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A review by the_ya_assassin
Wings of Ebony by J. Elle
Okay, my problems with this book so far (only on page 22 and thinking of DNF-ing):
1. The amount of casual cursing is highly inappropriate and I already don't like the MC. I don't believe authors should encourage young adults to curse.
2. This is marked as YA, yet it reads as middle grade, minus the foul language.
3. The "N" word is used on page 2. WHY IS THIS ACCEPTABLE?!?!?! I understand the author is POC, but still . . . it's not something anyone should condone.
4. I don't care about a person's race until they shove it in my face. This book did that on the very first page. I understand this book is supposed to tackle racism but the moment you make that distinction about the MC, are you not being racist?
5. The author told readers that if the Law is ever after you, that you should run away, even if you are not guilty. Running is a sign of guilt. More than likely, if you just follow the directions of the law, you will be FINE (of course, there are some bad Law people out there).
6. Oh, and the first 2 chapters are terribly confusing due to word choice.
Update 06/16:
Nope. I'm done. This book is not getting finished. This is officially my first DNF all year at 20%
The "N" word was used again. The "S" word was used more times than I could count. An author, no matter their color, should NEVER condone using the words used in this book.
It reads like middle grade and is so obviously a debut, it's scary. The way the author wrote most of the first chapters was confusing and annoying. Rue is stuck-up and rude (she ignores her dad simply because he wasn't there when her mother was killed or when she grew up). She acts like she's entitled to break the rules and not have consequences. And then that one chapter where it had a flashback . . . it switched channels so quickly and without any warning, I was SUPER confused.
I also don't care if the way Rue speaks is realistic and normal. It is very incorrect and the author condones being rebellious through Rue's character and speaking in such a way. The worldbuilding was also very underdone. Also, the whole "god" thing that was promised isn't prominent in the story and the characters stuttered so often.
I don't understand how this book is so popular. It had so much potential and the author failed miserably.
1. The amount of casual cursing is highly inappropriate and I already don't like the MC. I don't believe authors should encourage young adults to curse.
2. This is marked as YA, yet it reads as middle grade, minus the foul language.
3. The "N" word is used on page 2. WHY IS THIS ACCEPTABLE?!?!?! I understand the author is POC, but still . . . it's not something anyone should condone.
4. I don't care about a person's race until they shove it in my face. This book did that on the very first page. I understand this book is supposed to tackle racism but the moment you make that distinction about the MC, are you not being racist?
5. The author told readers that if the Law is ever after you, that you should run away, even if you are not guilty. Running is a sign of guilt. More than likely, if you just follow the directions of the law, you will be FINE (of course, there are some bad Law people out there).
6. Oh, and the first 2 chapters are terribly confusing due to word choice.
Update 06/16:
Nope. I'm done. This book is not getting finished. This is officially my first DNF all year at 20%
The "N" word was used again. The "S" word was used more times than I could count. An author, no matter their color, should NEVER condone using the words used in this book.
It reads like middle grade and is so obviously a debut, it's scary. The way the author wrote most of the first chapters was confusing and annoying. Rue is stuck-up and rude (she ignores her dad simply because he wasn't there when her mother was killed or when she grew up). She acts like she's entitled to break the rules and not have consequences. And then that one chapter where it had a flashback . . . it switched channels so quickly and without any warning, I was SUPER confused.
I also don't care if the way Rue speaks is realistic and normal. It is very incorrect and the author condones being rebellious through Rue's character and speaking in such a way. The worldbuilding was also very underdone. Also, the whole "god" thing that was promised isn't prominent in the story and the characters stuttered so often.
I don't understand how this book is so popular. It had so much potential and the author failed miserably.