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A review by rubeusbeaky
Lore by Alexandra Bracken
4.0
This book is the love child of Shadowhunters, Red Rising and The Lightning Thief. The author is CLEARLY in love with Greek mythology; there is even an adorable meta moment in the book when a Muggle hero admits he needs to wiki Greek myths to keep up with the other mythically-proportioned heroes. I myself found this book a dense read, and I had to keep referencing the Glossary at the end, or my own notebook, to keep all of the alliances and betrayals straight.
One of the most compelling parts about this book, I found, was how it tackled the discussion of gender roles and gender inequality in society. Whether it's overtly systemic - like training boys to be warrior athletes and selling girls to be broodmares - or more subtle - like telling a child she's a "good girl" when she's quiet - there are a myriad of ways in which young people are conditioned to accept a role they didn't choose, and don't feel is true. Our heroes are literally manipulated like chess pieces by deities in this book, and they win the day because of the people they choose to be, not the roles thrust upon them. Glorious!
I do have to be a bit of a downer, though, and remove a star... because this book was PLOT HEAVY! There were no quotable moments. No sweeping metaphors. Few motifs. No slowing down to describe the scenery... This book reads a little too much like a Marvel movie script. It is run, run, run, fight, fight, fight, random kissing scene, explosions, jumping to conclusions, some pithy dialogue, aaaand Finale. The "twists" were mostly predictable, and a little campy. (How has nobody learned, since The Incredibles, not to Villain Monologue ever again?!)
I can see this book getting an adaptation, though; it just begs to be converted to cinema. I hope Evan Rachel Wood plays Athena ^_^, Ms. Dolores would be perfect for the part. All in all, I feel this book had a great story to tell, but it only sometimes had a UNIVERSAL story to tell, and an adaptation might offer the story the chance to truly focus on the visual storytelling of diverse, city kids coming into their own power.
One of the most compelling parts about this book, I found, was how it tackled the discussion of gender roles and gender inequality in society. Whether it's overtly systemic - like training boys to be warrior athletes and selling girls to be broodmares - or more subtle - like telling a child she's a "good girl" when she's quiet - there are a myriad of ways in which young people are conditioned to accept a role they didn't choose, and don't feel is true. Our heroes are literally manipulated like chess pieces by deities in this book, and they win the day because of the people they choose to be, not the roles thrust upon them. Glorious!
I do have to be a bit of a downer, though, and remove a star... because this book was PLOT HEAVY! There were no quotable moments. No sweeping metaphors. Few motifs. No slowing down to describe the scenery... This book reads a little too much like a Marvel movie script. It is run, run, run, fight, fight, fight, random kissing scene, explosions, jumping to conclusions, some pithy dialogue, aaaand Finale. The "twists" were mostly predictable, and a little campy. (How has nobody learned, since The Incredibles, not to Villain Monologue ever again?!)
I can see this book getting an adaptation, though; it just begs to be converted to cinema. I hope Evan Rachel Wood plays Athena ^_^, Ms. Dolores would be perfect for the part. All in all, I feel this book had a great story to tell, but it only sometimes had a UNIVERSAL story to tell, and an adaptation might offer the story the chance to truly focus on the visual storytelling of diverse, city kids coming into their own power.