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3.55 AVERAGE
3.55 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
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
Oooooooohhoooooohohoo, this book was good. THE PLOT TWIST AT THE END WAS MAGNIFICENT, and very unexpected. Lovely concept, complicated and unique characters, and a mind-bending plot (no pun intended). Awesome!
I'd like to preface this by also saying I'm a fan of cinema sins. I also would like to point out I listened to the audiobook, which I think can really affect how books are interpreted.
That said, I loved this book and think a lot of the reviews are being too harsh. In terms of female representation, twelve year old outcasts don't tend to hang out outside their gender? I'm sure if there's a sequel that's an element that could come into play, but at this point it would have felt out of place.
I liked the world building a lot. I thought he did a good job at making a universe that was detailed without being overwhelming.
Also tied to the "there's too much dialogue" the narrator is blind?? It's not like he can describe people's faces, their gait or body language.
I thought it was well written and well executed.
That said, I loved this book and think a lot of the reviews are being too harsh. In terms of female representation, twelve year old outcasts don't tend to hang out outside their gender? I'm sure if there's a sequel that's an element that could come into play, but at this point it would have felt out of place.
I liked the world building a lot. I thought he did a good job at making a universe that was detailed without being overwhelming.
Also tied to the "there's too much dialogue" the narrator is blind?? It's not like he can describe people's faces, their gait or body language.
I thought it was well written and well executed.
This book was pretty good. The author kept you wondering about things without it seeming to much like he was holding back info. I thought about midway through things kinda got cheesy and I guessed several of the things that would happen but I think that's just because I read a lot of books and write plots too. But I loved how it was about disabled teens with super powers, I think tweens and teen would love it.
I enjoyed this story. It was entertaining and not overly predictable. The tale of kids who have super powers and disabilities speaks to my heart.
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
To quote ouransisters on Tumblr "If you're going to solve the problems your blind character has by giving them sight, then you probably shouldn't write a blind character ". It's very low-key ableist, the writing is kinda boring, the main character is unlikeable, and for someone who makes a living pointing out "sin tropes", there sure we're a lot of cliches.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I don’t know why but I really procrastinated from writing a review for The Ables and naturally, quite some time has passed (almost a year!) and I don’t remember every detail. To be honest, I’ve lost my interest in CinemaSins since then and unsubscribed from them. After recapitulating the novel and writing this review, I lowered my rating from originally three stars to two stars.
The basic premise of this novel intrigued me instantly, but the execution was not that great. The plot was often kind of predictable and unrealistic and this is surprising since Scott is noticing those things in movies but not in his own work. But the novel throws in some creative ideas, like the protagonists combining their superpowers or integrating them into their day to day live. There were also some interesting moments, especially towards the end, and some of the twists were able to surprise me.
But let’s talk about the representation in this novel. As far as I’m aware, Scott himself is not disabled and I strongly assume that he had no sensibility readers. It becomes obvious that he hasn’t done his research and I wish he would’ve because this is so important when writing about disability when you’re not disabled yourself. The lack of research becomes especially clear in my opinion when it comes to the characters. Donnie is a character with down syndrome but the depiction of it reminded me so much of Forrest Gump which is not exactly great since I don’t think that Forrest has down syndrome? I also had the feeling that that there was not enough research done around what it means to be blind and how their life differs from the life of people that can see. How would Phillip be able to visualize something like he could see when he’s blind since birth? Sometimes, things are even described as he could see them. There’s as well so much internalized ableism and the narrative of “overcoming a disability” is used so much throughout the novel, without even once reflecting on it.
Coming to the writing style, it was okay. Some scenes were more atmospheric while other couldn’t transport the atmosphere that they want to, and there was some info dumping. I normally never read self-published books because I am not using Amazon (yes, I know, Goodreads belongs to them, and I hate everything about this) and you could notice here that The Ables are indeed self-published because there are many typos and some formatting mistakes here and there.
I generally liked the three main characters, and they had enough depth. The depiction of their emotions though was again quite ambivalent. Phillip’s reactions were not always understandable, for example, I wished he showed more emotions when he got to know that superpowers do in fact exist. Some of his feelings on the other side were depicted so well, like when he was mourning over Donnie’ supposed death . Another problem is the lack of female characters in the story and the cliché gender roles. The main villain was also very cliché with him telling his evil plans to the protagonists.
In the end, The Ables tries to representative, but a lack of research becomes clear throughout the novel. With some sensibility readers, the book could’ve been so much better and inclusive. But instead, it is focused on “overcoming” disability instead of incorporating them into the story creatively – and Scott shows that he has this creativity.
A really fun, fresh take on super powers and "the one" type stories. The characters are really likable and you get pulled into their story. You want to see these kids with disabilities learn how to use their super powers but mostly you want to see them learn how to work together. The characters are fun and lovable, the story is well done. Absolutely recommend.