Attack on Titan meets zombie super-soldiers in this post-apocalyptic world where the main character, Talin, and her mother escaped their homeland to find refuge in Mara, the last nation that isn't under the oppressive rule of the Karensa Federation. Talin has faced many struggles, including racism, yet she's managed to join Mara’s Strikers (like the Survey Corps in Attack on Titan), an elite team of warriors that hunt the Ghosts (the zombie-like super-soldiers controlled by the Karensa Federation), that are sent to invade their nation. One day, the Strikers take in a prisoner of war, named Red, but he's not a Ghost. And Talin learns just how dangerous the world she lives in really is.
Skyhunter is not quite what I expected it to be from the nearly amazing excerpt. The action-packed fight scenes with the Ghosts are overshadowed by Talin's "quest" to figure out their prisoner Red and travel across enemy territory to stop the Federation from their plans of world domination.
I didn't understand why the others around her spoke in sign language when Talin wasn't deaf, she was mute. It makes sense she'd speak in sign language, but everyone else around her? Maybe I missed the part where she was partially deaf?
Other "cop-outs" or deus ex machina was her telepathic bond to Red, which will lead them to further a romantic relationship without the language barrier. This could've been done better and more realistically without this "cop-out" but it just felt forced and fake. I love a good slow-burn, but this was just sad. I also thought it was unusual how easily the characters got out of dangerous situations, how things went too well for them, and how they quickly figured out the "cure" against the Ghosts.
I liked the diversity, but again, it felt forced. We have possibly Asian, Middle Eastern, Black, Latino, and White, but everyone is atheist? That's a big no-no and VERY unrealistic when the majority of the current world believes in a higher power, and these beliefs would pass down from generations regardless of any apocalyptic events.
I also did not like how this book wanted to be "inclusive" of a certain minority group of people who identify with a bunch of letters, yet including this toxic propaganda does nothing to further the story. And nearly all YA authors are doing this lately which needs to stop. There are plenty of ostracized groups in the West deemed "minorities" that have suffered greatly over the centuries and their representation in all forms of media is rather appalling and ridiculous, yet somehow, one misguided group is raised on a pedestal because??? (I don't know, you tell me). Yet, each time these authors mention these groups of people, even just one line, it adds nothing to the story or furthers the plot.
Unfortunately, I cannot recommend this book, and therefore, will not be reading the sequel.
Skyhunter is not quite what I expected it to be from the nearly amazing excerpt. The action-packed fight scenes with the Ghosts are overshadowed by Talin's "quest" to figure out their prisoner Red and travel across enemy territory to stop the Federation from their plans of world domination.
I didn't understand why the others around her spoke in sign language when Talin wasn't deaf, she was mute. It makes sense she'd speak in sign language, but everyone else around her? Maybe I missed the part where she was partially deaf?
Other "cop-outs" or deus ex machina was her telepathic bond to Red, which will lead them to further a romantic relationship without the language barrier. This could've been done better and more realistically without this "cop-out" but it just felt forced and fake. I love a good slow-burn, but this was just sad. I also thought it was unusual how easily the characters got out of dangerous situations, how things went too well for them, and how they quickly figured out the "cure" against the Ghosts.
I liked the diversity, but again, it felt forced. We have possibly Asian, Middle Eastern, Black, Latino, and White, but everyone is atheist? That's a big no-no and VERY unrealistic when the majority of the current world believes in a higher power, and these beliefs would pass down from generations regardless of any apocalyptic events.
I also did not like how this book wanted to be "inclusive" of a certain minority group of people who identify with a bunch of letters, yet including this toxic propaganda does nothing to further the story. And nearly all YA authors are doing this lately which needs to stop. There are plenty of ostracized groups in the West deemed "minorities" that have suffered greatly over the centuries and their representation in all forms of media is rather appalling and ridiculous, yet somehow, one misguided group is raised on a pedestal because??? (I don't know, you tell me). Yet, each time these authors mention these groups of people, even just one line, it adds nothing to the story or furthers the plot.
Unfortunately, I cannot recommend this book, and therefore, will not be reading the sequel.