cupcakegirly's review against another edition
3.0
That's it? was my initial reaction when I reached the end. I thought this was a stand alone but that ending makes me wonder...
Caged Warrior is well-written, action packed and too fast paced at times. I liked "Doc" a lot and was really happy to see a character who was not only good at his sport but intelligent too. His discipline and his devotion to his little sister was commendable as well.
My issues with this story lie in how fast and how easily the conflict wrapped up. And the "romance" was virtually non existent, blink, and you'll miss it altogether.
I guess I was expecting more from this. More grit, more fight, more relationship development and definitely more blood. This IS about MMA fighters after all.
Caged Warrior is well-written, action packed and too fast paced at times. I liked "Doc" a lot and was really happy to see a character who was not only good at his sport but intelligent too. His discipline and his devotion to his little sister was commendable as well.
My issues with this story lie in how fast and how easily the conflict wrapped up. And the "romance" was virtually non existent, blink, and you'll miss it altogether.
I guess I was expecting more from this. More grit, more fight, more relationship development and definitely more blood. This IS about MMA fighters after all.
kimmik's review against another edition
4.0
While the subject matter isn't for me, I did enjoy this book for the most part. It balanced fighting jargon and emotion; fighting to survive vs. fighting for his life and his sister. The book had some weak points, for sure, and the last chapter felt like an add-on simply to write another book. However, I think many YA readers will enjoy this book.
nyghtmareangel's review against another edition
3.0
I must say, I didn't think I would like this book when I read the book description. I liked it a lot, but I didn't love it.
I liked the main character. His attitude, his smarts, his unstoppable love for his younger sister. I liked his motto. I liked his opinions. I also liked his change from when he realized that what he truly wanted from life wasn't the same as what his dad wanted from his life.
And though I liked it all, I did not love the book. Don't get me wrong, it was action-packed and filled with gruesome, bloody fighting which I love. But, what I didn't love, was the cliche. The book was too predictable.
I could predict that he would fall in love with Kaitlin. I also predicted that his sister would be kidnapped as leverage for something (what exactly I didn't know). I also predicted his loss in the final battle. He had won every other fight - it would be too good of a story for him to win the last one as well.
So though this book was very detailed and action-packed and the characters were well-developed, I found it was too predictable of a novel. Overall, I did enjoy it and I would definitely recommend it to anybody who loves action and fights!
I liked the main character. His attitude, his smarts, his unstoppable love for his younger sister. I liked his motto. I liked his opinions. I also liked his change from when he realized that what he truly wanted from life wasn't the same as what his dad wanted from his life.
And though I liked it all, I did not love the book. Don't get me wrong, it was action-packed and filled with gruesome, bloody fighting which I love. But, what I didn't love, was the cliche. The book was too predictable.
I could predict that he would fall in love with Kaitlin. I also predicted that his sister would be kidnapped as leverage for something (what exactly I didn't know). I also predicted his loss in the final battle. He had won every other fight - it would be too good of a story for him to win the last one as well.
So though this book was very detailed and action-packed and the characters were well-developed, I found it was too predictable of a novel. Overall, I did enjoy it and I would definitely recommend it to anybody who loves action and fights!
lazygal's review against another edition
3.0
What could have been a stronger book lost points for triteness of plot and (although this is cheap, because it wasn't the publisher or author's fault) for missing pages at the end of the ARC. From what I've read in the other reviews, it appears that this is going to have a sequel, though I'm at a loss as to why.
The triteness is that once again we have a boy from an impoverished background (inner city Detroit, mixed race, missing mother, alcoholic/drug addict father) doing something he doesn't particularly want to do but does because he's trying to provide a stable family environment for his much-younger sister. McCutcheon (aka M D, Doc or Bam Bam) struggles to overcome all that and get out, this time to an elite charter school that he somehow magically wins a much-coveted placement in, despite not wanting it or even trying for it. Instead he's focussed on winning MMA cage matches, being raised as a warrior by his former heavyweight boxer father.
While I've read similar stories many times before, it's probably going to appeal to the target readers, who don't have the years or breadth of reading behind them that I do. And for those interested in MMA, well... there's definitely enough here about training and fighting to keep them reading.
ARC provided by publisher.
The triteness is that once again we have a boy from an impoverished background (inner city Detroit, mixed race, missing mother, alcoholic/drug addict father) doing something he doesn't particularly want to do but does because he's trying to provide a stable family environment for his much-younger sister. McCutcheon (aka M D, Doc or Bam Bam) struggles to overcome all that and get out, this time to an elite charter school that he somehow magically wins a much-coveted placement in, despite not wanting it or even trying for it. Instead he's focussed on winning MMA cage matches, being raised as a warrior by his former heavyweight boxer father.
While I've read similar stories many times before, it's probably going to appeal to the target readers, who don't have the years or breadth of reading behind them that I do. And for those interested in MMA, well... there's definitely enough here about training and fighting to keep them reading.
ARC provided by publisher.
overhillunderhill's review against another edition
1.0
Emotionally manipulative.
It was a lifetime movie version of the shady areas of America. It was every movie about a kid from the wrong side of the tracks making it out. The ending was obvious and just dark enough to bump it up from a G to a PG rating. If this was a slightly longer book I wouldn't have been willing to get through it. Luckily it was only about 2 total hours of reading. Generally, it is a book about a world in which the author obviously does not live.
Also, there is one very big moment in this story, it's not really spoiling anything so I'm just going to describe it. The father creepily hits on a waitress. The next day MD gets hit on by a high school girl. He mentions now he knows how that girl feels, just like a piece of meat. I almost threw the book across the room. That girl almost got beat up by the douche father and has legitimate fears of the dad or a man like him raping her for being a polite waitress and "leading him on" where MD would NEVER have to worry about that from the random high school girls who think he's hot. Yes, he is dealing with emotional abuse at the hands of his father and manipulation of every aspect of his life, but that is one thing he will never have to worry about.
It was a lifetime movie version of the shady areas of America. It was every movie about a kid from the wrong side of the tracks making it out. The ending was obvious and just dark enough to bump it up from a G to a PG rating. If this was a slightly longer book I wouldn't have been willing to get through it. Luckily it was only about 2 total hours of reading. Generally, it is a book about a world in which the author obviously does not live.
Also, there is one very big moment in this story, it's not really spoiling anything so I'm just going to describe it. The father creepily hits on a waitress. The next day MD gets hit on by a high school girl. He mentions now he knows how that girl feels, just like a piece of meat. I almost threw the book across the room. That girl almost got beat up by the douche father and has legitimate fears of the dad or a man like him raping her for being a polite waitress and "leading him on" where MD would NEVER have to worry about that from the random high school girls who think he's hot. Yes, he is dealing with emotional abuse at the hands of his father and manipulation of every aspect of his life, but that is one thing he will never have to worry about.
randyribay's review against another edition
3.0
Yet again (*shakes fist*) I wish Goodreads allowed for half-stars as I would give this a 3.5. Vivid language and a great protagonist, but I tend to cringe when urban fiction oversimplifies the world as Sitomer does here (i.e. inner-city = hell, suburbs = heaven). Full review at The Book Mark.
ydangeles's review against another edition
5.0
Actual rating: 4.5
Still undecided on if Im going to read the sequel..
Still undecided on if Im going to read the sequel..
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