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illidia316's review against another edition
4.0
I saw the author at a book convention in 2019, where he sat on a panel with several other authors. When he introduced himself, I was shocked - he’s the CinemaSins dude! After he introduced the book, I immediately put it on my want to read list. A book about disabled superheroes? Yes please!
This book is a solid four stars for me. The characters are really interesting - I don’t want to say that I enjoy their disabilities, more that I enjoy their disability/superpower combination. For example, a blind teleporter - you wouldn’t think that could ever work without death or loss of limb, but somehow it does. I have two favorite characters - the main character Phillip and his friend Bentley. Bentley is so intelligent and clever that it was mind blowing. Phillip deals with so much tragedy in this book that I am amazed he can keep going, but he does. The story has a couple of really surprising plot twists that I didn’t see coming.
The only reason this isn’t a 5 star read for me is the sheer amount of bad luck that the kids have in this book. In my opinion, way too many bad things happen, especially to Phillip. Overall though, this book is great.
This book is a solid four stars for me. The characters are really interesting - I don’t want to say that I enjoy their disabilities, more that I enjoy their disability/superpower combination. For example, a blind teleporter - you wouldn’t think that could ever work without death or loss of limb, but somehow it does. I have two favorite characters - the main character Phillip and his friend Bentley. Bentley is so intelligent and clever that it was mind blowing. Phillip deals with so much tragedy in this book that I am amazed he can keep going, but he does. The story has a couple of really surprising plot twists that I didn’t see coming.
The only reason this isn’t a 5 star read for me is the sheer amount of bad luck that the kids have in this book. In my opinion, way too many bad things happen, especially to Phillip. Overall though, this book is great.
mschlat's review against another edition
2.0
I picked up this book (and actually preordered it) because the author is one of the founders of Cinema Sins --- one of my favorite YouTube channels and an excellent provider of genre-focused snark. I also liked the high concept; we follow a group of disabled middle school students who also have superpowers. Unfortunately, their disabilities sometimes hamper their ability to be super, as in the case of our protagonist Phillip, who is a blind telekinetic.
There's a lot of cleverness involved with the superpowers, especially because one of the middle school students (Bentley) is a super genius. Bentley has a number of great insights throughout the book on how our heroes can use their powers more effectively.
Sadly, I found the cleverness was outweighed by the clunkiness of the writing. Scott uses a lot of dialogue to deliver exposition to the reader, and I disliked the emphasis on discussion over action, especially in the first half of the novel. In addition, many of the plot points appeared to be straw men --- the obstacles appeared only to be knocked down, not because of any other logic inherent in the story.
The biggest example I saw of this was early in the novel when we discover that all of our disabled heroes are in a special education class apart from the rest of the school. Please note that there is nothing that would prevent most of these students, if not all, from being placed in regular education classrooms with a few accommodations. In our world, given the current trends in education, that's exactly what would happen, especially since almost all of the students have no learning differences. But in the world of the Ables, we get a 1950's approach to special education, primarily (I'm assuming) to drive conflict.
There are a number of notes like this in the book --- conflicts or problems that appear with little rhyme or reason. Near the end of the novel, a betrayal in the past becomes very important. Unfortunately for the reader, we never get a clear idea of why the betrayal occurred, just that we need to know about it.
There's some good stuff here, especially in the interactions between the kids. I just wish the plotting was strong enough to support the characters.
There's a lot of cleverness involved with the superpowers, especially because one of the middle school students (Bentley) is a super genius. Bentley has a number of great insights throughout the book on how our heroes can use their powers more effectively.
Sadly, I found the cleverness was outweighed by the clunkiness of the writing. Scott uses a lot of dialogue to deliver exposition to the reader, and I disliked the emphasis on discussion over action, especially in the first half of the novel. In addition, many of the plot points appeared to be straw men --- the obstacles appeared only to be knocked down, not because of any other logic inherent in the story.
The biggest example I saw of this was early in the novel when we discover that all of our disabled heroes are in a special education class apart from the rest of the school. Please note that there is nothing that would prevent most of these students, if not all, from being placed in regular education classrooms with a few accommodations. In our world, given the current trends in education, that's exactly what would happen, especially since almost all of the students have no learning differences. But in the world of the Ables, we get a 1950's approach to special education, primarily (I'm assuming) to drive conflict.
There are a number of notes like this in the book --- conflicts or problems that appear with little rhyme or reason. Near the end of the novel, a betrayal in the past becomes very important. Unfortunately for the reader, we never get a clear idea of why the betrayal occurred, just that we need to know about it.
There's some good stuff here, especially in the interactions between the kids. I just wish the plotting was strong enough to support the characters.
stellarkestrel's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
mferrante83's review against another edition
4.0
You should know first that I am fan of Cinema Sins. Jeremy is half the writing team behind Cinema Sins and the narrator so when I saw on their Youtube channel that Jeremy had written a book I figured that I should check it out. It didn’t hurt that John Dies at the End author David Wong has a nice little quote up over on the book’s website. I jumped when I saw that Netgalley had it up. The Ables is about a secret society of superpowered peoples living around us. We don’t see them but they are there protecting us from both regular criminals and from super-powered individuals who do not have out best interests at heart. So when Phillip Sallinger learns that he has inherited superpowers he absolutely ecstatic; even if his telekinesis is difficult to use due to his blindness.
Phillip is placed in a special education class at his new superhero school along with other youths whose special abilities are impaired by physical or mental disabilities. Phillip is dead set on not letting his disability affect his ability to be a Custodian. Things really kick-off with the introduction of the SuperSim; an event where super-powered adults create a town wide Danger Room like situation where teams of super-powered kids can try their hand at super-heroics without the risk of the real-world. Overcoming some adversity Phillip and his other classmates take their first steps towards being superheroes only fail pretty spectacularly. However, it’s this failure that spurs them onward toward exploring their abilities in new and deeper ways in order to find a way to overcome their physical limitations.
The Ables would be an entertaining book if it was just watching these kids experiment with their abilities. Scott comes up with some creative and fun ways for these kids to use their abilities and it’s an absolutely joy to experience each little triumph along the way. However, there are darker doings going on in the background of The Ables’ world as full-fledged Custodians are disappearing and a mysterious figure keeps taunting Phillip and his friends. Scott doesn’t flinch from putting his hero through the wringer and he does an excellent job at describing the emotional aftermath of the handful of traumatic events Phillip faces throughout the novel.
While I found The Ables conclusion to be initially entertaining, Scott really stacks the odds against the heroes, some last minute twists and revelations felt a little too contrived for comfort. The novel’s final heroic reveal was telegraphed a bit too neatly for my tasted. Then again, Scott’s target audience is not a 33-year old somewhat jaded fan of genre fiction so the book’s final revelation might come as more of a surprise. The Ables is an entertaining and exciting read whose vibrant characters leap off the page. I definitely anyone looking for an excellent bit of middle-grade fiction give Jeremey Scott’s The Ables. For avid Cinema Sins fans I feel it worth also noting that Scott himself reads the audiobook version. Both the print and audiobook versions of The Ables are available now.
Phillip is placed in a special education class at his new superhero school along with other youths whose special abilities are impaired by physical or mental disabilities. Phillip is dead set on not letting his disability affect his ability to be a Custodian. Things really kick-off with the introduction of the SuperSim; an event where super-powered adults create a town wide Danger Room like situation where teams of super-powered kids can try their hand at super-heroics without the risk of the real-world. Overcoming some adversity Phillip and his other classmates take their first steps towards being superheroes only fail pretty spectacularly. However, it’s this failure that spurs them onward toward exploring their abilities in new and deeper ways in order to find a way to overcome their physical limitations.
The Ables would be an entertaining book if it was just watching these kids experiment with their abilities. Scott comes up with some creative and fun ways for these kids to use their abilities and it’s an absolutely joy to experience each little triumph along the way. However, there are darker doings going on in the background of The Ables’ world as full-fledged Custodians are disappearing and a mysterious figure keeps taunting Phillip and his friends. Scott doesn’t flinch from putting his hero through the wringer and he does an excellent job at describing the emotional aftermath of the handful of traumatic events Phillip faces throughout the novel.
While I found The Ables conclusion to be initially entertaining, Scott really stacks the odds against the heroes, some last minute twists and revelations felt a little too contrived for comfort. The novel’s final heroic reveal was telegraphed a bit too neatly for my tasted. Then again, Scott’s target audience is not a 33-year old somewhat jaded fan of genre fiction so the book’s final revelation might come as more of a surprise. The Ables is an entertaining and exciting read whose vibrant characters leap off the page. I definitely anyone looking for an excellent bit of middle-grade fiction give Jeremey Scott’s The Ables. For avid Cinema Sins fans I feel it worth also noting that Scott himself reads the audiobook version. Both the print and audiobook versions of The Ables are available now.
birdkeeperklink's review against another edition
3.0
This book was pretty good. I don't regret reading it, but I didn't enjoy it as much as I expected to. I'm sure there are plenty of people who will enjoy it more than me, though -- I'm not sure if it's a 'guy thing,' or a 'kid thing,' since superheroes are loved by people of all ages and genders, but I suspect it just isn't my cup of tea. I shouldn't be surprised, as I have never understood/joined the superhero/comic book bandwagon. The only superhero movies I've seen are the Christopher Reeve Superman movies (and I only liked the first one), Fantastic 4 (which wasn't good, but Chris Evans was fun, a preview of things to come), Hulk (the not-Edward Norton one, which is enough to put anyone off of superhero movies), and the Tobey Maguire Spider-man (...ugh). I never got into the whole 'Marvel universe' or anything like that.
That said, I do enjoy books and movies that try to take well-established, tired tropes and turn them on their heads, and what could accomplish that better than a book about disabled superheroes? There were parts that I really, really enjoyed, particularly early on in the book, when it was mostly about exploring this universe we'd just been plopped into. That was fun.
The things I didn't like about the book I think might be mostly unique to me. I felt the reading level skewed a little young/easy for me, as the writing was sometimes bland, which could get boring. I totally called it about five pages after meeting him that Finch was, so it does have some predictability to it. The climax felt like a bit of a cop-out, but I'm not sure what I was expecting. I'm tired of prophecies right now, so that's just a 'me' thing, and not even all the time, I just feel like I've run into a lot of stories with prophecies lately. I disliked the main character some of the time. About half the time, I would say, which made it difficult to empathize with him and stay invested. Some minor things were brought up and then never resolved/touched on again, which happens sometimes (you can't cover everything, after all), but it still annoyed me a bit.
I was surprised by, so it wasn't completely predictable or anything, there are a few surprises tossed in there. I liked a lot of the characters most of the time. Like I said, I'm not sorry I read it, as it was a nice little story.
So do I recommend it? That depends. Are you really into superheroes? Are you a twelve-year-old kid? If you answered 'yes' to either of those questions, then I would recommend it to you -- the superhero part because 'duh,' and the twelve-year-old kid part because it's a lot like the Harry Potter series in that respect. What kid wouldn't love to have their parent sit them down and tell them, 'Son/Daughter, you're a superhero'? It'd be almost as cool as getting your Hogwarts letter.
That said, I do enjoy books and movies that try to take well-established, tired tropes and turn them on their heads, and what could accomplish that better than a book about disabled superheroes? There were parts that I really, really enjoyed, particularly early on in the book, when it was mostly about exploring this universe we'd just been plopped into. That was fun.
The things I didn't like about the book I think might be mostly unique to me. I felt the reading level skewed a little young/easy for me, as the writing was sometimes bland, which could get boring. I totally called it about five pages after meeting him that Finch was
Spoiler
Phillip's 'dead' grandfather, Thomas SallingerI was surprised by
Spoiler
Mr Charles's identitySo do I recommend it? That depends. Are you really into superheroes? Are you a twelve-year-old kid? If you answered 'yes' to either of those questions, then I would recommend it to you -- the superhero part because 'duh,' and the twelve-year-old kid part because it's a lot like the Harry Potter series in that respect. What kid wouldn't love to have their parent sit them down and tell them, 'Son/Daughter, you're a superhero'? It'd be almost as cool as getting your Hogwarts letter.
timberwolf's review
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
merylas's review against another edition
3.0
Fun story though the clunky and repetitive writing added a lot of predictability.
carleeiigh's review against another edition
1.0
Was looking forward to this book as soon as it was announced. Unfortunately it left a lot to be desired, with the characters being pretty flat and not very interesting, any conflict is either resolved too quickly or predictable, and the main idea of all these characters being disabled is almost exploitative. The writing is more like a fan fiction, and just left me so disappointed
duciella's review against another edition
2.0
This book doesn't have much going on. The characters lack personal plots and motivations which makes the whole plot lack stakes.