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cascallisto's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
3.5/5
0.5 because the ending had me gripping my seat…
To begin with, I read this as a joke. The early 2000s emo vibe made me laugh from the start. Why is this teenage boy smoking a cigarette on school grounds in front of his coach? Then I thought about all the high schoolers vaping in the bathrooms and in the back of school buses and I thought “Okay, not unrealistic”.
As the story picked up and we were introduced to our band of characters, I fell in love with them despite how dysfunctional they all are. I think Wymack is hilarious in everything he does from cursing out the team to throwing wallets at children, but he’s also extremely sincere. He understands and takes care of his motley crew of idiots. I also really love Matt. He cares about Neil from the jump and really makes a point to look out for him. Originally I didn’t like Seth, and I’m still not sure how I feel about him, but I like that he would join Matt in protecting Neil from his other teammates despite being an asshole a majority of the time.
I will say that I did have a hard time liking Nicky, Andrew, and Aaron. It’s not that I disliked them, but I found it difficult to connect with them on their own. This might be because the story is from Neil’s point of view. I do know that I didn’t like Nicky much because of the over sexual gay stereotype and the rape jokes. He has yet to redeem himself, but I didn’t hate him at the end of the book, so he still has a chance. What I did like was their relationships with the others on the team. For example, Renee looking out for and being friends with Andrew. I don’t know why, but I really liked that friendship. Andrew’s relationship with Kevin also piqued my interest. I love that he’s so overprotective of the people he really cares about. Otherwise I didn’t have many strong feelings towards this crew.
As for Aaron, Andrew, and Nicky’s relationship with each other, I’m very intrigued. I always eat up a strained familial relationship, especially when it’s between two siblings. It was only touched on in this book, but I hope they expand on it in later books.
By the third chapter, I could already tell that the mental health representation was going to be rocky throughout the story. I didn’t dislike the mental health aspect itself because there are certain things I think were done well, but I didn’t like the representation of medication. I’m not sure if it was because of the early 2000s writing and insensitivity, but it wasn’t my favorite. I don’t like the “crazy pills make me crazier” stance on medication regardless of when it was written.
I did like the hilarious insults. They were a bit over the top and sometimes downright offensive, but damn are they true to teenage boy friendships. Calling your teammate a “crippled deadweight has-been” is unfortunately funny and definitely something that would come out of a teenager’s mouth. Also Seth calling Nicky a slur is absolutely offensive, and I don’t condone it at all, but I promise you that’s what a bunch of college athletes sound like when speaking to their own teammates. So am I mad that it’s offensive? Not really.
What did trigger me and bring my rating down was the Columbia chapter where they drugged Neil? First of all, I felt that it was unnecessary to the plot. It could’ve been taken out and the plot would have been about the same. I think it was hypocritical of Andrew to get pissed when someone makes a rape joke and then continue to drug someone immediately after. I don’t really care that Neil may or may not have been a mole in this situation. Just beat him up? Drugging people is not the answer. I think the worst part is that we never found out what they did to him that night, and that makes me uncomfortable.
Chapters nine and ten were a bit slow for me. I felt as I was reading that there was a lull in the pacing. I didn’t particularly dislike it, but it was a drag to get through especially when I was reading to decompress before bed.
Chapter eleven to the end is really where it started to get interesting and where I decided that my 3.5 was going to round up instead of down. I love the gameplay in the story. It’s not too technical but it isn’t shoved completely to the background. I liked that we could see what was going on with every character on the court along with their play styles and the decisions that were being made outside of just Neil. It felt like all the characters were active participants in the game. I also liked the cut away from the game to the next day. We focused on what was relevant for the reader to see and nothing more. I really enjoyed it.
Then, I ate the interview up. It’s one of my favorite tropes. I love reading about famous people, whether they’re athletes, celebrities, musicians, it doesn’t matter. I love a messy interview. I definitely was expecting Neil to change the dynamic and the tone of the interview, but I was more expecting Neil and Kevin to get into it on live TV. I wasn’t expecting them to bring out Riko just to traumatize Kevin. I honestly didn’t think we were going to meet Riko until the next book, so it was an exciting surprise. I also loved that the Foxes were ten toes down for Kevin. It doesn’t matter if they all hate each other because they’re willing to go to war for their teammates. I really liked that aspect of their relationships. Overall, I enjoyed the chapters that involved the interview.
The last chapter really threw me for a loop. I wasn’t expecting Seth to die on the last couple of pages. The chapter was a little boring because it’s just another trip to Columbia but then Seth died, and I was just confused. I can appreciate the apathy from Neil because I felt somewhat similar about the entire situation. I really liked the symbolism of Andrew giving Neil the key to Nicky’s house even though they both agreed they dislike each other and don’t trust each other, but for some reason, I feel it would’ve been more exciting to end on an almost cliffhanger after the interview. I didn’t dislike the last chapter, but I didn’t love it either. I’m not too sure how to feel about it.
0.5 because the ending had me gripping my seat…
To begin with, I read this as a joke. The early 2000s emo vibe made me laugh from the start. Why is this teenage boy smoking a cigarette on school grounds in front of his coach? Then I thought about all the high schoolers vaping in the bathrooms and in the back of school buses and I thought “Okay, not unrealistic”.
As the story picked up and we were introduced to our band of characters, I fell in love with them despite how dysfunctional they all are. I think Wymack is hilarious in everything he does from cursing out the team to throwing wallets at children, but he’s also extremely sincere. He understands and takes care of his motley crew of idiots. I also really love Matt. He cares about Neil from the jump and really makes a point to look out for him. Originally I didn’t like Seth, and I’m still not sure how I feel about him, but I like that he would join Matt in protecting Neil from his other teammates despite being an asshole a majority of the time.
I will say that I did have a hard time liking Nicky, Andrew, and Aaron. It’s not that I disliked them, but I found it difficult to connect with them on their own. This might be because the story is from Neil’s point of view. I do know that I didn’t like Nicky much because of the over sexual gay stereotype and the rape jokes. He has yet to redeem himself, but I didn’t hate him at the end of the book, so he still has a chance. What I did like was their relationships with the others on the team. For example, Renee looking out for and being friends with Andrew. I don’t know why, but I really liked that friendship. Andrew’s relationship with Kevin also piqued my interest. I love that he’s so overprotective of the people he really cares about. Otherwise I didn’t have many strong feelings towards this crew.
As for Aaron, Andrew, and Nicky’s relationship with each other, I’m very intrigued. I always eat up a strained familial relationship, especially when it’s between two siblings. It was only touched on in this book, but I hope they expand on it in later books.
By the third chapter, I could already tell that the mental health representation was going to be rocky throughout the story. I didn’t dislike the mental health aspect itself because there are certain things I think were done well, but I didn’t like the representation of medication. I’m not sure if it was because of the early 2000s writing and insensitivity, but it wasn’t my favorite. I don’t like the “crazy pills make me crazier” stance on medication regardless of when it was written.
I did like the hilarious insults. They were a bit over the top and sometimes downright offensive, but damn are they true to teenage boy friendships. Calling your teammate a “crippled deadweight has-been” is unfortunately funny and definitely something that would come out of a teenager’s mouth. Also Seth calling Nicky a slur is absolutely offensive, and I don’t condone it at all, but I promise you that’s what a bunch of college athletes sound like when speaking to their own teammates. So am I mad that it’s offensive? Not really.
What did trigger me and bring my rating down was the Columbia chapter where they drugged Neil? First of all, I felt that it was unnecessary to the plot. It could’ve been taken out and the plot would have been about the same. I think it was hypocritical of Andrew to get pissed when someone makes a rape joke and then continue to drug someone immediately after. I don’t really care that Neil may or may not have been a mole in this situation. Just beat him up? Drugging people is not the answer. I think the worst part is that we never found out what they did to him that night, and that makes me uncomfortable.
Chapters nine and ten were a bit slow for me. I felt as I was reading that there was a lull in the pacing. I didn’t particularly dislike it, but it was a drag to get through especially when I was reading to decompress before bed.
Chapter eleven to the end is really where it started to get interesting and where I decided that my 3.5 was going to round up instead of down. I love the gameplay in the story. It’s not too technical but it isn’t shoved completely to the background. I liked that we could see what was going on with every character on the court along with their play styles and the decisions that were being made outside of just Neil. It felt like all the characters were active participants in the game. I also liked the cut away from the game to the next day. We focused on what was relevant for the reader to see and nothing more. I really enjoyed it.
Then, I ate the interview up. It’s one of my favorite tropes. I love reading about famous people, whether they’re athletes, celebrities, musicians, it doesn’t matter. I love a messy interview. I definitely was expecting Neil to change the dynamic and the tone of the interview, but I was more expecting Neil and Kevin to get into it on live TV. I wasn’t expecting them to bring out Riko just to traumatize Kevin. I honestly didn’t think we were going to meet Riko until the next book, so it was an exciting surprise. I also loved that the Foxes were ten toes down for Kevin. It doesn’t matter if they all hate each other because they’re willing to go to war for their teammates. I really liked that aspect of their relationships. Overall, I enjoyed the chapters that involved the interview.
The last chapter really threw me for a loop. I wasn’t expecting Seth to die on the last couple of pages. The chapter was a little boring because it’s just another trip to Columbia but then Seth died, and I was just confused. I can appreciate the apathy from Neil because I felt somewhat similar about the entire situation. I really liked the symbolism of Andrew giving Neil the key to Nicky’s house even though they both agreed they dislike each other and don’t trust each other, but for some reason, I feel it would’ve been more exciting to end on an almost cliffhanger after the interview. I didn’t dislike the last chapter, but I didn’t love it either. I’m not too sure how to feel about it.
rachelreadsfantasy's review against another edition
So. I don’t know how I feel. This first book acted as a long set up/introduction to the other books… and I’m fascinated by the plot. I just can’t seem to wrap my head around some of the characters; their motivations or how they interact with each other. I’m definitely continuing the series… I just don’t know how I feel about it but itself.
e_reading's review against another edition
3.0
i can really appreciate a book that just goes balls to the wall on tropes, like just absolutely going for it. also if exy was a real sport i would be a fan, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
embbooks's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
lilradridinghood's review against another edition
There is simply nothing good to keep me going.
hurrae's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
noctrnes's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
i respect the 5 stars but this is just objectively a bad book
unicorn3's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
The thrilling start into a great series that's still somehow written like a Wattpad story although it captures many people who love it (including me), like the writing is really bad, not good, I understand why many people stop after book one, it doesn't get much better I fear, but the story progresses, don't await some crazy plot, this is more about the characters and how they heal from their past trauma.
The characters are not without flaws, but they act to stereotypically at some points making it hard to see them as their own but rather as a not really there character.
The plot idea is great with Neil being on the run from his father, definitely curious on how it'll continue (as if I haven't already read this series, but it's great for new readers!), Kevin and the (Riko) Moriyama drama that Neils more included in than he wants to admit.
Exy as a sport sounds great, the game is described really well and it's easy to understand the sport (at least I caught on the first time I was reading it), the concept seems great.
All in all, after rereading the first book, it's a good start for this series but mainly the characters got extreme flaws not due to their characteristics, but based on mostly stereotypes I suppose, there's also an inconsistency after this book considering the characters and their development.
Definitely check the trigger warnings before you start reading tho!
The characters are not without flaws, but they act to stereotypically at some points making it hard to see them as their own but rather as a not really there character.
The plot idea is great with Neil being on the run from his father, definitely curious on how it'll continue (as if I haven't already read this series, but it's great for new readers!), Kevin and the (Riko) Moriyama drama that Neils more included in than he wants to admit.
Exy as a sport sounds great, the game is described really well and it's easy to understand the sport (at least I caught on the first time I was reading it), the concept seems great.
All in all, after rereading the first book, it's a good start for this series but mainly the characters got extreme flaws not due to their characteristics, but based on mostly stereotypes I suppose, there's also an inconsistency after this book considering the characters and their development.
Definitely check the trigger warnings before you start reading tho!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Drug use, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Violence, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, and Murder
Minor: Sexism, Vomit, Medical content, and Death of parent
ceciliasrose's review against another edition
This was huge on tumblr back in the day and I never read it but since it was resurfacing on TikTok I thought I’d give it a shot. The beginning was sooo slow and since it’s only ~250 pages I didn’t want to wait any longer for it to become interesting. Maybe I’ll pick it up again in the future.