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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
Oh boy am I angry about this one. OH BOY.
Look, the main story is fun. The art is fabulous. But I absolutely cannot in good conscience rate this anything better than than a single star for the blatant, despicable and actual HARMFUL lack of research that went into this book.
I can appreciate animal rights activism. I have a BS in ecology and evolution because I care pretty damn deeply about the planet. But first, Kami Garcia started by basically stating that all animal research is evil, which is BLATANT misinformation spreading, and harmful to a huge amount of genuinely important research that goes on at universities (including my own...are you glad there is a vaccine to Polio? Because BOY HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOU ABOUT WHERE THAT CAME FROM). And then. AND THEN! She goes on to show SUPPORT for PETA, one of the worst and most harmful organizations out there, an organization that mistreats and kills animals BY THE TRUCKLOAD. LITERALLY.
Ohhhh boy I am angrier than I realized about this.
Okay. Finally. The coyotes.
Coyotes are not bad guys, guys. They are timid. They travel and hunt alone or in pairs, NOT packs, and they are far more afraid of humans unless deeply desperate. Showing them here as rabid, vicious animals was about the worst thing Kami Garcia could have done on top of a whole bunch of garbage she'd already done.
I wanted to love this book. I love Teen Titans. I am FILLED WITH RAGE to see a Teen Titans book that handles animal rights issues - issues I care about a HELL OF A LOT - SO INSANELY BADLY.
Anyway, tl;dr: DO SOME GODDAMN RESEARCH WHEN YOU WRITE ABOUT THINGS YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND BEFORE SPREADING HARMFUL MISINFORMATION, FFS.
Look, the main story is fun. The art is fabulous. But I absolutely cannot in good conscience rate this anything better than than a single star for the blatant, despicable and actual HARMFUL lack of research that went into this book.
I can appreciate animal rights activism. I have a BS in ecology and evolution because I care pretty damn deeply about the planet. But first, Kami Garcia started by basically stating that all animal research is evil, which is BLATANT misinformation spreading, and harmful to a huge amount of genuinely important research that goes on at universities (including my own...are you glad there is a vaccine to Polio? Because BOY HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOU ABOUT WHERE THAT CAME FROM). And then. AND THEN! She goes on to show SUPPORT for PETA, one of the worst and most harmful organizations out there, an organization that mistreats and kills animals BY THE TRUCKLOAD. LITERALLY.
Ohhhh boy I am angrier than I realized about this.
Okay. Finally. The coyotes.
Coyotes are not bad guys, guys. They are timid. They travel and hunt alone or in pairs, NOT packs, and they are far more afraid of humans unless deeply desperate. Showing them here as rabid, vicious animals was about the worst thing Kami Garcia could have done on top of a whole bunch of garbage she'd already done.
I wanted to love this book. I love Teen Titans. I am FILLED WITH RAGE to see a Teen Titans book that handles animal rights issues - issues I care about a HELL OF A LOT - SO INSANELY BADLY.
Anyway, tl;dr: DO SOME GODDAMN RESEARCH WHEN YOU WRITE ABOUT THINGS YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND BEFORE SPREADING HARMFUL MISINFORMATION, FFS.
Coming soon... visit www.cover2coverblog.blogspot.com
i didnt think i would like the beast boy story more than raven's but boy was i wrong! there is something about the character that just makes him so likable, you instantly root for him. i cant wait for him and raven to meet up and for the bigger story to really get going.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Gar รจ un golden retriver in forma umano, cosa che fa ridere visto il suo potere. Libro leggero e divertente, approvato.
I really enjoyed it. Captured all of the worst parts of being a teenager. Which works in this case.
Maybe ask a teen for their opinion though.
Maybe ask a teen for their opinion though.
adventurous
funny
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
Oh man, I really loved this graphic novel. The illustrations are awesome, and the storyline made me really care about Gar ("call me Beast Boy"). This is set up as an original story for Beast Boy, and upon finishing it I immediately went and bought Teen Titans: Raven (also by Kami Garcia and illustrated by Gabriel Picolo). I really hope that once we get all the characters' origin stories we'll get to see how they meet up and form the Teen Titans. I don't know much about this superhero group (beyond my kids watching Teen Titans: Go! and having seen a few episodes of the earlier TV series) but these comics made me really interested in learning more about these super teens.
This is the second book in the Teen Titans series, but it can be read as a standalone as (thus far) each book is a specific character's origin story and they don't overlap.
A digital ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley for review. All opinions are unbiased and my own.
Like this review?
Check out more of my reviews on my blog, Elley the Book Otter
A digital ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley for review. All opinions are unbiased and my own.
Like this review?
Check out more of my reviews on my blog, Elley the Book Otter
This is the second book in the Teen Titans series, but it can be read as a standalone as (thus far) each book is a specific character's origin story and they don't overlap.
A digital ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley for review. All opinions are unbiased and my own.
Like this review?
Check out more of my reviews on my blog, Elley the Book Otter
A digital ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley for review. All opinions are unbiased and my own.
Like this review?
Check out more of my reviews on my blog, Elley the Book Otter
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-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
adventurous
challenging
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
fast-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
NGL I avoided these books for awhile, because I was concerned that, as a young person myself, I'd find the tone "cringy" or patronizing, especially after attempting to read another DC YA book that missed the mark for me. But after learning they were written by Kami Garcia, I put the book on hold right away. Beautiful Creatures was my LIFE in highschool. Like she really gets the angst in teenagers, teenage dynamics, hell even the reality of being a late-bloomer suburban teen in an world where online clout has real consequences. I truly connected to Beast Boy in this book, even if I never did get a glo-up and a girl to give me fleeting highschool fame. The Beast Boy transformations were so fun too, like Ben 10 meets Animorphs. My only hang-up-- if Stella cared about animals being euthanized, she'd never platform P.E.T.A; they're infamous for that sorta thing!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Medical content
Minor: Toxic relationship, Medical trauma, Stalking
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes