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A review by missflyer
Planet Adyn by M.L. Wang
4.0
I had absolutely loved [b: Sword of Kaigen|41886271|The Sword of Kaigen (A Theonite War Story)|M.L. Wang|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1546137241s/41886271.jpg|65383313] with its heavy Japanese influence and super-powered people (theonites). So much so, I was slightly worried that by changing the setting so drastically to Earth (or, Planet Adyn) that some of that magic might disappear.
The thing was, any of that magic that was “lost” was replaced by a different magic, one that fit Earth and Joan’s world perfectly, in a way that Duna’s magic would not have done.
Here on Earth, Joan is one-of-a-kind : she can tune into what she calls the “Hum” – a sense of things around her, especially when there is metal in the object. But more than that, she is stronger, faster and more resilient than other people. She has to carefully gauge how hard she hugs for fear of hurting the other person. She has to deal with people that don’t understand her or her abilities, who would prefer to ignore them because they are inconvenient and strange. As a result, Joan has spent almost all of her life hiding what she can do – around others, she takes care to move as like them as possible, never pushing her limits, always trying to stay in the background where no one would notice her. The only time she lets herself be herself is when she is alone in the safety of her room, where she can practice tuning into the Hum and manipulating water, air, metal… It has made her life a very lonely one, with her only confident being her grandpa who would encourage her intellectual pursuits and share his wisdom and openness with her. But even with him, she was never fully honest.
And now, there’s a new boy at school who lives with his father in the biggest house down the street. And he moves like she could move, if she wasn’t trying to blend in. And he sneezes fire.
Joan knows she has to reach out to him, she has to know if what she saw is real, if he can enlighten her about her own abilities when countless searches and endless research has failed to provide any answers.
His name is Daniel Thundyil.
Daniel and his father, Robin, come from a parallel Earth, called Duna, in the pursuit of a killer – for Robin is a crime-fighter, and he will pursue criminals beyond his own world to keep his son and everyone he holds dear safe. Daniel and Robin are tajakalu – fire wielders, who can create and manipulate fire, part of the majority theonite (those with power over elements, including fire, wind, water, light, sound…) population of Duna. But this switching dimensions for Daniel is more change than he’s used to – a whole new world, where people with powers are all but non-existent, and as Joan notices early on, he’s not a very good liar. Not to mention he sticks out in Joan’s middle-class nearly all-white neighborhood with his dark brown skin and eyes like live coals.
Daniel’s presence will help Joan to open up, to embrace her abilities and be able to share them with someone, but doing so and getting tangled up with Daniel and Robin could put her in even more danger than she ever imagined possible. What is she willing to lose to get the answers she seeks?
As Robin is off being Robin – doing his crime-fighting thing while leaving Daniel safely as in the dark as possible, this book mostly centers around Joan, the only theonite on Planet Earth/Adyn. We get to know her very well, her difficult and lonely childhood as she learned more about hiding her abilities than using them. We get glimpses into her only close relationship, with her grandpa, the one solid, supportive, truly loving presence that she had growing up. We get to spend time with her as she explores her abilities, the pain and frustration and resilience she shows as she learns about them and tries to master them with no one there to help or support her. From this, I probably make it sound like it’s a long character study/information dump, but it doesn’t come across that way – each bit of history we get of Joan plays into her current actions and decisions, builds up who she is so that we can really get to know her as her world turns itself upside down. Plus, so many of her struggles are reflections of struggles and problems in society today which makes for a rich setting of similitude.
We also get to see her learn to open up, to push herself out of her comfort zone as she reaches out to Daniel and insists upon getting to know him and his world. We laugh with them, we cry with them, we fear for and with them, we root them on as they plunge ahead into the unknown side by side. And what’s more, their relationship is strictly a friendship, a friendship between a girl and a boy who find themselves in more and more difficult situations.
I found myself reading this in leaps and bounds, as I was always interested to learn more about the way Joan thinks/operates and what caused her to act the way she does, what was going on with Daniel and Robin and Mohan, and to see where it would all lead.
About the only “negative” thing I have to say about this book is that the end is abrupt, cliff-hanger-y, and clearly a lead in to book #2. But given how book 2 picks up, and being ¼ of the way through it already, it was really the only place Wang could have divided up the two books. And I more than happily jumped right into it anways!
Favorite quotes:
“Of course, a competent teacher would check to make sure I actually understood how all these events tied together to lead to the Revolutionary War, but why bother with actually understanding the stuff we memorize? It’s just school, right? No need to actually teach us anything. That would just be overkill.” – place 585-596 – To briefly unpack this into what it makes me think of: Common Core, governmental oversight making it hard or impossible for teachers to truly teach beyond the test, the importance too often given to knowing facts/dates instead of the whys and hows of history, etc.
“Ron-ron.” Katie put on a dramatic expression of distress. – place 734 – His name is Cameron, and I can only assume this is a humorous nod to the nickname given to Ron by a girlfriend in the Harry Potter series.
Fear is an enemy dressed up as a friend. Humor it as far as it keeps you safe, but don’t you ever let it get in the way of what you want to be. [Grandpa would say to me] – place 1044
[Talking about how Joan’s parents ignore most things about her] “It’s not okay,” Daniel insisted with surprising ferocity. “They’re your family. They brought you into the world. It’s their job to look out for you, no matter how different you are. […]” – place 2246
“Anyone can throw their fists around; it takes a special kind of resilience to get up and go back into uncertainty over and over again with a heart as open as Daniel’s.” – place 3238
“Behind the doors civilized people didn’t care to open, in the dark back alleys between nice neighborhoods, there were as many dead bodies and shattered lives as in any warzone.
“Peace, I learned, only exists for those in power. […]” said Robin. – place 3319
If you put on the mask, you are Firebird—you, and Joan, and all those who stand behind you—and Falleke help the killer foolish enough to challenge you. But before you jump to your decision (I know how fond you are of jumping), I need you to understand that you do not need to be Firebird to be a good person. -- place 4717-4726 and beyond – this whole letter, really, it is so touching and honest and true. I loved every bit of it, even as it broke my heart.
Typos:
As I sat there in a sort of stunned stupor as he continued, -- place 1850 – remove one or the other of the ‘as’, preferably the opening one.
…staring out the rooftop into the distance. – place 2193 – should be “out over the rooftop”
…to prize me away from the TV… -- place 2275 – “prize”, while technically is an accurate verb, sounds strange when usually people use “pry” instead.
…with teasing smile at his son. – place 3006 – should be “with a teasing smile”
…, Joan, but don’t think I’ve ever met someone… -- place 3067 – should be “I don’t think I’ve”
“Well, for one thing, 0n Duna, people… -- place 3337 – “0n” should be “on”
Mrs. White said… - place 3882 – everywhere else, it’s “Ms. White”
I had forgotten that I was shackled me to the heart rate monitor… -- place 4467 – should either remove the “me” or change “I was” to “they had”
The thing was, any of that magic that was “lost” was replaced by a different magic, one that fit Earth and Joan’s world perfectly, in a way that Duna’s magic would not have done.
Here on Earth, Joan is one-of-a-kind : she can tune into what she calls the “Hum” – a sense of things around her, especially when there is metal in the object. But more than that, she is stronger, faster and more resilient than other people. She has to carefully gauge how hard she hugs for fear of hurting the other person. She has to deal with people that don’t understand her or her abilities, who would prefer to ignore them because they are inconvenient and strange. As a result, Joan has spent almost all of her life hiding what she can do – around others, she takes care to move as like them as possible, never pushing her limits, always trying to stay in the background where no one would notice her. The only time she lets herself be herself is when she is alone in the safety of her room, where she can practice tuning into the Hum and manipulating water, air, metal… It has made her life a very lonely one, with her only confident being her grandpa who would encourage her intellectual pursuits and share his wisdom and openness with her. But even with him, she was never fully honest.
And now, there’s a new boy at school who lives with his father in the biggest house down the street. And he moves like she could move, if she wasn’t trying to blend in. And he sneezes fire.
Joan knows she has to reach out to him, she has to know if what she saw is real, if he can enlighten her about her own abilities when countless searches and endless research has failed to provide any answers.
His name is Daniel Thundyil.
Daniel and his father, Robin, come from a parallel Earth, called Duna, in the pursuit of a killer – for Robin is a crime-fighter, and he will pursue criminals beyond his own world to keep his son and everyone he holds dear safe. Daniel and Robin are tajakalu – fire wielders, who can create and manipulate fire, part of the majority theonite (those with power over elements, including fire, wind, water, light, sound…) population of Duna. But this switching dimensions for Daniel is more change than he’s used to – a whole new world, where people with powers are all but non-existent, and as Joan notices early on, he’s not a very good liar. Not to mention he sticks out in Joan’s middle-class nearly all-white neighborhood with his dark brown skin and eyes like live coals.
Daniel’s presence will help Joan to open up, to embrace her abilities and be able to share them with someone, but doing so and getting tangled up with Daniel and Robin could put her in even more danger than she ever imagined possible. What is she willing to lose to get the answers she seeks?
As Robin is off being Robin – doing his crime-fighting thing while leaving Daniel safely as in the dark as possible, this book mostly centers around Joan, the only theonite on Planet Earth/Adyn. We get to know her very well, her difficult and lonely childhood as she learned more about hiding her abilities than using them. We get glimpses into her only close relationship, with her grandpa, the one solid, supportive, truly loving presence that she had growing up. We get to spend time with her as she explores her abilities, the pain and frustration and resilience she shows as she learns about them and tries to master them with no one there to help or support her. From this, I probably make it sound like it’s a long character study/information dump, but it doesn’t come across that way – each bit of history we get of Joan plays into her current actions and decisions, builds up who she is so that we can really get to know her as her world turns itself upside down. Plus, so many of her struggles are reflections of struggles and problems in society today which makes for a rich setting of similitude.
We also get to see her learn to open up, to push herself out of her comfort zone as she reaches out to Daniel and insists upon getting to know him and his world. We laugh with them, we cry with them, we fear for and with them, we root them on as they plunge ahead into the unknown side by side. And what’s more, their relationship is strictly a friendship, a friendship between a girl and a boy who find themselves in more and more difficult situations.
I found myself reading this in leaps and bounds, as I was always interested to learn more about the way Joan thinks/operates and what caused her to act the way she does, what was going on with Daniel and Robin and Mohan, and to see where it would all lead.
About the only “negative” thing I have to say about this book is that the end is abrupt, cliff-hanger-y, and clearly a lead in to book #2. But given how book 2 picks up, and being ¼ of the way through it already, it was really the only place Wang could have divided up the two books. And I more than happily jumped right into it anways!
Favorite quotes:
“Of course, a competent teacher would check to make sure I actually understood how all these events tied together to lead to the Revolutionary War, but why bother with actually understanding the stuff we memorize? It’s just school, right? No need to actually teach us anything. That would just be overkill.” – place 585-596 – To briefly unpack this into what it makes me think of: Common Core, governmental oversight making it hard or impossible for teachers to truly teach beyond the test, the importance too often given to knowing facts/dates instead of the whys and hows of history, etc.
“Ron-ron.” Katie put on a dramatic expression of distress. – place 734 – His name is Cameron, and I can only assume this is a humorous nod to the nickname given to Ron by a girlfriend in the Harry Potter series.
Fear is an enemy dressed up as a friend. Humor it as far as it keeps you safe, but don’t you ever let it get in the way of what you want to be. [Grandpa would say to me] – place 1044
Spoiler
“[…] Of course, Dad says, in real life, it’s not the powers that make a crime fighter; it’s the conviction.” – place 2183[Talking about how Joan’s parents ignore most things about her] “It’s not okay,” Daniel insisted with surprising ferocity. “They’re your family. They brought you into the world. It’s their job to look out for you, no matter how different you are. […]” – place 2246
“Anyone can throw their fists around; it takes a special kind of resilience to get up and go back into uncertainty over and over again with a heart as open as Daniel’s.” – place 3238
“Behind the doors civilized people didn’t care to open, in the dark back alleys between nice neighborhoods, there were as many dead bodies and shattered lives as in any warzone.
“Peace, I learned, only exists for those in power. […]” said Robin. – place 3319
Spoiler
That brings me, of course, to the matter of Firebird. My only wish is, as it has always been, to keep you safe. But I know the boy I raised—a selfless, headstrong little fool so brave that before I ever taught him to throw a punch he was already asking when he could start fighting crime beside me. While I would never forbid you from taking up the mask in my place, understand that it is not your responsibility to continue my work. I would not consider it a failure –on your part or mine—if that part of my legacy were to die with me.If you put on the mask, you are Firebird—you, and Joan, and all those who stand behind you—and Falleke help the killer foolish enough to challenge you. But before you jump to your decision (I know how fond you are of jumping), I need you to understand that you do not need to be Firebird to be a good person. -- place 4717-4726 and beyond – this whole letter, really, it is so touching and honest and true. I loved every bit of it, even as it broke my heart.
Typos:
Spoiler
“[…] I keep too many secrets to get close to let other people get close.” – place 1805 – remove first “to get close”As I sat there in a sort of stunned stupor as he continued, -- place 1850 – remove one or the other of the ‘as’, preferably the opening one.
…staring out the rooftop into the distance. – place 2193 – should be “out over the rooftop”
…to prize me away from the TV… -- place 2275 – “prize”, while technically is an accurate verb, sounds strange when usually people use “pry” instead.
…with teasing smile at his son. – place 3006 – should be “with a teasing smile”
…, Joan, but don’t think I’ve ever met someone… -- place 3067 – should be “I don’t think I’ve”
“Well, for one thing, 0n Duna, people… -- place 3337 – “0n” should be “on”
Mrs. White said… - place 3882 – everywhere else, it’s “Ms. White”
I had forgotten that I was shackled me to the heart rate monitor… -- place 4467 – should either remove the “me” or change “I was” to “they had”