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tullyndmom's review against another edition
2.0
I was really hoping for some good disability representation, but sadly this fell short. It started well with the Braille comics, but quickly went downhill with the segregated special ed class, and bottomed out when the kids combined powers to make the blind kids... not blind. Very clever use of superpowers, but... I thought the premise was that "disabled superheroes are still heroes" not "we can be heroes if the kid in the wheelchair gets rid of our blindness." I'd be more ok with it if there was any time spent on introspection about Philip's feelings about his identity and his blindness, but all we got was a scene where he cries because he sees his family for the first time... and, yes, of course, but... there's no guilt? There's no contrast between the times when Henry is giving him sight and the times when he's blind again? It just feels like at some point the author threw his hands up and said, "Crap! I don't know what it's like to be blind! Now what?!" Not to mention the continuity errors when he should be blind because Henry isn't there but the author describes things as if he's not blind.
And, as others have mentioned, none of the kids are girls, even though there are (apparently) 2 girls in the special ed class (one wasn't even given a name until halfway through the book).
I'd never heard of Jeremy Scott or his YouTube channel, but it's pretty ironic that it looks like his channel pokes fun at plot holes in TV and movies, because this book is full of them... And I don't usually notice that kind of thing...
Spoilers in content warnings:
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Hostage situation, coma, death of a parent
And, as others have mentioned, none of the kids are girls, even though there are (apparently) 2 girls in the special ed class (one wasn't even given a name until halfway through the book).
I'd never heard of Jeremy Scott or his YouTube channel, but it's pretty ironic that it looks like his channel pokes fun at plot holes in TV and movies, because this book is full of them... And I don't usually notice that kind of thing...
Spoilers in content warnings:
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.
.
.
.
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Hostage situation, coma, death of a parent
simo517l's review against another edition
4.0
Pretty good book. I do not normally like books about children growing up, but this one proved to have an interesting spin on it and great written characters helped a lot.
clumsypenguin's review against another edition
2.0
I grabbed this one when it initially came out because I was a fan of CinemaSins, and I loved urban fantasy/superhero novels (especially in a school setting). While the concept drew me in, so many small details and aspects of the plot didn't make much sense, and I didn't find some of the villain characters to be that engaging. My favorite part of it was the main cast's interactions with each other, however, I came into the book expecting a bit more from the action scenes. You know, since it's a coming of age tale of superpowered middle schoolers. I didn't even realize there was a sequel to this until I wrote this, and I have no idea if I'll ever feel compelled enough to read it.
nipomuki's review against another edition
3.0
Ok. Superheroes are a very American concept. But I know enough Superhero folklore to enjoy books that play with this subject. I was very willing to love a story about a bunch of kids with disabilities who are also young superheroes, going to superhero school. But sadly, the book was not what I had hoped for. I liked how the boys played around with their powers and combined them into new abilities. It was also interesting that they had so many setbacks, and very few instant successes. But I had lots of issues with errors in logic and with tempo in this book. Also I missed the girls - there were very few women in the story, and those got very little screen time - and the tone of the book was too solemn and heavy on morality issues for a story about 12 year old boys.
krismoon's review against another edition
5.0
The Ables is a slow build that's rare among books these days. But it slowly builds into a truly awesome story and climax that was well plotted and well imagined. I loved it, and I felt comforted every time I came back to it. I had no idea Jeremy Scott was the owner of a YouTube channel, so there was no disappointment for me there. This is just a quality-written middle-grade book, and I think the readers who were also fans of the YouTube channel had a hard time separating their expectations from the reality of what this book was.
stiricide's review against another edition
2.0
Oh, I am hella bummed. I love CinemaSins, Jeremy Scott's YouTube project. But this... this is not good. A significant part of my struggle with it comes from the odd formatting decision to forgo paragraph indents in favor of double spaced paragraphs, like what you'd expect to see on a LiveJournal blog circa 2003. Adjusting to this format in print is equal parts difficult and annoying.
As for the content itself, what ultimately made me put it down was a cast of twelve year olds who speak like adults (what twelve year old has ever has used "penchant" in casual conversation?), and NPC adults who speak and behave like twelve year olds.
I wanted to flat out adore a YA book about differently-abled superhero tweenagers, but at 86 pages in, I had to quit this. The writing is just too clunky to carry it through.
As for the content itself, what ultimately made me put it down was a cast of twelve year olds who speak like adults (what twelve year old has ever has used "penchant" in casual conversation?), and NPC adults who speak and behave like twelve year olds.
I wanted to flat out adore a YA book about differently-abled superhero tweenagers, but at 86 pages in, I had to quit this. The writing is just too clunky to carry it through.
kingaphrodite's review against another edition
1.0
It is vaguely possible that I came in to this book with a bias perspective. Jeremy Scott gave his Youtube popularity via criticizing other people. And I feel like I could see the writing trying to avoid any 'plot holes'. However this actually led to some overexplaining. If the main character is being sincere, he's ' being the most genuine.' This happens with basically everything.
The concept was interesting, because superheroes (ie people who have powers) who also have a disability while it's been done is still an interesting concept. However, while one star was given because of this concept this wasn't exactly done super well. The main character's disability is being blind yet in very weird fashion he is given 'sight' from another person. This actually makes no sense and ruins the point of this concept. Another disability is how someone cannot walk properly all the time, yet this actually never becomes a factor at all.
The plot is also pretty contrived and there are some weird plot points and world building issue that really made this book lose its realism and fantastical element.
The concept was interesting, because superheroes (ie people who have powers) who also have a disability while it's been done is still an interesting concept. However, while one star was given because of this concept this wasn't exactly done super well. The main character's disability is being blind yet in very weird fashion he is given 'sight' from another person. This actually makes no sense and ruins the point of this concept. Another disability is how someone cannot walk properly all the time, yet this actually never becomes a factor at all.
The plot is also pretty contrived and there are some weird plot points and world building issue that really made this book lose its realism and fantastical element.
theybedax's review against another edition
5.0
A M A Z I N G!! I loved every part of this. It's a brilliant book that I couldn't help but recommend to anyone who would listen; before I even finished the book. I am so pumped that this is a series and I can't wait to see where we go from here.
nithou's review against another edition
4.0
First thanks to NetGalley & Jeremy Scott for giving me a chance to review this book!
I was really surprised by The Ables, which is really a good point. I was expecting yet another superhero tale, but this changed for the better. First and foremost, the main character, and his friends, are all disabled people. While it exists in some comics (like Daredevil), it's always nice to see characters different from the average-middle-class-white-guy-perfectly-normal. This, for a start, was really nice.
The story takes some time to build up, but for a better, explaining how exactly in the world the superheroes are able to stay hidden while living their lives, and how exactly those are arranged. The whole structure is quite strong, staying logical with itself during the whole book which is really good.
My main concern is concerning the age of the main characters, which are supposedly 12 years old. In my mind, regarding the maturity, reaction and things like that, it felts more like 15-16 years old, but that's quite a detail.
Overall, the story is really good, even if you can guess most of its plots, it's still great and enjoyable, a really good time :)
I was really surprised by The Ables, which is really a good point. I was expecting yet another superhero tale, but this changed for the better. First and foremost, the main character, and his friends, are all disabled people. While it exists in some comics (like Daredevil), it's always nice to see characters different from the average-middle-class-white-guy-perfectly-normal. This, for a start, was really nice.
The story takes some time to build up, but for a better, explaining how exactly in the world the superheroes are able to stay hidden while living their lives, and how exactly those are arranged. The whole structure is quite strong, staying logical with itself during the whole book which is really good.
My main concern is concerning the age of the main characters, which are supposedly 12 years old. In my mind, regarding the maturity, reaction and things like that, it felts more like 15-16 years old, but that's quite a detail.
Overall, the story is really good, even if you can guess most of its plots, it's still great and enjoyable, a really good time :)
impressionblend's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 out of 5 stars
This book is such a delightful treat, and I HIGHLY recommend the audiobook because why WOULDN'T you want to listen to a book narrated by the author who is also the voice of Cinema Sins?! And by the way, if you're not subscribed to Cinema Sins on YouTube - you're mussing out. I really liked the concept of this book, and the fact that the author wanted to tell a story about superhero kids with disabilities. I got through it very quickly, and enjoyed the story as well as the humor. However, at its core, the plot of The Ables is a pretty typical underdog story which I found to be very predictable. Maybe I read too many books and watch too many movies about superheroes, but there wasn't much that really surprised me about this book. Still, I really enjoyed it, and I can recommend it to anyone who likes superpowers and is looking for a light quick read.
This book is such a delightful treat, and I HIGHLY recommend the audiobook because why WOULDN'T you want to listen to a book narrated by the author who is also the voice of Cinema Sins?! And by the way, if you're not subscribed to Cinema Sins on YouTube - you're mussing out. I really liked the concept of this book, and the fact that the author wanted to tell a story about superhero kids with disabilities. I got through it very quickly, and enjoyed the story as well as the humor. However, at its core, the plot of The Ables is a pretty typical underdog story which I found to be very predictable. Maybe I read too many books and watch too many movies about superheroes, but there wasn't much that really surprised me about this book. Still, I really enjoyed it, and I can recommend it to anyone who likes superpowers and is looking for a light quick read.