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lavenderwarlock's review against another edition
3.0
I remember when I first listened to this in my teens and I loved it. I re-listened to it recently and I still liked it but I did look at it more critically. I do like it, I think it's pretty interesting in concept and execution and I plan to read/listen to the rest of the books. I also find it quite funny and I do love a lot of the characters.
Donnie is my fav. I love him, he's very charming and his loyalty is great. Though the idea that people try to get him banned from attending school is sooooo unrealistic. Henry is pretty cool, I do think his sarcasm is fun but it does suck a bit that he turns into Philph eyes 2 after they realise (tho Henry sending images is pretty cool). Bently is fun I find him a bit relatable (though never in 1000 years would he not check if the plant pots were plastic or not). James is a little entrepreneur and it's pretty endearing actually. I also love the blind humour between James and Philph. Philph is such a complicated character in my brain, I feel like he's incredibly stupid but also it kinda makes sense? His character is just a bit stupid and that's fine but also sometimes he's REALLY stupid. Arson Philph? You're gonna blow up cars in the supersim?? He is still a bit endearing tho.
I can't really comment on the quality of the disabled representation in this book as someone who's not disabled physically but I feel like Philph getting sight in the second half isn't the best. Also there's a lack of women (at least women who don't serve almost not purpose or straight up get fridged). There's not a tone of racial diversity either.
My biggest problem comes in the finale. It starts with the pacing of this book. Everything goes just a bit too fast so you don't get as much detail as would be best. This directly relates to my biggest issue: Chad. He goes from a bully to a disabled kid and we spend barely any time with him. His turn around doesn't feel convincing because we spend NO time with him to see his supposed turn to the light. Then he turns out to be evil and there's NO motive. Chad LOSES a whole ARM he becomes PERMANENTLY DISABLED and we have NO idea why! Is his family long-time believers??? Is Finch holding something over his head?? All we can assume is he's just evil. He leads to the destruction of his home and straight up SHOOTS someone in the head and we don't have any idea why. He's just evil. Also as a twist, pretty bad. We as the viewer don't get a real chance to notice his suspicious behaviour other than him doing the same trip move. All the suspicious happens off screen until it's needed to shock the viewer. I think it just isn't good. I hope we get some Chad lore next book.
I found the finale frustrating. Everyone kept fucking up shit I feel they shouldn't have. I mean I like Finch his mad logic makes sense to me. He's forcing Philph into the prophecy and I think it does work. However the bomb shouldn't have gone off. You're telling me of half the town of Freepoint, double the heroes than believers, not one could stop a button being pushed?? Philph couldn't pull it out of Finch's hand? Stop the button decompressing? A speedster couldn't have grabbed that shit? An invisible hero couldn't have nicked that shit? someone couldn't have fucking murdered Finch on the spot???? Also it has the if you kill the villain you're as bad as them trope which I think it's dumb for Finch, mass murderer. The idea that Philph (a traumatised 12 year old) would be seen as a villain forever for killing a mass murderer who is threatening the lives of a whole town is batshit and makes Freepoint look a lot less utopia. I did think the Thomas reveal was alright but the idea that Thomas got struck by lightning, fell thousands of feet off a building and lived and no one checked on him. Did they not go back for a body to bury??? I did enjoy the book mostly but there were some flaws I couldn't overlook.
Donnie is my fav. I love him, he's very charming and his loyalty is great. Though the idea that people try to get him banned from attending school is sooooo unrealistic. Henry is pretty cool, I do think his sarcasm is fun but it does suck a bit that he turns into Philph eyes 2 after they realise (tho Henry sending images is pretty cool). Bently is fun I find him a bit relatable (though never in 1000 years would he not check if the plant pots were plastic or not). James is a little entrepreneur and it's pretty endearing actually. I also love the blind humour between James and Philph. Philph is such a complicated character in my brain, I feel like he's incredibly stupid but also it kinda makes sense? His character is just a bit stupid and that's fine but also sometimes he's REALLY stupid. Arson Philph? You're gonna blow up cars in the supersim?? He is still a bit endearing tho.
I can't really comment on the quality of the disabled representation in this book as someone who's not disabled physically but I feel like Philph getting sight in the second half isn't the best. Also there's a lack of women (at least women who don't serve almost not purpose or straight up get fridged). There's not a tone of racial diversity either.
My biggest problem comes in the finale. It starts with the pacing of this book. Everything goes just a bit too fast so you don't get as much detail as would be best. This directly relates to my biggest issue: Chad. He goes from a bully to a disabled kid and we spend barely any time with him. His turn around doesn't feel convincing because we spend NO time with him to see his supposed turn to the light. Then he turns out to be evil and there's NO motive. Chad LOSES a whole ARM he becomes PERMANENTLY DISABLED and we have NO idea why! Is his family long-time believers??? Is Finch holding something over his head?? All we can assume is he's just evil. He leads to the destruction of his home and straight up SHOOTS someone in the head and we don't have any idea why. He's just evil. Also as a twist, pretty bad. We as the viewer don't get a real chance to notice his suspicious behaviour other than him doing the same trip move. All the suspicious happens off screen until it's needed to shock the viewer. I think it just isn't good. I hope we get some Chad lore next book.
I found the finale frustrating. Everyone kept fucking up shit I feel they shouldn't have. I mean I like Finch his mad logic makes sense to me. He's forcing Philph into the prophecy and I think it does work. However the bomb shouldn't have gone off. You're telling me of half the town of Freepoint, double the heroes than believers, not one could stop a button being pushed?? Philph couldn't pull it out of Finch's hand? Stop the button decompressing? A speedster couldn't have grabbed that shit? An invisible hero couldn't have nicked that shit? someone couldn't have fucking murdered Finch on the spot???? Also it has the if you kill the villain you're as bad as them trope which I think it's dumb for Finch, mass murderer. The idea that Philph (a traumatised 12 year old) would be seen as a villain forever for killing a mass murderer who is threatening the lives of a whole town is batshit and makes Freepoint look a lot less utopia. I did think the Thomas reveal was alright but the idea that Thomas got struck by lightning, fell thousands of feet off a building and lived and no one checked on him. Did they not go back for a body to bury??? I did enjoy the book mostly but there were some flaws I couldn't overlook.
virgilsinferno's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
From ableist tropes, racist stereotypes, a lack of any important female characters except one that gets fridged, characters that are forgotten, and twists that are easily spotted. I did not enjoy this book at all. The only character I cared for was Donnie and that was not enough to make up for everything else. Overall I cannot recommend this to anyone and I will not be continuing this series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Child abuse
ipanzica's review against another edition
5.0
I love the superhero world and the characters! It was so much fun to read and I really liked how it was written from the point of view of a blind person. I thought it was unique since I never read a story written that way before.
thewallflower00's review against another edition
3.0
This is for a younger audience than I thought. It's a simple comic book plot, but a decent one. It's got some cliches. Doesn't break out of a mold or do anything to distinguish itself. It's no "Steelheart" or "Soon I Will Be Invincible". It's supposed to be about disabled superheroes, but the disabling doesn't come up much.
It's fun to see them come up with ways around it (like hooking a telepath to a viewscreen of the blind guy's POV). But they find ways around it quickly and it ceases to be an issue. Katawa Shoujo did a better job of dealing with the day-to-day hardships and it had a variety of characters -- thematically exploring who lets their disability define them and who doesn't. There isn't much of the daily life struggles they face, like the handicapped guy getting stared at. That's the sort of thing I wanted to see. In fact, I think one guy gets his arm back at some point. And my biggest complaint? No girls.
It's fun to see them come up with ways around it (like hooking a telepath to a viewscreen of the blind guy's POV). But they find ways around it quickly and it ceases to be an issue. Katawa Shoujo did a better job of dealing with the day-to-day hardships and it had a variety of characters -- thematically exploring who lets their disability define them and who doesn't. There isn't much of the daily life struggles they face, like the handicapped guy getting stared at. That's the sort of thing I wanted to see. In fact, I think one guy gets his arm back at some point. And my biggest complaint? No girls.
kira20's review against another edition
4.0
I was really impressed with this book! The characters were fascinating and it was a really engaging story. There were some technical errors and parts of it still felt like a draft. But overall a very good read.
petalish's review
4.0
While it was a bit slow at first to get into, The Ables gradually drew me in, and the finale cemented the four star rating for me. There was a couple of issues with the plot and some inconsistencies, and I would of loved to of seen a couple of female characters in the spot light as well. But still, despite that I enjoyed.
sararomenen's review against another edition
5.0
This book was everything I wanted: humor, drama, adventure, plot twists. It was a ton of fun, I loved every moment and I could not put it down for long. I would pre-order a sequel in a heartbeat!
rebeccalm's review against another edition
5.0
This is a book that I just stumbled across and decided to give a chance - what a fun and surprising find! I listened to this as an audio-book and the narrator really made the characters come to life.
This is a fun coming of age novel about a kid, Phillip, who has exceptional genetic abilities (i.e. super powers), but who also happens to have a physical disability. Philip and his family are new to town, and he soon meets friends in his 'special education' class full of other disabled kids with super powers. An eclectic gang of kids band together to support one another and have a great time learning about their powers in the process.
A fast paced and intriguing story of budding friendship that explores what it means to be abled (and who gets to decide what that means). With many twists and turns - it will keep you hooked till the very end!
This is a fun coming of age novel about a kid, Phillip, who has exceptional genetic abilities (i.e. super powers), but who also happens to have a physical disability. Philip and his family are new to town, and he soon meets friends in his 'special education' class full of other disabled kids with super powers. An eclectic gang of kids band together to support one another and have a great time learning about their powers in the process.
A fast paced and intriguing story of budding friendship that explores what it means to be abled (and who gets to decide what that means). With many twists and turns - it will keep you hooked till the very end!
mybeautifulillusion's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
nicoledagogo's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25