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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
First: I really enjoyed most of this, especially how much time was spent on the sport of Blazewrath itself and how diverse it was. And I appreciated that the MC is someone who doesn't have any magic or a dragon, and is a Latina who has others tell her she isn't Latina enough. And it read and moved pretty quick with lots of twists and turns. All great things. I wish there had been pictures of the dragons.
Despite that, I'm not sure it's going to age well. Lana and Samira are <i>really</i> into teen speak and current-day slang, which was a little cringey as I was reading it, but maybe middle schoolers won't care as much. But slang moves so quickly that it won't even be relevant anymore (and, I mean, I think it's relevancy isn't what it was even when Ortiz published). And Russia's team is made up entirely of LGBT members? Yeah right. And Lana is... well, I don't know if "annoying" is the right word (that's for Victoria LOL), but she acts way more mature than a regular 17-year oldhow is she the only one to figure out or even suspect that Andrew is Barnes's heir? That thought crossed literally no one's minds? (but of course this is YA and in YA lit all kids have to be smarter and more capable than adults).
Despite that, I'm not sure it's going to age well. Lana and Samira are <i>really</i> into teen speak and current-day slang, which was a little cringey as I was reading it, but maybe middle schoolers won't care as much. But slang moves so quickly that it won't even be relevant anymore (and, I mean, I think it's relevancy isn't what it was even when Ortiz published). And Russia's team is made up entirely of LGBT members? Yeah right. And Lana is... well, I don't know if "annoying" is the right word (that's for Victoria LOL), but she acts way more mature than a regular 17-year old
3.5! I liked it!
I enjoyed the diaspora commentary and the vibes were also impeccable. The writing style wasn't my favourite though and some parts were kind of confusing (how does Blazewrath work again?), though that may just be me.
I enjoyed the diaspora commentary and the vibes were also impeccable. The writing style wasn't my favourite though and some parts were kind of confusing (how does Blazewrath work again?), though that may just be me.
4.5 stars rounded up!
Holy hell this book is worth all of the hype!!! I NEED book two NOW!
Holy hell this book is worth all of the hype!!! I NEED book two NOW!
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
There were some things I enjoyed about this story. The Blazewrath Games themselves were unique and engaging, and at certain parts I was engaged by the events of the story. However, I think this book was just too much. It was a little too long--sometimes the plot meandered and I couldn't always follow the motivations and back stories for the villains of the story. In addition, there were too many characters for me to keep track of--many of the side characters were very one-dimensional and hard to keep track of their role in the story (and many didn't have a real purpose, in my opinion). Even some of the more fleshed out characters, such as Samira, were not present throughout the story, but just showed up at beginning and end, which was rather unsatisfying for me as the reader. Overall, it is not a bad middle grade fantasy, and it portrays a very diverse world, as well as the struggles of belonging for kids who are uprooted from their cultural heritage. I would recommend it to voracious fantasy readers, but it would not be a first recommend in the genre or buy for a classroom or library.
Whenever I find out about a book involving dragons, I immediately must read it. This one was a lot of fun, incorporating a fantasy world into ours, which I always find impressive. I also love a fantasy sporting event — each team (people and dragons) represents their country in the Blazewrath World Cup, and the pride that Lana has in her Puerto Rican roots shines through the writing. There is A LOT going on in the book, and I’m glad it is a series so that we’ll get to spend more time in this world and uncover more of the mysteries. I did find the pacing and writing a little off at some points, but the joy and the story made up for it, for me!
Honestly this book left me feeling a little bummed. I feel like the first couple chapters set up a great world, but that got bogged down with too many people and not enough character development. I will admit, I was honestly, strongly, hoping for our main character to have a bond with a dragon but that didn’t happen. I guess I just wanted a different story? Sorry, book.
I really loved the world building, how there is casual magic everywhere - the concept of the magical wand shop was great! Learning how the world works and how it’s mainly our world but slightly dipped in magic was delightful. The narrator for the audio book did a great job at navigating a whole variety of accents.
Samira was my favourite character, I hope she is featured in the second book. Lana was pretty great, but she often felt like Generic Heroine In A YA Book at times.
Lana’s parents annoy the crap out of me. We have one father, who has chosen his career over his family, and one mother who would rather be completely absent from her child once she sees that her daughter wants something other than the path she wants for her. Actually, her mother is the worst, and while I’m glad she turned up at the end, I feel like she got off too easy. I hope the second book has some conversations dealing with it.
This is a YA book, and it had one super annoying YA trope that I don’t like – where the obvious mean girl says that “ooooo everyone hates you” and rather than actually talk to anyone, our heroine buys into it. It’s not even a major plot point but I was so irritated by it.
The books biggest issue, to me, is that it got bogged down in far too many characters, resulting in very little character development for anyone, and a lot of info that could have been cut out so that the main story could have expanded. The Sire was a great bad guy conceptually, but between him, Randall, Takeshi, the President, Manny, Jaoquin and Lana’s parents – there were so many adults with so many different shifty agendas things got confusing real fast. That’s not even taking into account all the various other kids – Lana’s team, Lana’s family and friends, and all the other teams too.
Final note: Fuck You, Todd.
I really loved the world building, how there is casual magic everywhere - the concept of the magical wand shop was great! Learning how the world works and how it’s mainly our world but slightly dipped in magic was delightful. The narrator for the audio book did a great job at navigating a whole variety of accents.
Samira was my favourite character, I hope she is featured in the second book. Lana was pretty great, but she often felt like Generic Heroine In A YA Book at times.
Lana’s parents annoy the crap out of me. We have one father, who has chosen his career over his family, and one mother who would rather be completely absent from her child once she sees that her daughter wants something other than the path she wants for her. Actually, her mother is the worst, and while I’m glad she turned up at the end, I feel like she got off too easy. I hope the second book has some conversations dealing with it.
This is a YA book, and it had one super annoying YA trope that I don’t like – where the obvious mean girl says that “ooooo everyone hates you” and rather than actually talk to anyone, our heroine buys into it. It’s not even a major plot point but I was so irritated by it.
The books biggest issue, to me, is that it got bogged down in far too many characters, resulting in very little character development for anyone, and a lot of info that could have been cut out so that the main story could have expanded. The Sire was a great bad guy conceptually, but between him, Randall, Takeshi, the President, Manny, Jaoquin and Lana’s parents – there were so many adults with so many different shifty agendas things got confusing real fast. That’s not even taking into account all the various other kids – Lana’s team, Lana’s family and friends, and all the other teams too.
Final note: Fuck You, Todd.
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
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:
No
3.5 rounded up to 4. This was a really fun fantasy with classic elements that get a contemporary twist with diverse characters. In a nutshell, the blazewrath games is the world cup with dragons, and Puerto Rico is competing for the first time. But there's a greater mystery afoot and the protagonist, Lana, must fight for something greater than a sports competition. There's some great discussion about identity gatekeeping and what makes someone truly Latinx, particularly those of diaspora. There are many queer side characters. But I did wish there was a little deeper discussion about those points, as the story didn't dive enough into them. However, the dragons and magic and mystery were the greater focus of the plot and Ortiz's narrative was a lot of fun. Full review coming to my blog soon.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
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:
Yes