as the Jade story. It's a dark fantasy with Thai mythology and beliefs about reincarnation and ghost/spirits and animals. Not what I came in for. And neither character has any relation to the other, either in spirit or plot. They just... meet... at the end.
I would so love this book if this part was excised. Each half has nothing to do with each other, it feels like it was shoehorned in to increase length. I just want to hear about Jade. I care about Jade. I'm interested in Jade. Not some girl who can walk through walls and the old rich white guy "big bad". I can go to X-Men for that. The tonal difference is too jarring. That keeps this book from being one of the best I've read.
The one that's awesome is about Jade, an MMA fighter that goes to Thailand for some training (and to avoid a possible arrest after beating up an MMA fame whore). Holy cow, let me repeat that. A book about a girl American Mixed Martial Artist who travels half a world away to the land of Muay Thai for further training and a chance at a title shot. Doesn't that sound awesome? Doesn't that sound like no other book you've ever heard before? It did to me.
But the other half has nothing to do with this. It's about a girl who can teleport through plants who's being exploited by some rich white guy holed up in Thailand to deliver drugs and human traffic to various parts of the world undetected. It's not even the same genre as the Jade story. It's a dark fantasy with Thai mythology and beliefs about reincarnation and ghost/spirits and animals. Not what I came in for. And neither character has any relation to the other, either in spirit or plot. They just... meet... at the end.
I would so love this book if this part was excised. Each half has nothing to do with each other, it feels like it was shoehorned in to increase length. I just want to hear about Jade. I care about Jade. I'm interested in Jade. Not some girl who can walk through walls and the old rich white guy "big bad". I can go to X-Men for that. The tonal difference is too jarring. That keeps this book from being one of the best I've read.
buuboobaby's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars
I enjoyed this - until the end, which I found a huge letdown. I didn't see the point, and it left me ambivalent. Despite the disappointing conclusion, I loved Jade's character. Here's a girl who would much rather talk with her fists than use her words, though she struggled to control her violent impulses. The fight scenes were great, too.
I enjoyed this - until the end, which I found a huge letdown. I didn't see the point, and it left me ambivalent. Despite the disappointing conclusion, I loved Jade's character. Here's a girl who would much rather talk with her fists than use her words, though she struggled to control her violent impulses. The fight scenes were great, too.
laprimanerda's review against another edition
3.0
Partway through the book, the pacing evens out and it stops feels like two distinctly different books at odds with each other. Push through. The story is well-done but I knocked down stars for the very disjunct feel of a large chunk of the book.
theartolater's review against another edition
4.0
Closer to a frustrating 3.5.
Two types of books probably don't get enough play in the YA marketplace right now - books about cagefighting/MMA and the like, and books where the souls of children are being stolen. If you agree, add in some shapeshifting for good measure and Shadowboxer might just be the book for you.
The book follows two stories - one with troubled but talented fighter Jade as she is shipped all over to train as a cage fighter and grow up a bit, and Mya, a girl who is stuck in a mysterious story with a creepy old man in the woods with a bunch of other children. These stories eventually converge into an often-interesting but fairly bizarre conceptual horror novel that has a lot of action and a really interesting mechanic to go along with the ending.
Shadowboxer is ultimately frustrating because, while the Jade story is interesting and mostly well-written, the Mya portions do not provide any clear indication of why we should care or how it's related to Jade's story until much later. The temptation to skim through the parts of the story that ultimately end up being some of the most important is a critical miss in terms of structuring the story, and is a significant drawback keeping this story from becoming great instead of merely good. Thankfully, the Jade parts are quite good, and sprinkle just the right amount of action, humor, and heart to make up for some of the less exciting Mya bits.
Overall, definitely a story worth your time. I didn't think much of any of this would appeal to me, and it ended up doing so even with its flaws.
Two types of books probably don't get enough play in the YA marketplace right now - books about cagefighting/MMA and the like, and books where the souls of children are being stolen. If you agree, add in some shapeshifting for good measure and Shadowboxer might just be the book for you.
The book follows two stories - one with troubled but talented fighter Jade as she is shipped all over to train as a cage fighter and grow up a bit, and Mya, a girl who is stuck in a mysterious story with a creepy old man in the woods with a bunch of other children. These stories eventually converge into an often-interesting but fairly bizarre conceptual horror novel that has a lot of action and a really interesting mechanic to go along with the ending.
Shadowboxer is ultimately frustrating because, while the Jade story is interesting and mostly well-written, the Mya portions do not provide any clear indication of why we should care or how it's related to Jade's story until much later. The temptation to skim through the parts of the story that ultimately end up being some of the most important is a critical miss in terms of structuring the story, and is a significant drawback keeping this story from becoming great instead of merely good. Thankfully, the Jade parts are quite good, and sprinkle just the right amount of action, humor, and heart to make up for some of the less exciting Mya bits.
Overall, definitely a story worth your time. I didn't think much of any of this would appeal to me, and it ended up doing so even with its flaws.
brigid10049's review against another edition
1.0
This was damn boring. It was such a struggle for me to go on.
My experience was sorta like this:
- Omg the pacing.
- What is this? My god, I've forgotten everything she just told me. Backtracks. OH MY GOD. What did she say?
- SNORE.
*zzzzzzzzzz*
- Wait. What?
- Falls asleep.
- Okay. I like this chick.
- Puts book down.
- Feels no desire to pick it back up.
- Days go by. Months go by. Reads other books. Enjoys some. Rages others.
- Sigh. Picks it back up.
- Eh.....
*Stares into space.*
- Meh.
- Huh.
*"Yeah....I'm gonna get back to you on that."*
- I like the girl. I like the setting. Yet I feel nothing for her.
- I have no fucking need to know more about her.
- SO MANY PROBLEMS.
*I should have listened to Gandalf*
- Finishes book: wait a sec. What was her name again? Checks book. Oh right. Heh.
End of story.
I've been reading this book for a long time. It was like intentionally sticking pins in my eye. To say the least: it was very uncomfortable. This was not for me. I wanted it to be, yet it was not meant to be.
I thought the inclusion of a female boxer would be a great read. I was even happier that the main character wasn't white. This genre is so fucking white. It's quite...sad. More diversity people! It's a good thing. But just because the book has a diverse character, doesn't mean I'm going to like the book. In fact, I can hate a book solely due to the writing that has nothing to do with the color of main character. Some people get so excited about diversity in genre fiction, they sometimes forget it doesn't always make a good book. I want there to be more diversity in this genre, but I also want a good book. This did not fill that requirement, unfortunately.
If I'm going to explain why I couldn't like this book it would be with three words: I. Was. Bored. The writing was very stale and there was a large amount of pacing issues. I didn't feel that I could emotionally connect with the character. I liked her, but at the same time couldn't feel that intense need to know more about her. It was like there was a lack of emotional empathy. Basically, this was just not the book for me.
My experience was sorta like this:
- Omg the pacing.
- What is this? My god, I've forgotten everything she just told me. Backtracks. OH MY GOD. What did she say?
- SNORE.
*zzzzzzzzzz*
- Wait. What?
- Falls asleep.
- Okay. I like this chick.
- Puts book down.
- Feels no desire to pick it back up.
- Days go by. Months go by. Reads other books. Enjoys some. Rages others.
- Sigh. Picks it back up.
- Eh.....
*Stares into space.*
- Meh.
- Huh.
*"Yeah....I'm gonna get back to you on that."*
- I like the girl. I like the setting. Yet I feel nothing for her.
- I have no fucking need to know more about her.
- SO MANY PROBLEMS.
*I should have listened to Gandalf*
- Finishes book: wait a sec. What was her name again? Checks book. Oh right. Heh.
End of story.
I've been reading this book for a long time. It was like intentionally sticking pins in my eye. To say the least: it was very uncomfortable. This was not for me. I wanted it to be, yet it was not meant to be.
I thought the inclusion of a female boxer would be a great read. I was even happier that the main character wasn't white. This genre is so fucking white. It's quite...sad. More diversity people! It's a good thing. But just because the book has a diverse character, doesn't mean I'm going to like the book. In fact, I can hate a book solely due to the writing that has nothing to do with the color of main character. Some people get so excited about diversity in genre fiction, they sometimes forget it doesn't always make a good book. I want there to be more diversity in this genre, but I also want a good book. This did not fill that requirement, unfortunately.
If I'm going to explain why I couldn't like this book it would be with three words: I. Was. Bored. The writing was very stale and there was a large amount of pacing issues. I didn't feel that I could emotionally connect with the character. I liked her, but at the same time couldn't feel that intense need to know more about her. It was like there was a lack of emotional empathy. Basically, this was just not the book for me.
ahexcalledbrigid's review
1.0
This was damn boring. It was such a struggle for me to go on.
My experience was sorta like this:
- Omg the pacing.
- What is this? My god, I've forgotten everything she just told me. Backtracks. OH MY GOD. What did she say?
- SNORE.
*zzzzzzzzzz*
- Wait. What?
- Falls asleep.
- Okay. I like this chick.
- Puts book down.
- Feels no desire to pick it back up.
- Days go by. Months go by. Reads other books. Enjoys some. Rages others.
- Sigh. Picks it back up.
- Eh.....
*Stares into space.*
- Meh.
- Huh.
*"Yeah....I'm gonna get back to you on that."*
- I like the girl. I like the setting. Yet I feel nothing for her.
- I have no fucking need to know more about her.
- SO MANY PROBLEMS.
*I should have listened to Gandalf*
- Finishes book: wait a sec. What was her name again? Checks book. Oh right. Heh.
End of story.
I've been reading this book for a long time. It was like intentionally sticking pins in my eye. To say the least: it was very uncomfortable. This was not for me. I wanted it to be, yet it was not meant to be.
I thought the inclusion of a female boxer would be a great read. I was even happier that the main character wasn't white. This genre is so fucking white. It's quite...sad. More diversity people! It's a good thing. But just because the book has a diverse character, doesn't mean I'm going to like the book. In fact, I can hate a book solely due to the writing that has nothing to do with the color of main character. Some people get so excited about diversity in genre fiction, they sometimes forget it doesn't always make a good book. I want there to be more diversity in this genre, but I also want a good book. This did not fill that requirement, unfortunately.
If I'm going to explain why I couldn't like this book it would be with three words: I. Was. Bored. The writing was very stale and there was a large amount of pacing issues. I didn't feel that I could emotionally connect with the character. I liked her, but at the same time couldn't feel that intense need to know more about her. It was like there was a lack of emotional empathy. Basically, this was just not the book for me.
My experience was sorta like this:
- Omg the pacing.
- What is this? My god, I've forgotten everything she just told me. Backtracks. OH MY GOD. What did she say?
- SNORE.
*zzzzzzzzzz*
- Wait. What?
- Falls asleep.
- Okay. I like this chick.
- Puts book down.
- Feels no desire to pick it back up.
- Days go by. Months go by. Reads other books. Enjoys some. Rages others.
- Sigh. Picks it back up.
- Eh.....
*Stares into space.*
- Meh.
- Huh.
*"Yeah....I'm gonna get back to you on that."*
- I like the girl. I like the setting. Yet I feel nothing for her.
- I have no fucking need to know more about her.
- SO MANY PROBLEMS.
*I should have listened to Gandalf*
- Finishes book: wait a sec. What was her name again? Checks book. Oh right. Heh.
End of story.
I've been reading this book for a long time. It was like intentionally sticking pins in my eye. To say the least: it was very uncomfortable. This was not for me. I wanted it to be, yet it was not meant to be.
I thought the inclusion of a female boxer would be a great read. I was even happier that the main character wasn't white. This genre is so fucking white. It's quite...sad. More diversity people! It's a good thing. But just because the book has a diverse character, doesn't mean I'm going to like the book. In fact, I can hate a book solely due to the writing that has nothing to do with the color of main character. Some people get so excited about diversity in genre fiction, they sometimes forget it doesn't always make a good book. I want there to be more diversity in this genre, but I also want a good book. This did not fill that requirement, unfortunately.
If I'm going to explain why I couldn't like this book it would be with three words: I. Was. Bored. The writing was very stale and there was a large amount of pacing issues. I didn't feel that I could emotionally connect with the character. I liked her, but at the same time couldn't feel that intense need to know more about her. It was like there was a lack of emotional empathy. Basically, this was just not the book for me.
nigellicus's review
5.0
Jade, a young MMA fighter with a temper problem, decks a film star and ends up packed off to a training camp in Thailand to keep her out of harm's way. She discovers that her trainer and her gym may be involved in awful crimes, testing her loyalties and her grip on reality. Mya, a young girl working for an English Doctor in Thailand, makes journeys from or world into a mystical forest full of ghosts and gods. The doctor has terrible plans for Mya, but can she escape and keep her family safe? The two stories, one of the hard, bruising, physical world of training and fighting, and the other of disembodied souls and fickle deities, become intertwined, and one world leaks into another with dangerous consequences.
Snappy, pacy writing and the endearingly larger-than-life Jade, with her mixture of pure toughness and hidden vulnerability, make this a quick, smooth, action-packed supernatural thriller. The fighting, and the fighting culture, have an authentic feel to them, and the bone-crunching bouts are a highlight.
Snappy, pacy writing and the endearingly larger-than-life Jade, with her mixture of pure toughness and hidden vulnerability, make this a quick, smooth, action-packed supernatural thriller. The fighting, and the fighting culture, have an authentic feel to them, and the bone-crunching bouts are a highlight.
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