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thecontrarybookworm 's review for:
Valkyrie
by Kate O'Hearn
TOTAL - ★★☆☆☆
Okay. Let me ask a question. When you see the cover of Valkyrie (Sorry, I can't figure out how to insert an image into my review!), what do you think?
A fun adventure/action/fantasy story that incorporates Norse mythology?
Wrong. It's simply a book where the heroine stupidly, unrealistically stumbles around Earth and nothing happens. I have similar feelings for Valkyrie that I did for The Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede. And trust me, those are bad feelings.
Also - spoilers ahead. I can't really tell you why I disliked Valkyrie without pointing out specific details.
_____
Plot - ★☆☆☆☆
I was waiting for that one moment when the story took off - when Freya faced danger and peril and began her adventure. That moment never occurred.
Instead: "Wheeee! I'm flying to Earth! With no idea of where I'm going, what I'm doing, and how I'll do it!"
And then: "Oh no! There's Loki! And Odin's Dark Searchers are going to come after me! . . . Ya know, I'll just stay here and wait for a battle."
It was supposed to be fantasy, but then it just devolved into the author preaching to us about bullying. (Also, I don't believe that she was bullied in middle school as she said in the introduction, because the kind in the story shows bullies as literal monsters.)
Everything fell super flat. There were so many instances of her getting injured, beaten up, and knocked out that the conflict didn't seem any bigger than the rest of the story.
Writing - ★★☆☆☆
Though the writing structure itself was good, all of Freya's thoughts - let's keep in mind that she's fourteen - sounded like they came from a two-year-old. No fourteen-year-old's mind is that simple. I get that this is middle grade, but still. Her maturity level is extremely lacking.
Characters - ★☆☆☆☆
Double sigh. Well, first of all, the (human) characters' names. I mean, Archie (A British name. Obviously Kate O'Hearn has spent too long in the UK.)? Tamika (Tamika the character is African American, but obviously, her name wasn't researched. I looked it up and it is an uncommon Japanese name. It's very odd for a girl whose parents are named Tyrone and Victoria.)? Leo Max (Just pick one, please. Leo or Max.)? The list goes on and on.
Freya: Again, her decision-making skills are very poor. Like, what kind of person decides to run away to a completely different place even though they'll be terribly punished, for no reason other then that they made a promise? And jumps in front of bullets, disrupting the balance of nature? And goes to school when she doesn't need to at all?
Archie: It's impossible for someone with no father, a heavily drinking mother, and an imprisoned brother to be angelic. He's also fourteen. His character is so unrealistic it's crazy. "I'll help you, Freya! No matter what! You're beautiful! I love you!" *looks dazed* Give me a break.
Tamika: Once again - the body of a fourteen-year-old, the IQ of a toddler. She shouts and throws a temper tantrum at Freya when they first meet because she's "grieving"? Whatever. And then she's nice at the end. Figures. (The author really should've made the characters eight or ten. It really drives me bonkers when a character acts way younger than they are.)
JP: He's not a bully. He's a demon. The portrayal of bullying in this book is the worst I have ever seen. If you've been bullied, first of all, it's called "getting picked on", not "bullying". Second of all, bullies don't beat you up, or give you swirlies, or try to kill you (facepalm). They work in more covert ways, trying to dig at you, trying to make you feel "less than". JP literally tries to murder other kids (and I'm not exaggerating here). And the teachers (so oblivious as they are) are calling him a "troubled boy" rather than sending him to juvie jail? I don't think so. I hate how he's shown as "irredeemable" and "evil". He also has that random, doesn't-make-sense backstory about him being mad that his brother in jail that is never explained. And rather than people steering clear of him (sane people would), he is the leader of a "gang" that slaughters innocent people?!?!
The Geek Squad: It's in the name. The worst portrayal of middle school that the book universe has ever seen. A group of kids that all happen to be the victims of JP's murder attempts call themselves the "Geek Squad"? Am I hearing this right? And then Freya bands them together and gets them to fight back rather than talking to the police? These kids are in eighth grade. People stay in their respective friend groups rather than being in one giant one called the "Geek Squad". If someone else tries to kill them, they go to the police rather than crying to themselves about it.
Creativity - ★☆☆☆☆
If O'Hearn put a new spin on Norse mythology, I would be really happy. Instead, she just recycled all the information. And, because she was tired of the research, she sent our heroine off to Earth so she didn't have to think about it.
Cleanness - ★★★★★
It's completely clean. One "d".
Conclusion
Very disappointed in this read. So much more could've been done with this story. If you're looking for a good three-book series about Norse mythology, I recommend you skip this one and go to Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard. I will be reading the next books of this series because the synopses are interesting, but still. Bleh.
Okay. Let me ask a question. When you see the cover of Valkyrie (Sorry, I can't figure out how to insert an image into my review!), what do you think?
A fun adventure/action/fantasy story that incorporates Norse mythology?
Wrong. It's simply a book where the heroine stupidly, unrealistically stumbles around Earth and nothing happens. I have similar feelings for Valkyrie that I did for The Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede. And trust me, those are bad feelings.
Also - spoilers ahead. I can't really tell you why I disliked Valkyrie without pointing out specific details.
_____
Plot - ★☆☆☆☆
I was waiting for that one moment when the story took off - when Freya faced danger and peril and began her adventure. That moment never occurred.
Instead: "Wheeee! I'm flying to Earth! With no idea of where I'm going, what I'm doing, and how I'll do it!"
And then: "Oh no! There's Loki! And Odin's Dark Searchers are going to come after me! . . . Ya know, I'll just stay here and wait for a battle."
It was supposed to be fantasy, but then it just devolved into the author preaching to us about bullying. (Also, I don't believe that she was bullied in middle school as she said in the introduction, because the kind in the story shows bullies as literal monsters.)
Everything fell super flat. There were so many instances of her getting injured, beaten up, and knocked out that the conflict didn't seem any bigger than the rest of the story.
Writing - ★★☆☆☆
Though the writing structure itself was good, all of Freya's thoughts - let's keep in mind that she's fourteen - sounded like they came from a two-year-old. No fourteen-year-old's mind is that simple. I get that this is middle grade, but still. Her maturity level is extremely lacking.
Characters - ★☆☆☆☆
Double sigh. Well, first of all, the (human) characters' names. I mean, Archie (A British name. Obviously Kate O'Hearn has spent too long in the UK.)? Tamika (Tamika the character is African American, but obviously, her name wasn't researched. I looked it up and it is an uncommon Japanese name. It's very odd for a girl whose parents are named Tyrone and Victoria.)? Leo Max (Just pick one, please. Leo or Max.)? The list goes on and on.
Freya: Again, her decision-making skills are very poor. Like, what kind of person decides to run away to a completely different place even though they'll be terribly punished, for no reason other then that they made a promise? And jumps in front of bullets, disrupting the balance of nature? And goes to school when she doesn't need to at all?
Archie: It's impossible for someone with no father, a heavily drinking mother, and an imprisoned brother to be angelic. He's also fourteen. His character is so unrealistic it's crazy. "I'll help you, Freya! No matter what! You're beautiful! I love you!" *looks dazed* Give me a break.
Tamika: Once again - the body of a fourteen-year-old, the IQ of a toddler. She shouts and throws a temper tantrum at Freya when they first meet because she's "grieving"? Whatever. And then she's nice at the end. Figures. (The author really should've made the characters eight or ten. It really drives me bonkers when a character acts way younger than they are.)
JP: He's not a bully. He's a demon. The portrayal of bullying in this book is the worst I have ever seen. If you've been bullied, first of all, it's called "getting picked on", not "bullying". Second of all, bullies don't beat you up, or give you swirlies, or try to kill you (facepalm). They work in more covert ways, trying to dig at you, trying to make you feel "less than". JP literally tries to murder other kids (and I'm not exaggerating here). And the teachers (so oblivious as they are) are calling him a "troubled boy" rather than sending him to juvie jail? I don't think so. I hate how he's shown as "irredeemable" and "evil". He also has that random, doesn't-make-sense backstory about him being mad that his brother in jail that is never explained. And rather than people steering clear of him (sane people would), he is the leader of a "gang" that slaughters innocent people?!?!
The Geek Squad: It's in the name. The worst portrayal of middle school that the book universe has ever seen. A group of kids that all happen to be the victims of JP's murder attempts call themselves the "Geek Squad"? Am I hearing this right? And then Freya bands them together and gets them to fight back rather than talking to the police? These kids are in eighth grade. People stay in their respective friend groups rather than being in one giant one called the "Geek Squad". If someone else tries to kill them, they go to the police rather than crying to themselves about it.
Creativity - ★☆☆☆☆
If O'Hearn put a new spin on Norse mythology, I would be really happy. Instead, she just recycled all the information. And, because she was tired of the research, she sent our heroine off to Earth so she didn't have to think about it.
Cleanness - ★★★★★
It's completely clean. One "d".
Conclusion
Very disappointed in this read. So much more could've been done with this story. If you're looking for a good three-book series about Norse mythology, I recommend you skip this one and go to Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard. I will be reading the next books of this series because the synopses are interesting, but still. Bleh.