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comrademonkey's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
alsahm's review against another edition
4.0
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.
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.
elizabethbane's review against another edition
3.0
This was... fine. 2.5 stars.
Despite the length, this is DEFINITELY a middle grade book. Giacomo read like a 12-year-old boy (code for: annoying). The writing was a little sloppy, especially when it came to the dialogue, which I found to be very stilted.
The premise of art as magic is unique but ultimately felt very surface level and under-utilized. I also don't really have any interest in art so I drifted hardcore in a lot of places.
Like I'm assuming is the case for a lot of readers, I picked this up because I am a huge Avatar fan. I kept thinking that I would be a lot more interested in the plot if it were animated.
The drawings were a great addition to the book, which is not something I normally think.
Despite my complaints I think most middle grade readers would be totally charmed by this book. I'm pretty sure sixth grade me would have gobbled it right up. Adult me is just not the target audience.
Despite the length, this is DEFINITELY a middle grade book. Giacomo read like a 12-year-old boy (code for: annoying). The writing was a little sloppy, especially when it came to the dialogue, which I found to be very stilted.
The premise of art as magic is unique but ultimately felt very surface level and under-utilized. I also don't really have any interest in art so I drifted hardcore in a lot of places.
Like I'm assuming is the case for a lot of readers, I picked this up because I am a huge Avatar fan. I kept thinking that I would be a lot more interested in the plot if it were animated.
The drawings were a great addition to the book, which is not something I normally think.
Despite my complaints I think most middle grade readers would be totally charmed by this book. I'm pretty sure sixth grade me would have gobbled it right up. Adult me is just not the target audience.
ksd1441's review against another edition
2.0
*I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*
2.75 Stars Overall. My heart cries a little. So close. This book was a long john doughnut that somehow never got the custard filling. You still got a doughnut. Score. But, that filling would have made it awesome.
As a big fan of Avatar: The Last Airbender, I was super excited to not only find out DiMartino was writing a new fantasy series but that I also was approved for an advanced reader's copy (Thanks, Netgalley!). The description was interesting enough, if not a tad confusing, but I figured that would all be evened out in the first couple chapters. I'm sadly disappointed that I did not truly enjoy this book, because I think it has potential. The characters and the setting just didn't shine as much as they could have. The plot and the magical elements often left me confused, as I had trouble connecting the dots. Perhaps someone more mathematically inclined could follow all that geometry. Thank goodness there were pictures.
I do think that a younger reader would gobble this book up, though. A reluctant reader for sure, especially one who excels in math and science and doesn't think that art is for them. I think the message of trying your best is great to include in middle grade fiction, and that sometimes things don't work out. I was pleased to see that DiMartino did not skip the darker elements that could have easily been glazed over.
But, I never felt connected to any of the characters. While being somewhat fleshed out and nicely diverse, their actions felt staged and flat. We never get a true look at the Evil Government, and the parental figures are all sort of skeezy. I kept trying to picture everything in the AtLA world, and I think this would have worked better as an animated series. The action sequences were rushed and something that probably came off a storyboard. And I'm still not entirely sure what happened in some places...
Ugh, I'm so sad that I didn't really like this one... I'm still going to purchase it for my younger readers at the library, because I think this will be a hit with the 8-12-year-olds. It has good potential to make kids curious about many things: math, art, the Renaissance, and maybe even ornithology. This book can open up new worlds for readers, so that's definitely a plus.
2.75 Stars Overall. My heart cries a little. So close. This book was a long john doughnut that somehow never got the custard filling. You still got a doughnut. Score. But, that filling would have made it awesome.
As a big fan of Avatar: The Last Airbender, I was super excited to not only find out DiMartino was writing a new fantasy series but that I also was approved for an advanced reader's copy (Thanks, Netgalley!). The description was interesting enough, if not a tad confusing, but I figured that would all be evened out in the first couple chapters. I'm sadly disappointed that I did not truly enjoy this book, because I think it has potential. The characters and the setting just didn't shine as much as they could have. The plot and the magical elements often left me confused, as I had trouble connecting the dots. Perhaps someone more mathematically inclined could follow all that geometry. Thank goodness there were pictures.
I do think that a younger reader would gobble this book up, though. A reluctant reader for sure, especially one who excels in math and science and doesn't think that art is for them. I think the message of trying your best is great to include in middle grade fiction, and that sometimes things don't work out. I was pleased to see that DiMartino did not skip the darker elements that could have easily been glazed over.
But, I never felt connected to any of the characters. While being somewhat fleshed out and nicely diverse, their actions felt staged and flat. We never get a true look at the Evil Government, and the parental figures are all sort of skeezy. I kept trying to picture everything in the AtLA world, and I think this would have worked better as an animated series. The action sequences were rushed and something that probably came off a storyboard. And I'm still not entirely sure what happened in some places...
Ugh, I'm so sad that I didn't really like this one... I'm still going to purchase it for my younger readers at the library, because I think this will be a hit with the 8-12-year-olds. It has good potential to make kids curious about many things: math, art, the Renaissance, and maybe even ornithology. This book can open up new worlds for readers, so that's definitely a plus.
minicrisgm's review against another edition
2.0
I can't say it was a bad book, but I feel I wasn't its intended audience. Probably younger kids more than young adults.
19lindsey89's review against another edition
3.0
2.5 Stars
"There are no easy answers, in life or in art. You're not following anyone's path now, you're forging your own. No doubt, you will find it both lonely and scary. But no one ever said having a Genius would be easy."
Rebel Genius is the story of Giacomo, an orphan boy living on the streets. But his life is changed when a Genius appears. He embarks on a journey to save geniuses everywhere.
I really like the concept of Rebel Genius where art is a magical force than can change the world. I also like the idea of artistic genius being an outside entity that you need to learn to work with in order to create.
The story fell into the trap experienced by many fantasy novels. Exposition and worldbuilding overwhelm everything else.
The characters were flat and didn't have much growth. Plus they were all bullies and hard to root for. Aren't there stories about young boys forming friendships that don't start out with them being constantly hostile to each other, then their version of friendship turns only slightly less hostile. I expected better from the creator of Avatar: The Last Airbender which was commonly praised as having the best character development ever.
I'm also not a huge fan of "The Quest" story archetype. The hero and his sidekicks travel to find a magical artifact in order to defeat the ultimate evil. As they travel, they overcome many obstacles and (usually) pointless battles. It usually ends with the hero getting a kiss from his woman.
I'm hoping the sequel works through many of the issues this first book had and will be better.
"There are no easy answers, in life or in art. You're not following anyone's path now, you're forging your own. No doubt, you will find it both lonely and scary. But no one ever said having a Genius would be easy."
Rebel Genius is the story of Giacomo, an orphan boy living on the streets. But his life is changed when a Genius appears. He embarks on a journey to save geniuses everywhere.
I really like the concept of Rebel Genius where art is a magical force than can change the world. I also like the idea of artistic genius being an outside entity that you need to learn to work with in order to create.
The story fell into the trap experienced by many fantasy novels. Exposition and worldbuilding overwhelm everything else.
The characters were flat and didn't have much growth. Plus they were all bullies and hard to root for. Aren't there stories about young boys forming friendships that don't start out with them being constantly hostile to each other, then their version of friendship turns only slightly less hostile. I expected better from the creator of Avatar: The Last Airbender which was commonly praised as having the best character development ever.
I'm also not a huge fan of "The Quest" story archetype. The hero and his sidekicks travel to find a magical artifact in order to defeat the ultimate evil. As they travel, they overcome many obstacles and (usually) pointless battles. It usually ends with the hero getting a kiss from his woman.
I'm hoping the sequel works through many of the issues this first book had and will be better.
nictetrujillo's review against another edition
2.0
Some characters are interesting and there is a plot twist towards the end, but other than that, the book lacks a good story and the ending pretty much dictates there's a second part coming, with a really mild ending.
I wouldn't buy the sequels because I didn't fall in love with the story and honestly, the so called evil empress barely makes an appearance in the "big epic battle" that is not that epic. Overall I think this is a good book for young adults to get curious about fantasy and if you like the Full Metal Alchemist, you might enjoy this a bit more; there are a bunch of similarities in the story.
I wouldn't buy the sequels because I didn't fall in love with the story and honestly, the so called evil empress barely makes an appearance in the "big epic battle" that is not that epic. Overall I think this is a good book for young adults to get curious about fantasy and if you like the Full Metal Alchemist, you might enjoy this a bit more; there are a bunch of similarities in the story.
pieranna1's review against another edition
3.0
What a wonderful unique world! Its so awesome to see all these young artists with their unique take on different forms of art being the heroes of the story and not on the B-team. The story was a little too fast paced--I would have loved some more time to love the characters a bit more, to feel their relationships a bit more strongly, but still a refreshing read and I hope there will be more!
gregersonjackie's review against another edition
Another wonderful story from Michael Dante DiMartino.
ursacygni's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
The over all world building and story of this book are pretty good. In a world of magical artists a fascist dictator says no more artists. We follow Giacomo an orphaned child who lost his parents due to this dictator separating Artists from their "Geniuses" bird or cat like animals that act as muse and magic medium.
The big issues I had with this book were it seemed to wind along and not take the direct route. While that can be enjoyable in a story, here it just made it drag.
The big issues I had with this book were it seemed to wind along and not take the direct route. While that can be enjoyable in a story, here it just made it drag.