Review: Chosen Ones

Chosen Ones by Veronica Roth
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Well, my loyal Pinecones, the time has come for me to review another Veronica Roth book, one which I was lucky to read as an ARC this time. And unlike her last series, Carve the Mark and The Fates Divide, I am very happy to say that I was not at all disappointed. Though it's not quite at the high-water mark the Divergent series left for me, the platinum standard that made Roth one of my all-time faves, it's a damn sight better than that half-baked duology she tried to come back with a few years ago. And watch how that blew up in her face when Justina Ireland said the book was racist, others said it was ableist, etc. etc. etc.

My 2019 Faves: The Fifth Annual Pinecone Awards!

Well, it's the end of a decade. And the end of a year which has seen me radically shift gears creatively, moving more towards screenwriting and adapting the Red Rain series into a new meta-fictional piece of science-fantasy, geared more for all ages and less towards YA...but I'm not about to leave those worlds of storytelling by a long shot. Not when I'm still consuming them and helping sell them to future generations too. And for this special end-of-decade Pinecone Awards - possibly the last such awards under that name since I'm adopting a new pen name as well, Ricky Barca - I'll also be adding a retrospective look at some media that really redefined my tastes this decade in some way, shape, or form. Follow me long enough and you'll no doubt know who wins these Decade Special Salutes...but for those of you playing at home, let's get back to tradition!

The Rise Of Skywalker: So Close To Perfection...

...if only Mr. Abrams had taken just a few more cues from Mr. Johnson.

***NO SPOILERS FOR THE RISE OF SKYWALKER, BUT SPOILERS FOR THE PREVIOUS FILMS OF THE STAR WARS SEQUEL TRILOGY ABOUND HEREIN. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED.***

So yeah. The Force Awakens stays Mr. Abrams' Magnum Opus. And The Last Jedi, while Knives Out appeals to take over as Mr. Johnson's Magnum Opus, remains the Magnum Opus of the sequel trilogy for sure. This could've been so good, and I'm not saying it wasn't...if only for a few little issues. And a big one for me in particular - one that I was in diametric opposition to my dear friend Speedy on, though there was one other development that disappointed us both.

But oh, you kid. You think I didn't like this movie? I most certainly did, ya moof-milkers. J.J. Abrams never goes wrong as far as I'm concerned, not enough to tank the movie, and The Rise of Skywalker is no exception. Not now, not ever.

Rey, my queen. And Ben, get that helmet off, I need to see how sweet you are too.

Review: Hero

Hero by Michael Grant
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I think Michael Grant said as far back as 2017, when the first of this sequel trilogy to Gone finally came out, that he was all but done with the YA business going forward. At least he finished this trilogy first...and what a finale it was, bringing us some apocalyptic destruction of New York that reminded me a lot of a certain scene at the start of Remnants in which San Francisco was destroyed. This, of course, being the cue for Dekka and Cruz and Shade and Malik and Armo and of course Sam and Astrid too - finally, Astrid gets back into the story again! - to take on the newest and nastiest Rockborn threat yet. As you can expect from Michael Grant, the action never stops, not once, except maaaaaaaaybe for the very ending when we get a taste of just how truly warped this trilogy has been all along. It's a deliberate, even trollish, game on Grant's part, which makes sense given his trollish reputation among the YA community (not that it stops me reading, loving, and selling his books, because God knows there are worse out there that I still read anyway.) Therefore, to Grant, I tip the hat and bid this story 'verse ave atque vale.

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Review: Girls of Storm and Shadow

Girls of Storm and Shadow by Natasha Ngan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Trigger warnings for this book (paraphrased from the content note at the start of the book itself): violence, self-harm, allusions to sexual assault, trauma recovery.

Natasha Ngan says this is going to be the middle of a trilogy, but Sophomore Slump? What's that? Nah, she averts it but good in Girls of Storm and Shadow. Not only does this owe to increased world-building - very helpfully, a full-page spread of a map of Ikhara dominates the opening to this book, really showcasing the immense sprawl of this land and its diverse regions - but also increased stakes as Lei, Wren, and their allies travel the land in search of more allies to finally put down the dreaded demon monarchy for good. But it's not going to be an easy road, not when key personality differences between Lei and Wren threaten to undo their fledgling relationship - or when sweet lil smol cinnamon roll faves get brutally beaten and/or killed. Ngan doesn't hold back in this book, ramping up the action all the way to a weapons-grade cliffhanger easily as Aveyardian as Glass Sword. Dear God, if the third book doesn't come out next year, I'll be sooooooo devastated...

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Review: Sword and Pen

Sword and Pen by Rachel Caine
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Rachel Caine returns to the world of the Great Library for the fifth and final time, with our heroes now embroiled in some of their greatest struggles yet. As nations go to war with ships armed with Greek fire ballistas, and the Archivist in Exile struggles to regain his fascistic imperialist hold on all knowledge (cheekily, Caine weaves in more relevant political subtext by having him in pretty close contact with the Russians, and the Russians all but scheming to place a puppet of their own in Alexandria), Jess and Morgan and Wolfe and all the scholars must wage the final battle to save the world from extending into a new Dark Age. And that's really all I can say without spoilers, of course, other than to finally bid this series ave atque vale as it deserves.

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Review: Children of Virtue and Vengeance

Children of Virtue and Vengeance by Tomi Adeyemi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Tomi Adeyemi took almost two years after her debut to bring us Children of Virtue and Vengeance, and the final product we got - the middle entry of the Legacy of Orïsha trilogy, that is, unless Adeyemi pulls a Victoria Aveyard and extends it to four novels, which I would NOT be surprised if she did - is more than worth the wait. And like last year with Queen of Air and Darkness, 2019 has saved its best for (borderline) last, with CoVaV all but guaranteed to earn itself the top spot in this year's Pinecone Awards.

Review: The Queen of Nothing

The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It's the first time I've finished reading an entire series that Holly Black wrote - which, let's be honest, isn't much of an endorsement, since she's just one of those authors that I've historically had a ridiculously hard time getting into. Probably because she's very similar in style to my own writing, but then explain why I like Cassandra Clare's books so much? Probably because let's be honest, Clare writes far more likable characters. That's really where Black falls flattest with me, her characters. At least in this case, Jude is somewhat more likable because as much as she has to be calculating, everyone around her is even more so. At least, until some asshats realize they're going to need her help, and lots of it. While I frankly think that this entire trilogy would've probably worked far better as a single volume - and probably overall a third shorter than its actual length of about 900 pages total - I can at least now say ave atque vale to The Folk of the Air. And maybe I'll enjoy Holly Black's next work...and hopefully not find it too hype-damaged like it so often is for me.

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Review: Flash: Green Arrow's Perfect Shot

Flash: Green Arrow's Perfect Shot by Barry Lyga
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

There was already one trilogy of kid-friendly novelettes that Barry Lyga wrote for The Flash, and now he's finally getting to play crossover just in time for the CW's own Crisis on Infinite Earths adaptation - even if it is far more inspired by Crisis on Earth-X instead. Though still in a pretty distinct 'verse from the CW shows - which are humorously referred to as the "TV-world," short for "transmultiversal" if I remember correctly - this new series flawlessly works in the cast of Arrow at every level as awe and some as Lyga's work on the cast of The Flash. That is to say, on point characterization and then some, and I'm especially hyped that Olicity remains canon in this series. Gotta show the kids more true love, eh? The cast of Legends of Tomorrow make a few appearances as well, and with the promise of a massive cliffhanger, we could be getting to see Supergirl as well - does that mean Jo Whittemore's coming back into the picture as well? Who the heck knows, but you know I'll be reading the follow-up to this book as soon as bloody possible!

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Review: Jackpot

Jackpot by Nic Stone
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Third time's for sure a charm for Nic Stone, who now proves herself once again as one of the most experimental and talented writers in all of YA. She started off harrowing with Dear Martin, gave us a seriously sticky exploration of sexuality in Odd One Out, and now, class and privilege and romance intersect in Jackpot, a gripping, emotional, and often funny sort of mystery. In addition to some little touches of fantasy when Stone writes interludes in the POVs of inanimate objects, such as the winning lottery ticket that serves as this book's MacGuffin. Or the countable threads on Zan's sheets. Or Jax's action figures. It's got a little of everything that makes great YA great, and it's another one I'll be helping eagerly sell at work for sure!

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