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missbookiverse 's review for:
Hollow Earth
by Carole E. Barrowman, John Barrowman
[2.5 stars]
It started it out with a fun idea: Twins being able to animate things into life while drawing them. I especially liked how remnants of Em's imagination floated around her in her dreams or manifested when she became scared. Unfortunately, the story couldn't hold my attention throughout and I got bored by the halfway point. The idea of the Hollow Earth was promising but not really explored (this will probably happen in the sequels).
I think what bothered me a lot was how patriarchal it ended up being. The majority of characters is male and they are also the ones who are in power (which is displayed most dubiously in the Guardian-Animare relationship in which the (male) Guardians are supposed to guide and control the Animare). There are about 4 female characters: the twin's mother (disappears halfway through the story), the housekeeper (who has no powers and always provides food), Mara (who kind of turns out to be gullible and powerless too, even though she had potential), and Em, one of the twins, who always acts emotionally (in opposition to her brother's rational demeanor) and is constantly saved by her brother. I don't think the authors intended to send a specific message through this, but I also don't think they paid enough to attention to the power structures they were creating.
One last thing I'd like to mention is that there is a deaf character, a friend of the twins, and while I appreciate the diversity I'm not sure it was handled all that well. His deafness never really impacts any situation, he reads lips perfectly and every character either knows sign language or picks up on it quickly. I don't think his deafness should be represented as a disadvantage but I also don't think it was portrayed realistically.
It started it out with a fun idea: Twins being able to animate things into life while drawing them. I especially liked how remnants of Em's imagination floated around her in her dreams or manifested when she became scared. Unfortunately, the story couldn't hold my attention throughout and I got bored by the halfway point. The idea of the Hollow Earth was promising but not really explored (this will probably happen in the sequels).
I think what bothered me a lot was how patriarchal it ended up being. The majority of characters is male and they are also the ones who are in power (which is displayed most dubiously in the Guardian-Animare relationship in which the (male) Guardians are supposed to guide and control the Animare). There are about 4 female characters: the twin's mother (disappears halfway through the story), the housekeeper (who has no powers and always provides food), Mara (who kind of turns out to be gullible and powerless too, even though she had potential), and Em, one of the twins, who always acts emotionally (in opposition to her brother's rational demeanor) and is constantly saved by her brother. I don't think the authors intended to send a specific message through this, but I also don't think they paid enough to attention to the power structures they were creating.
One last thing I'd like to mention is that there is a deaf character, a friend of the twins, and while I appreciate the diversity I'm not sure it was handled all that well. His deafness never really impacts any situation, he reads lips perfectly and every character either knows sign language or picks up on it quickly. I don't think his deafness should be represented as a disadvantage but I also don't think it was portrayed realistically.