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4.1 AVERAGE
4.1 AVERAGE
Exciting with a foundation for really good fantasy, but cringy with a sloppy plot and a weakly explained magic system.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
To say I was excited about this book would be an understatement. The writing and grammatical errors were too much to be ignored. I tried to push through but in the end I couldn't ignore the issues with the writing and grammar. I hope to give this author a second chance on a different series later down the line since this is his debut novel.
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
LaDarrion Williams had me at "Magical HBCU." (And that cover, dang... only topped by the cover for book 2, which is somehow even better.) I'm sure there are people who will have feelings about the writing style, but I kept thinking of Paul Laurence Dunbar. Iykyk. Edit: Having now read more reviews, I can confirm that people have mixed feelings on the prose. I, a mayonnaise-tinted individual, will leave the deeper conversations about that subject to folks with more melanin than I possess. The use of things like repeated punctuation ("!!!") and a bunch of letters in a row ("Nooooooooo") did bug me, though.
I appreciated the number of intersectional characters, and found many passages moving. I didn't realize that this book was marketed as being free of Black trauma, but... uh, yeah, that's a lie. It's pretty heavy on trauma, actually, and for this reason I didn't judge Malik as harshly as some other reviewers have. I agree that he behaves poorly toward his love interest, and didn't love (or fully understand the motives behind) choices that were made at the end of the book. On the other hand, he's dealing with a lot. And he'll be going to therapy in book 2, I take it, so maybe that will be addressed. We'll see.
One significant complaint is that I don't really understand the magic system, and as I result I didn't understand what was happening in many of the climactic scenes even when I reread them. There were also a few places where I wasn't sure why the villains were doing certain things, which may have been for magic reasons, and may have been simply intended to move the plot forward. People teleport all over the place all the time. And Malik has a LOT of visions. Like, *A LOT.* I'm hoping we get less of that in "Bones," and a bit more explanation of why things happen and what the limits of the magic are.
I would have rated this higher if I just slapped a star rating on here, but thinking about the book more, I'm realizing that I have more questions and critiques than I realized while reading. At any rate, I'm hardly a young adult anymore, and I'm glad this book exists. I'm crossing my fingers for "Bones at the Crossroads" to take on some of these things and, hopefully, fill in some plot holes.
I appreciated the number of intersectional characters, and found many passages moving. I didn't realize that this book was marketed as being free of Black trauma, but... uh, yeah, that's a lie. It's pretty heavy on trauma, actually, and for this reason I didn't judge Malik as harshly as some other reviewers have. I agree that he behaves poorly toward his love interest, and didn't love (or fully understand the motives behind) choices that were made at the end of the book. On the other hand, he's dealing with a lot. And he'll be going to therapy in book 2, I take it, so maybe that will be addressed. We'll see.
One significant complaint is that I don't really understand the magic system, and as I result I didn't understand what was happening in many of the climactic scenes even when I reread them. There were also a few places where I wasn't sure why the villains were doing certain things, which may have been for magic reasons, and may have been simply intended to move the plot forward. People teleport all over the place all the time. And Malik has a LOT of visions. Like, *A LOT.* I'm hoping we get less of that in "Bones," and a bit more explanation of why things happen and what the limits of the magic are.
I would have rated this higher if I just slapped a star rating on here, but thinking about the book more, I'm realizing that I have more questions and critiques than I realized while reading. At any rate, I'm hardly a young adult anymore, and I'm glad this book exists. I'm crossing my fingers for "Bones at the Crossroads" to take on some of these things and, hopefully, fill in some plot holes.
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I really enjoyed this read! On paper, it's tailor made for me - students at a school for magic that is an HBCU. In execution, the choice to use the vernacular of Southern African Americans was on point. The language felt like home to me (Black, born and raised in the Carolinas, but primarily NC). Using phrases that aren't quite right when using vernacular can take me out of a read, but I didn't have any icks.
I was super invested in the characters and I believed their motivations. I enjoyed the system of magic and the created universe. I'm looking forward to continuing Malik's story.
I was super invested in the characters and I believed their motivations. I enjoyed the system of magic and the created universe. I'm looking forward to continuing Malik's story.
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes