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A review by karis321
Capitana by Cassandra James
1.0
~~Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the ARC!~~
So, according to various people online, James is a zi0n!st, pro next-electorally-elected-president/convicted felon, and has opinions regarding autonomy rights that aren't pro-women's rights. Forgive me for the censors, but if Goodreads is taking down reviews with certain words, I want to be careful, but I don't want to skirt around this, either. I tried to look into these claims myself, but the her direct opinion articles and the pics she took in a certain country have been scrubbed off the base web. I wish I knew about these things before I grabbed the ARC. No wonder it was free without request.
Regardless, I only continued because I was curious. If James is who people say she is, then what is she doing writing a book about the evils of imperialism and colonialism? How can an author write a story about a protagonist learning the errors of the mindset instilled by an empire while believing in what she does? These types of questions run through my head every time I see/hear about American conservatives loving/supporting a piece of media whose themes and messages directly contradict their own values down to the core? It's like seeing the aforementioned convicted felon unironically attend a Green Day concert. In the wise words of Billy Joe Armstrong, "What the f**k are you doing here, dude?"
So, I did not read this to support the author. If anything, I'm read this to spite her, if what was said about her is true. I read this in an attempt to sedate the curiosity I had over this walking contradiction. In the end, I just got a painfully generic fantasy read.
The entire story reads like an Ivy League grad's first draft, which I suspect it is, given that James got the book deal before she graduated Princeton. The book is based on the premise that not everything is as black and white as it seems, but the worldbuilding fails to reflect that. It's obvious from the get-go that the empire is bad, with their divine worship of the laws created by their first ruler 200 years before the story, handing out punishments/killings to criminals and citizens like candy, and the rigid rankings in the school that enforce obedience without question to the top from the bottom. But the pirates, the supposed good guys, aren't much better. Sure, we're told they're heroes and saviors to a lot of people in this world, but on Gasparilla's little pirate island, the one that claims to be a democracy to oppose the empire, the legendary captain literally ordered an imprisonment and no one could object to it because he was clearly in charge. Both sides suck in this book. The cazadores are authoritarian, fanatic hypocrites, and the pirates are anarchist, stereotypical depictions of pirates who are barbarian hypocrites. There is no one to root for in this book.
Speaking of not rooting for anyone, Ximena also sucks. I understand the point of the story is for her to go from aforementioned authoritarian fanatic to a pirate through learning not everything isn't what it seems, but she's too damn one-dimensional for that. For most of the book, her thoughts primarily revolve around following the rules, refusing to engage in social behaviors because she hates friendships, and obsessing over Gasparilla, which is initially looked down on by her admiral until she's inevitably proven right. She's not badass, nor terribly sympathetic, even though she was manipulated as a kid to betray her parents, and her character arc, despite its obvious trajectory, was so clunky and unnatural. Her motivation was purely because, and all the sudden she changed for the better. She patched things up with her only friend, kissed the boy, and rode off into the sunset to become a pirate in the span of two chapters. God, this girl was just so frustratingly boring
The hate-to-love romance with Dante was so awful. God, I genuinely hate Dante, because he's another troubled, alcoholic rich boy who bullies Ximena but somehow falls in love with her?? I do not understand what flipped in his brain between the beginning and the end, because he spent so much of this book messing with her so they could spend time together?? They have no chemistry! Ximena spends so much time thinking how much she hates him and how she should turn him in for the treasonous things he constantly says to her, but she doesn't! Again, the hate to love switches in the last couple chapters, and I just hated this relationship so much.
Politics aside, I will implore you: Don't read this book. I did this whole review just to save anyone slightly interested in this book from it. Put that support into other debut authors who need it more. And remember: Always be informed of the person/group behind the media you consume.
So, according to various people online, James is a zi0n!st, pro next-electorally-elected-president/convicted felon, and has opinions regarding autonomy rights that aren't pro-women's rights. Forgive me for the censors, but if Goodreads is taking down reviews with certain words, I want to be careful, but I don't want to skirt around this, either. I tried to look into these claims myself, but the her direct opinion articles and the pics she took in a certain country have been scrubbed off the base web. I wish I knew about these things before I grabbed the ARC. No wonder it was free without request.
Regardless, I only continued because I was curious. If James is who people say she is, then what is she doing writing a book about the evils of imperialism and colonialism? How can an author write a story about a protagonist learning the errors of the mindset instilled by an empire while believing in what she does? These types of questions run through my head every time I see/hear about American conservatives loving/supporting a piece of media whose themes and messages directly contradict their own values down to the core? It's like seeing the aforementioned convicted felon unironically attend a Green Day concert. In the wise words of Billy Joe Armstrong, "What the f**k are you doing here, dude?"
So, I did not read this to support the author. If anything, I'm read this to spite her, if what was said about her is true. I read this in an attempt to sedate the curiosity I had over this walking contradiction. In the end, I just got a painfully generic fantasy read.
The entire story reads like an Ivy League grad's first draft, which I suspect it is, given that James got the book deal before she graduated Princeton. The book is based on the premise that not everything is as black and white as it seems, but the worldbuilding fails to reflect that. It's obvious from the get-go that the empire is bad, with their divine worship of the laws created by their first ruler 200 years before the story, handing out punishments/killings to criminals and citizens like candy, and the rigid rankings in the school that enforce obedience without question to the top from the bottom. But the pirates, the supposed good guys, aren't much better. Sure, we're told they're heroes and saviors to a lot of people in this world, but on Gasparilla's little pirate island, the one that claims to be a democracy to oppose the empire, the legendary captain literally ordered an imprisonment and no one could object to it because he was clearly in charge. Both sides suck in this book. The cazadores are authoritarian, fanatic hypocrites, and the pirates are anarchist, stereotypical depictions of pirates who are barbarian hypocrites. There is no one to root for in this book.
Speaking of not rooting for anyone, Ximena also sucks. I understand the point of the story is for her to go from aforementioned authoritarian fanatic to a pirate through learning not everything isn't what it seems, but she's too damn one-dimensional for that. For most of the book, her thoughts primarily revolve around following the rules, refusing to engage in social behaviors because she hates friendships, and obsessing over Gasparilla, which is initially looked down on by her admiral until she's inevitably proven right. She's not badass, nor terribly sympathetic, even though she was manipulated as a kid to betray her parents, and her character arc, despite its obvious trajectory, was so clunky and unnatural. Her motivation was purely because
Spoiler
she couldn't live with the fact she sent her sister, who was Gasparilla, to death all so she could become a full-time cop. You should have grown a conscious before you winningly sent her to her death, Xi!The hate-to-love romance with Dante was so awful. God, I genuinely hate Dante, because he's another troubled, alcoholic rich boy who bullies Ximena but somehow falls in love with her?? I do not understand what flipped in his brain between the beginning and the end, because he spent so much of this book messing with her so they could spend time together?? They have no chemistry! Ximena spends so much time thinking how much she hates him and how she should turn him in for the treasonous things he constantly says to her, but she doesn't! Again, the hate to love switches in the last couple chapters, and I just hated this relationship so much.
Politics aside, I will implore you: Don't read this book. I did this whole review just to save anyone slightly interested in this book from it. Put that support into other debut authors who need it more. And remember: Always be informed of the person/group behind the media you consume.