doughtah 's review for:

The Storm Runner by J.C. Cervantes

3.0

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The Storm Runner by J.C. Cervantes is the second Rick Riordan Presents book I’ve sat down and read. In this book, Cervantes has taken her understanding of Maya myths and brought them into the modern times. One of the biggest enjoyments I’m finding in Rick Riordan Presents books is seeing how different people bring myths into modernity. Cervantes’ take happens in the western U.S. (New Mexico and California in particular) and draws upon a young teenager’s voice, Zane Obispo, as he enters the world of Maya mythology.

Good:

Zane’s Snarky Comments: the story is set up as a letter Zane’s writing after he’s died and so he’s able to put in some snarky asides while also recounting his story
Diversity: there are loads of people with disabilities in this story (one eye, a short leg, facial deformaties, seizures)
Gross Visceral Descriptions: Really fun when Cervantes describes something gruesome because she goes into details in ways where you’re cringing, but also really enjoying yourself.
Side Moments: There were little moments throughout the story (like, St. Santiago’s song) and side characters who really made the book for me
The End: the ending was a really enjoyable middle-grade ending and I would have LOVED reading it as a kid (it’s still enjoyable now, but as a kid it would have sealed this book in one of my tops); also, I appreciated that Cervantes tied up a lot of ends and then reopened it all for the next book

Less Good:

Zane’s Snarky Comments: they seemed to be forgotten after the beginning a bit and while they popped up again toward the end of the book, I wish they’d been more prevalent
Audience: this was a book where I realized kinda early that I wasn’t the audience this book was aimed at; it was a perfectly enjoyable book as an adult reading it, but I would have enjoyed it more if I’d read it as a middle-grade student
Patriarchy: Mr. O was irritating for me because his pursuit of Ms. Cab romantically was a boring trope and one that disrespects the woman telling the man ‘hey, I don’t want to. So stop asking me to go out with you.’ I get how it can be entertaining (and Zane would agree with you), but it was boring/tiring to read
It took me ¾ths of the book to actually Really start enjoying the book due to pacing and the elements in the book becoming more of what I’d hoped to read?