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wrenl's review
2.0
Welcome to Book City
Date: December 31, 2014
Spoilers Ahead
Headline
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Sharon G Flake
Award-winning author, Sharon G. Flake, presents a powerful novel about a teen boy and girl, each tackling disabilities.
Autumn and Adonis have nothing in common and everything in common. Autumn is outgoing and has lots of friends. Adonis is shy and not so eager to connect with people. But even with their differences, the two have one thing in common--they're each dealing with a handicap. For Autumn, who has a learning disability, reading is a painful struggle that makes it hard to focus in class. But as her school’s most aggressive team wrestler, Autumn can take down any problem. Adonis is confined to a wheelchair. He has no legs. He can't walk or dance. But he’s a strong reader who loves books. Even so, Adonis has a secret he knows someone like Autumn can heal.
In time, Autumn and Adonis are forced to see that our greatest weaknesses can turn into the assets that forever change us and those we love.
Told in alternating voices, Takedown explores issues of self-discovery, friendship, and what it means to be different.
City Calendar:
This is what happened during the week.
Autumn goes to her match and wins. Adonis foes on a date with Raven to the movies and sees Autumn is humiliated when soda is spilled on him by accident. Adonis tutors Roberto a seventh grader. Officials come to the school. Patricia/Peaches show them around. Autumn is in a match with James and wins. She wins in a tournament. Autumn starts volunteering at the library. She admits to Adonis that she loves him. Adonis teaches Autumn's math class. They work in the library together. Roberto gets Autumn a chess set. Autumn gives Adonis cupcakes and a movie ticket. Adonis dreams of Autumn. Adonis and Patricia talk to the seventh graders about leadership.
Autumn is kicked off of the wrestling team. Adonis notices how sad Autumn is. Autumn asks Adonis to tutor her. Adonis doesn't agree or disagree. Autumn quits working at the library. Adonis sees Autumn at tutoring. Autumn apologizes to him. She kisses him. Adonis teachers Autumn's class. Adonis sees Patricia cheating in math class. Adonis and Autumn kiss. Autumn confronts Patricia about the cheating. Autumn makes cupcakes for finals. She does a practice test in English and does better than before. She tells Adonis who kisses her and says I love you.
And that's what happened this week.
Personal Ads:
Adonis.
Smart. No legs. Fourteen years old. Ninth grade. Judgmental. Tutor. Not many friends. Reclusive. Team manager for wrestling.
Autumn.
Female wrestler. Fourteen. Cooks. Kind. Smiles a lot. Cheerful. Happy. Not very good at reading or math.
Opinions:
I really wasn't impressed by this book. I was reluctant to read it to begin with. I have to read it for my book trivia. But this wasn't very good...
The girl in a sport where mostly guys participate in is great. Go girls!
Now...onto my rant. I am all for feminism. I like that Autumn was good at it too. Not a pity case or anything. She tried her best to be in the sport. Except for school. She kinda...gave up in that area. I admire her strength in ignoring the males' taunts. I definitely wouldn't challenge her to a fight. Girl power.
The grammar. Oh my goodness. The word 'is' is dropped so many times.
There seems to be plot, but nothing really happens. I know that people do talk like it...but as a person who can't stand text language, this drove me crazy. I wanted to grab the characters by their lapels and shout at them to get their grammar together. I might not have perfect grammar, but I don't drop words. I smash them together. Or whatnot. But still! This drove me absolutely crazy.
The ending is confusing too. Did time pass? When did they end up together? How much time passed? It's rushed. And leaves me questions. When did she agree to all this tutoring? Man. That's crazy. None of the ending had much depth. It made not a lot of sense.
And the romance. Seriously. When does that come in? I thought Adonis hated Autumn. I don't see where that came from. Adonis hated Autumn. He mentioned that many times. Did he harbor an awkward crush? Hm. That was never mentioned. And he was adamant about his hate. And Autumn. Why do the girls put in so much work into the relationship when the guy doesn't? I don't get that. Poor Autumn was lost in her mind, thinking Adonis liked her. Poor girl... How did she win him over? It's never mentioned...
The characters aren't very good. They annoyed me. Adonis was whiny. A complainer. He complained about everything. And was negative. Not that I'm an optimist. I'm a pessimist myself. But I prefer reading about more optimistic characters. I know that not everyone is an optimist. (I'm a prime example after all.) But he was really negative. And why did he hate Autumn? Did Autumn do anything but like you? Do you have a problem with people liking you? Is that saying something? I'm confused by his character. He seems to dump the 'I hate Autumn' part and become Autumn's...boyfriend? What? When did that happen? How could he change so quickly? We didn't get any insight. And Autumn. Her grammar drove me nuts. But she was pretty kind. I didn't like that she completely gave up when she lost wrestling. You got to get back on the horse, as they say. Keep going. Don't let that stop you! She seems like a good character. In any other book...
Overall, I wasn't very impressed. It could have been better.
Weather:
Cloudy with a 75% chance of rain
2/5
Date: December 31, 2014
Spoilers Ahead
Headline
Pinned
Sharon G Flake
Award-winning author, Sharon G. Flake, presents a powerful novel about a teen boy and girl, each tackling disabilities.
Autumn and Adonis have nothing in common and everything in common. Autumn is outgoing and has lots of friends. Adonis is shy and not so eager to connect with people. But even with their differences, the two have one thing in common--they're each dealing with a handicap. For Autumn, who has a learning disability, reading is a painful struggle that makes it hard to focus in class. But as her school’s most aggressive team wrestler, Autumn can take down any problem. Adonis is confined to a wheelchair. He has no legs. He can't walk or dance. But he’s a strong reader who loves books. Even so, Adonis has a secret he knows someone like Autumn can heal.
In time, Autumn and Adonis are forced to see that our greatest weaknesses can turn into the assets that forever change us and those we love.
Told in alternating voices, Takedown explores issues of self-discovery, friendship, and what it means to be different.
City Calendar:
This is what happened during the week.
Autumn goes to her match and wins. Adonis foes on a date with Raven to the movies and sees Autumn is humiliated when soda is spilled on him by accident. Adonis tutors Roberto a seventh grader. Officials come to the school. Patricia/Peaches show them around. Autumn is in a match with James and wins. She wins in a tournament. Autumn starts volunteering at the library. She admits to Adonis that she loves him. Adonis teaches Autumn's math class. They work in the library together. Roberto gets Autumn a chess set. Autumn gives Adonis cupcakes and a movie ticket. Adonis dreams of Autumn. Adonis and Patricia talk to the seventh graders about leadership.
Autumn is kicked off of the wrestling team. Adonis notices how sad Autumn is. Autumn asks Adonis to tutor her. Adonis doesn't agree or disagree. Autumn quits working at the library. Adonis sees Autumn at tutoring. Autumn apologizes to him. She kisses him. Adonis teachers Autumn's class. Adonis sees Patricia cheating in math class. Adonis and Autumn kiss. Autumn confronts Patricia about the cheating. Autumn makes cupcakes for finals. She does a practice test in English and does better than before. She tells Adonis who kisses her and says I love you.
And that's what happened this week.
Personal Ads:
Adonis.
Smart. No legs. Fourteen years old. Ninth grade. Judgmental. Tutor. Not many friends. Reclusive. Team manager for wrestling.
Autumn.
Female wrestler. Fourteen. Cooks. Kind. Smiles a lot. Cheerful. Happy. Not very good at reading or math.
Opinions:
I really wasn't impressed by this book. I was reluctant to read it to begin with. I have to read it for my book trivia. But this wasn't very good...
The girl in a sport where mostly guys participate in is great. Go girls!
Now...onto my rant. I am all for feminism. I like that Autumn was good at it too. Not a pity case or anything. She tried her best to be in the sport. Except for school. She kinda...gave up in that area. I admire her strength in ignoring the males' taunts. I definitely wouldn't challenge her to a fight. Girl power.
The grammar. Oh my goodness. The word 'is' is dropped so many times.
There seems to be plot, but nothing really happens. I know that people do talk like it...but as a person who can't stand text language, this drove me crazy. I wanted to grab the characters by their lapels and shout at them to get their grammar together. I might not have perfect grammar, but I don't drop words. I smash them together. Or whatnot. But still! This drove me absolutely crazy.
The ending is confusing too. Did time pass? When did they end up together? How much time passed? It's rushed. And leaves me questions. When did she agree to all this tutoring? Man. That's crazy. None of the ending had much depth. It made not a lot of sense.
And the romance. Seriously. When does that come in? I thought Adonis hated Autumn. I don't see where that came from. Adonis hated Autumn. He mentioned that many times. Did he harbor an awkward crush? Hm. That was never mentioned. And he was adamant about his hate. And Autumn. Why do the girls put in so much work into the relationship when the guy doesn't? I don't get that. Poor Autumn was lost in her mind, thinking Adonis liked her. Poor girl... How did she win him over? It's never mentioned...
The characters aren't very good. They annoyed me. Adonis was whiny. A complainer. He complained about everything. And was negative. Not that I'm an optimist. I'm a pessimist myself. But I prefer reading about more optimistic characters. I know that not everyone is an optimist. (I'm a prime example after all.) But he was really negative. And why did he hate Autumn? Did Autumn do anything but like you? Do you have a problem with people liking you? Is that saying something? I'm confused by his character. He seems to dump the 'I hate Autumn' part and become Autumn's...boyfriend? What? When did that happen? How could he change so quickly? We didn't get any insight. And Autumn. Her grammar drove me nuts. But she was pretty kind. I didn't like that she completely gave up when she lost wrestling. You got to get back on the horse, as they say. Keep going. Don't let that stop you! She seems like a good character. In any other book...
Overall, I wasn't very impressed. It could have been better.
Weather:
Cloudy with a 75% chance of rain
2/5
danacoledares's review
4.0
Docking a star because the lack of consent wasn't narratively framed as wrong. We DO see that the person starts making better choices, but it's somewhat coincidental.
I loved the voices; I loved the flaws and complexity in the characters. They seemed thoroughly believable as awkward, imperfect human beings.
A little heavy-handed, but I liked that it didn't wrap things up TOO neatly.
I loved the voices; I loved the flaws and complexity in the characters. They seemed thoroughly believable as awkward, imperfect human beings.
A little heavy-handed, but I liked that it didn't wrap things up TOO neatly.
sarahannkateri's review
2.0
Adonis is an ultra-smart, ultra-motivated teenager, loved by all of his teachers and destined for greatness despite being in a wheelchair. Autumn is his total opposite - a skilled athlete who can barely read and who makes her teachers despair. Despite their differences, Autumn is convinced that she loves Adonis, and she's going to make him fall for her too, no matter how much work it takes...
I liked The Skin I'm In by Flake, but did not think this was very good at all. Adonis was a ridiculously conceited jerk, and Autumn was an insane stalker, so it was hard to empathize with or root for either of them. The Peaches/Adonis being cousins subplot could have been interesting and given Adonis depth, but it fell flat. Autumn's struggles with reading and math were the only things that really felt authentic and fleshed out, and I wish the book had focused more on that and less on her crush on Adonis.
The writing had some real problems too, which I found strange for such an established writer. Adonis's internal monologue was stilted and robotic, and the way events were presented was incredibly unclear (not just when Flake was writing in Autumn's voice either...) I had to re-read multiple passages to understand what had just happened. As far as Adonis goes, there could be a really great book written about someone with a disability who overcompensates by trying to be perfect at everything & holding everyone else to incredibly high standards, but this isn't that book.
I guess some teen girls might like this, but it won't be my first choice to recommend.
I liked The Skin I'm In by Flake, but did not think this was very good at all. Adonis was a ridiculously conceited jerk, and Autumn was an insane stalker, so it was hard to empathize with or root for either of them. The Peaches/Adonis being cousins subplot could have been interesting and given Adonis depth, but it fell flat. Autumn's struggles with reading and math were the only things that really felt authentic and fleshed out, and I wish the book had focused more on that and less on her crush on Adonis.
The writing had some real problems too, which I found strange for such an established writer. Adonis's internal monologue was stilted and robotic, and the way events were presented was incredibly unclear (not just when Flake was writing in Autumn's voice either...) I had to re-read multiple passages to understand what had just happened. As far as Adonis goes, there could be a really great book written about someone with a disability who overcompensates by trying to be perfect at everything & holding everyone else to incredibly high standards, but this isn't that book.
I guess some teen girls might like this, but it won't be my first choice to recommend.
afro8921's review
3.0
Ms. Flake painted a convencing portrait of parents rising above their limited self knowledge to give their daughter a chance at a better life.
ginnikin's review
2.0
it was fine. I liked that autumn was so open about her feelings. I didn't like that she had to give up wrestling. I wanted someone to realise how important it was to her and help her have that as well as better grades.
tehani's review
5.0
A quick read, but really enjoyable, covering some great themes including disability and learning problems.
kshaw's review
4.0
4.5 ⭐ These was so cute heartfelt, I even a teared up a bit. The emotions of this story so extreme you couldn't help but be pulled in.
misssusan's review
3.0
mixed! i liked autumn and i was neutral on adonis -- i could talk myself into empathy but he was kinda a jerk the whole novel long. tbf tho autumn was basically stalking him, like i was honestly surprised it went the romance route because he was pretty clear he wanted nothing to do with her
i do super appreciate the cover though, like how many books do you know with black disabled narrators that actually represent them accurately on the book jacket? if the answer's more than this one, please leave a comment because for real, i want to read what you're reading. 3 stars
i do super appreciate the cover though, like how many books do you know with black disabled narrators that actually represent them accurately on the book jacket? if the answer's more than this one, please leave a comment because for real, i want to read what you're reading. 3 stars
lazygal's review
2.0
This reads a little like an urban lit version of Pride and Prejudice, but Adonis is even less likeable than Darcy!
Told in alternating chapters, Autumn is a barely literate, barely numerate wrestler who is an amazing chef and is in love with Adonis. Adonis was born without legs and raised to be self-sufficient, he's also one of the top students in the class and the Assistant Coach for the wrestling team. Their story could have been a wonderful story about two teens from completely different worlds and backgrounds and how they come together (as in what I think is the source material) but Adonis is just horrible.
It's not just the Darcian "better than thou" attitude, it's Adonis' internal monologue that was simply unlikeable. Why Autumn, who seems to be a genuinely nice person with a serious problem, would continue to like him is beyond me - even Lizzie gave up on Darcy, including after he declared his love "against his better nature and reason".
ARC provided by publisher.
Told in alternating chapters, Autumn is a barely literate, barely numerate wrestler who is an amazing chef and is in love with Adonis. Adonis was born without legs and raised to be self-sufficient, he's also one of the top students in the class and the Assistant Coach for the wrestling team. Their story could have been a wonderful story about two teens from completely different worlds and backgrounds and how they come together (as in what I think is the source material) but Adonis is just horrible.
It's not just the Darcian "better than thou" attitude, it's Adonis' internal monologue that was simply unlikeable. Why Autumn, who seems to be a genuinely nice person with a serious problem, would continue to like him is beyond me - even Lizzie gave up on Darcy, including after he declared his love "against his better nature and reason".
ARC provided by publisher.