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A review by bookph1le
Reboot by Amy Tintera
3.0
This would have been a four star review were it not for the romance bogging things down in the middle. Otherwise, it's different and interesting with good characters. More complete review to come.
Full review:
After a string of disappointments, I was hoping Reboot would provide me with relief from my YA dystopian glut. In may respect, it did just that, but it also fell short due mainly to what I think is really the downfall of YA lit as of late: the obligatory romance. It's not that the romance in and of itself is bad or wrong, just that it threw a wrench into what was otherwise a very well done, unique, and interesting book. Some spoilers to follow.
The book opens on a great, strong note with the introduction of Wren, who is a 178. The numbers each Reboot is assigned indicates the number of minutes they were dead before they "rebooted", and the higher a number is, the more of their humanity the reboots are rumored to have lost. What's nice about this device is it allows Tintera to write a YA heroine who is interesting and complex, and whose moral dilemma makes for a strong plot point. Wren is abrasive and downright scary at times, and she's a better character for it. I'm tired of reading about insipid female characters, so it was extremely refreshing to find one who had the tendency to do things that not only made me shudder, but also surprised me.
What's even better is that, within the confines of the world Tintera has created, it makes sense why Wren is the way she is. She fits into the society in exactly the way one might expect, and her evolution makes for the perfect lens for exploring the implications of Reboot's fictional universe. There's some good subtext here about the ways in which society classifies people and uses those classifications to justify discriminating against certain people. The fear-based society of Reboot is, in many ways, an unfortunately timeless tale.
The basic plot of the book is gripping. I kept turning pages, wanting to know why HARC was targeting the people it was. I was interested in how HARC had exerted such power over the population, and how it was maintaining its stranglehold. When Wren's indifference with the why of what she's doing is coupled with her desire to do a good job, the book lends itself well to doling out the details sparingly. It makes sense for the reader to question things Wren doesn't because the reader is coming at Wren's world from such a different angle. I liked this aspect of the book a lot because it saves it from the plot contrivances from which a lot of the YA books I've read lately suffer.
Things were moving along well and I was feeling great about the book, loving it, until I hit the wall: the obligatory romance. Now, my official disclaimer is this: I like romance in books, but it has to be done well and it can't feel like it's detracting from the plot. Reboot's romance bogged down the plot and made the middle portion drag more than necessary. There was a little too much kissy face and a little too little plot for some stretches, and the kissy face aspects of the book felt stilted and somewhat awkward. Couple this with the fact that the romance is a little insta-lovey, and it detracted from my enjoyment of the book.
Now, this doesn't mean that I didn't buy into why the two characters might fall in love, because I did, particularly from Wren's point of view. It's one of the better premises for YA romance I've read, which is why I was frustrated by its being propelled along far too quickly. I don't think the romance had to be the impetus for Wren taking the actions she takes. She already has plenty of motivation because of the way the shadier aspects of HARC impact her personally. I also thought Callum's influence skewing Wren's perspective on society would have been motive enough for her to act. Wren is the type of character who sees things in absolutes, so I thought Callum's helping her see the shades of gray provided her with enough reason to act, without having to thrust the two directly into romance. It's a disservice to the strength of the characters to have things unfurl so rapidly. A slower, more developed romance would have done them both a lot more justice.
And I would have liked to see more justice done to Callum, because I thought he was a fantastic character. To me, he's the gold standard of YA male romantic interests. He admires and accepts Wren for who she is, but it doesn't mean that he sits back when she does things he can't stomach. Instead, he calls her out on them, and he challenges her to overcome her own unintentional blindness and indifference. He has a lot of attractive traits as well: he's funny, he's upbeat, he's kind, and he has a highly developed moral code. However, it doesn't mean that he's perfect. He does a few things that cause major problems for both himself and Wren.
The other big plus for me is that he isn't described as some majorly hunky piece of man cake. There's nothing wrong with being attractive, of course, but why everyone in the YA universe has to be drop-dead gorgeous, I don't really understand. It's nice to read about characters who seem like they could be people you pass on the street--well, maybe not in this case as they are technically undead, but you get the idea.
I confess I'm a little disappointed that this book is part of a series, due to my developing a serious case of series fatigue. I think there's enough plot there to carry this story over another book or two, but I'd also love to read a one-off book of the YA dystopian variety. Not everything needs to be a series, especially when it's so obvious that most series exist for purely commercial reasons. I am curious about a lot of aspects of Reboot's world, though, and this book does provide a sense of closure on this chapter of the story; I thank it for eschewing the other YA dystopian required element: the nonsensical cliffhanger. So, major points there. The other problem with a series is that, once you've read a bunch of other series in the same genre, it gets a little tough to keep up with which character is which and what plot twist belongs to what book. Still, I do plan on coming back for the next installment in this series.
Full review:
After a string of disappointments, I was hoping Reboot would provide me with relief from my YA dystopian glut. In may respect, it did just that, but it also fell short due mainly to what I think is really the downfall of YA lit as of late: the obligatory romance. It's not that the romance in and of itself is bad or wrong, just that it threw a wrench into what was otherwise a very well done, unique, and interesting book. Some spoilers to follow.
The book opens on a great, strong note with the introduction of Wren, who is a 178. The numbers each Reboot is assigned indicates the number of minutes they were dead before they "rebooted", and the higher a number is, the more of their humanity the reboots are rumored to have lost. What's nice about this device is it allows Tintera to write a YA heroine who is interesting and complex, and whose moral dilemma makes for a strong plot point. Wren is abrasive and downright scary at times, and she's a better character for it. I'm tired of reading about insipid female characters, so it was extremely refreshing to find one who had the tendency to do things that not only made me shudder, but also surprised me.
What's even better is that, within the confines of the world Tintera has created, it makes sense why Wren is the way she is. She fits into the society in exactly the way one might expect, and her evolution makes for the perfect lens for exploring the implications of Reboot's fictional universe. There's some good subtext here about the ways in which society classifies people and uses those classifications to justify discriminating against certain people. The fear-based society of Reboot is, in many ways, an unfortunately timeless tale.
The basic plot of the book is gripping. I kept turning pages, wanting to know why HARC was targeting the people it was. I was interested in how HARC had exerted such power over the population, and how it was maintaining its stranglehold. When Wren's indifference with the why of what she's doing is coupled with her desire to do a good job, the book lends itself well to doling out the details sparingly. It makes sense for the reader to question things Wren doesn't because the reader is coming at Wren's world from such a different angle. I liked this aspect of the book a lot because it saves it from the plot contrivances from which a lot of the YA books I've read lately suffer.
Things were moving along well and I was feeling great about the book, loving it, until I hit the wall: the obligatory romance. Now, my official disclaimer is this: I like romance in books, but it has to be done well and it can't feel like it's detracting from the plot. Reboot's romance bogged down the plot and made the middle portion drag more than necessary. There was a little too much kissy face and a little too little plot for some stretches, and the kissy face aspects of the book felt stilted and somewhat awkward. Couple this with the fact that the romance is a little insta-lovey, and it detracted from my enjoyment of the book.
Now, this doesn't mean that I didn't buy into why the two characters might fall in love, because I did, particularly from Wren's point of view. It's one of the better premises for YA romance I've read, which is why I was frustrated by its being propelled along far too quickly. I don't think the romance had to be the impetus for Wren taking the actions she takes. She already has plenty of motivation because of the way the shadier aspects of HARC impact her personally. I also thought Callum's influence skewing Wren's perspective on society would have been motive enough for her to act. Wren is the type of character who sees things in absolutes, so I thought Callum's helping her see the shades of gray provided her with enough reason to act, without having to thrust the two directly into romance. It's a disservice to the strength of the characters to have things unfurl so rapidly. A slower, more developed romance would have done them both a lot more justice.
And I would have liked to see more justice done to Callum, because I thought he was a fantastic character. To me, he's the gold standard of YA male romantic interests. He admires and accepts Wren for who she is, but it doesn't mean that he sits back when she does things he can't stomach. Instead, he calls her out on them, and he challenges her to overcome her own unintentional blindness and indifference. He has a lot of attractive traits as well: he's funny, he's upbeat, he's kind, and he has a highly developed moral code. However, it doesn't mean that he's perfect. He does a few things that cause major problems for both himself and Wren.
The other big plus for me is that he isn't described as some majorly hunky piece of man cake. There's nothing wrong with being attractive, of course, but why everyone in the YA universe has to be drop-dead gorgeous, I don't really understand. It's nice to read about characters who seem like they could be people you pass on the street--well, maybe not in this case as they are technically undead, but you get the idea.
I confess I'm a little disappointed that this book is part of a series, due to my developing a serious case of series fatigue. I think there's enough plot there to carry this story over another book or two, but I'd also love to read a one-off book of the YA dystopian variety. Not everything needs to be a series, especially when it's so obvious that most series exist for purely commercial reasons. I am curious about a lot of aspects of Reboot's world, though, and this book does provide a sense of closure on this chapter of the story; I thank it for eschewing the other YA dystopian required element: the nonsensical cliffhanger. So, major points there. The other problem with a series is that, once you've read a bunch of other series in the same genre, it gets a little tough to keep up with which character is which and what plot twist belongs to what book. Still, I do plan on coming back for the next installment in this series.