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dr_dumpling 's review for:
Insignia
by S.J. Kincaid
I honestly debated giving a higher rating, but I couldn't--there were just several things about the book that rankled me. I won't deny that Insignia has an intriguing idea, as well as lots of humor. However, I was bothered by 1)Tom, 2)Wyatt, and 3)the way the information about the world was included in the book.
1. Tom: just a minor complaint, really--he's a genius, but he doesn't truly gain confidence until he loses his "ugly" look of acne and lack of height
2. Wyatt: again, a minor complaint, but kind of personal to me: throughout the novel, she's described as seriously "lacking in social skills"--nothing in her characterization really proved that, to me; rather, she just seemed shy and when shy people are forced into unfamiliar situations, then obviously they aren't going to react well
3. Information dumping was all over the novel: Rather than being skillfully incorporated into the narrative, it was just dumped onto the reader, disguised in the form of material taught by a teacher--this came off as contrived and boring and severely weakened the world-building
Okay, lastly, I can't help but wonder: If this is marketed as a YA book, then why on earth is the protagonist only 14? That's more of a MG age, but if I'd been reading this at 14, I doubt I would've understood some of the plot details as much: for example, I only know what neural plasticity and synapses are because of AP Psych, which I took in senior year of high school.
1. Tom: just a minor complaint, really--he's a genius, but he doesn't truly gain confidence until he loses his "ugly" look of acne and lack of height
2. Wyatt: again, a minor complaint, but kind of personal to me: throughout the novel, she's described as seriously "lacking in social skills"--nothing in her characterization really proved that, to me; rather, she just seemed shy and when shy people are forced into unfamiliar situations, then obviously they aren't going to react well
3. Information dumping was all over the novel: Rather than being skillfully incorporated into the narrative, it was just dumped onto the reader, disguised in the form of material taught by a teacher--this came off as contrived and boring and severely weakened the world-building
Okay, lastly, I can't help but wonder: If this is marketed as a YA book, then why on earth is the protagonist only 14? That's more of a MG age, but if I'd been reading this at 14, I doubt I would've understood some of the plot details as much: for example, I only know what neural plasticity and synapses are because of AP Psych, which I took in senior year of high school.