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sherwoodreads's review against another edition
UPDATE JULY 2024
Just a note to say that we've rededited this book, along with HOSTAGE and REBEL in preparation for TRAITOR's publication in October 2024. It was fun to come back to it, and our process hasn't changed any except that between our first meetings and now Zoom made it possible to meet without trying to coordinate physical proximity over the length and breadth of LA. The story was so much fun to revisit!
This is a collaboration, but my "rule" still holds: my review only talks about the process of writing it. Actual reviews are up to readers.
Rachel Manija Brown was working in Hollywood when she first got the idea. She’s always loved the images and story elements of Westerns— the stranger who comes to town and shakes things up, the desperate chase through the desert, the man with no name, the tough sheriff, the saloon where everyone in town comes to gossip. But she wanted one where the characters were more like me, and more like the people who live in the west now.
The real California of the Gold Rush was much more diverse than it’s usually portrayed: Jews were there, and free black people, and Chinese people; Indians from various tribes, and people from Mexico, Chile, and Peru. Not to mention a whole lot of incredibly tough women. It was by no means a multicultural paradise. But it also wasn’t a place where everyone was white and women existed only as saloon girls, loyal wives, and prizes to be won by the male hero.
She imagined a future west: a post-apocalyptic Los Angeles where technology had reverted back to Gold Rush levels, but which was still as diverse as the real city we live in. An image came to her mind, of a teenage boy desperately fleeing through the desert, without food or water but carrying something precious in his battered pack. A bounty hunter was relentlessly tracking him, and the desert was full of mutated bloodsucking plants. Could he reach the refuge of a small frontier town before he succumbed to thirst, or deadly wildlife, or a bullet?
She could see that boy in her mind’s eye. He didn’t look like the typical tall, light-skinned, blue-eyed hero of a western. He looked like the young men we see every day in Los Angeles, like the young men who had really lived in the California of the Old West. His skin was brown and his hair was black; he wasn’t tall or burly, but he was stronger than he looked. She wondered what it was that he had in his pack, that he was so desperate to protect…
When we met to collaborate on a TV show for Henson, she told me about that idea. By then the young man had a name: Ross Juarez.
I loved it! She asked if I wanted to collaborate, and we talked back and forth, scribbling down our favorite ideas: mysterious ruins and super powers, and taking familiar tropes and turning them inside out. The brainy mechanic sidekick, who’s always a guy, would be a girl who has trouble getting outside of her own head. And she wouldn’t be a sidekick, but the heroine. The tough sheriff would be a woman— a super-strong woman, with half her face beautiful and half a skull! The town was guarded not only by adult men, but by all the townspeople—including teenagers. Some with powers, some not! And if a love triangle developed, we’d take it in a completely new direction.
We first wrote the story as a TV series, and at the same time we began developing it as a book project. For a time it looked as if it would sell as both, but Hollywood being Hollywood, the executive interested jumped ship and since we had not signed the contract giving them book rights, we were free to concentrate on the book, taking advantage of all the things you can do in a novel that you can’t afford to do—or are not allowed to do—on TV.
In listing all our favorite tropes (super-powers! Bad-ass teens! Weird flora and fauna! Interesting food from many cultures!), we discovered that we were also on the same wavelength concerning diversity.
It seemed natural to map our future Los Angeles over the actual demographics of LA. White people are already a minority; 50% of the city is Hispanic/Latino. Today many people face prejudice based on their race, gender, sexual orientation, or religion. After an apocalypse, we thought that many old prejudices would die out, once the power structure that sustained them was gone. But humans being humans, new ones have replaced them, specifically a bias against the mutated “Changed” folk.
The way we work is unusual in the book world, but more common in television, where writers will sit together in a room and create first the story of a script in discussion, then write it by speaking the dialogue. We sit down and discuss the plot of the entire story, taking notes.
Before we write a chapter, we discuss what will happen in more detail. Then we sit side by side at a computer and write the chapter, usually with me typing but either of us providing text. The result is a book where any given sentence was probably written by both of us together. When we have a first draft, we pass it back and forth for rewrites and polishes and additions.
I have done several collaborations, and enjoyed them all, though each is very different. The fun part of writing with Rachel is that we never get writer’s block, because as soon as one of us runs out of ideas, whether on a single sentence or in a scene, the other either picks up with it and zooms ahead, or we can talk it out. Sometimes act it out!
Just a note to say that we've rededited this book, along with HOSTAGE and REBEL in preparation for TRAITOR's publication in October 2024. It was fun to come back to it, and our process hasn't changed any except that between our first meetings and now Zoom made it possible to meet without trying to coordinate physical proximity over the length and breadth of LA. The story was so much fun to revisit!
This is a collaboration, but my "rule" still holds: my review only talks about the process of writing it. Actual reviews are up to readers.
Rachel Manija Brown was working in Hollywood when she first got the idea. She’s always loved the images and story elements of Westerns— the stranger who comes to town and shakes things up, the desperate chase through the desert, the man with no name, the tough sheriff, the saloon where everyone in town comes to gossip. But she wanted one where the characters were more like me, and more like the people who live in the west now.
The real California of the Gold Rush was much more diverse than it’s usually portrayed: Jews were there, and free black people, and Chinese people; Indians from various tribes, and people from Mexico, Chile, and Peru. Not to mention a whole lot of incredibly tough women. It was by no means a multicultural paradise. But it also wasn’t a place where everyone was white and women existed only as saloon girls, loyal wives, and prizes to be won by the male hero.
She imagined a future west: a post-apocalyptic Los Angeles where technology had reverted back to Gold Rush levels, but which was still as diverse as the real city we live in. An image came to her mind, of a teenage boy desperately fleeing through the desert, without food or water but carrying something precious in his battered pack. A bounty hunter was relentlessly tracking him, and the desert was full of mutated bloodsucking plants. Could he reach the refuge of a small frontier town before he succumbed to thirst, or deadly wildlife, or a bullet?
She could see that boy in her mind’s eye. He didn’t look like the typical tall, light-skinned, blue-eyed hero of a western. He looked like the young men we see every day in Los Angeles, like the young men who had really lived in the California of the Old West. His skin was brown and his hair was black; he wasn’t tall or burly, but he was stronger than he looked. She wondered what it was that he had in his pack, that he was so desperate to protect…
When we met to collaborate on a TV show for Henson, she told me about that idea. By then the young man had a name: Ross Juarez.
I loved it! She asked if I wanted to collaborate, and we talked back and forth, scribbling down our favorite ideas: mysterious ruins and super powers, and taking familiar tropes and turning them inside out. The brainy mechanic sidekick, who’s always a guy, would be a girl who has trouble getting outside of her own head. And she wouldn’t be a sidekick, but the heroine. The tough sheriff would be a woman— a super-strong woman, with half her face beautiful and half a skull! The town was guarded not only by adult men, but by all the townspeople—including teenagers. Some with powers, some not! And if a love triangle developed, we’d take it in a completely new direction.
We first wrote the story as a TV series, and at the same time we began developing it as a book project. For a time it looked as if it would sell as both, but Hollywood being Hollywood, the executive interested jumped ship and since we had not signed the contract giving them book rights, we were free to concentrate on the book, taking advantage of all the things you can do in a novel that you can’t afford to do—or are not allowed to do—on TV.
In listing all our favorite tropes (super-powers! Bad-ass teens! Weird flora and fauna! Interesting food from many cultures!), we discovered that we were also on the same wavelength concerning diversity.
It seemed natural to map our future Los Angeles over the actual demographics of LA. White people are already a minority; 50% of the city is Hispanic/Latino. Today many people face prejudice based on their race, gender, sexual orientation, or religion. After an apocalypse, we thought that many old prejudices would die out, once the power structure that sustained them was gone. But humans being humans, new ones have replaced them, specifically a bias against the mutated “Changed” folk.
The way we work is unusual in the book world, but more common in television, where writers will sit together in a room and create first the story of a script in discussion, then write it by speaking the dialogue. We sit down and discuss the plot of the entire story, taking notes.
Before we write a chapter, we discuss what will happen in more detail. Then we sit side by side at a computer and write the chapter, usually with me typing but either of us providing text. The result is a book where any given sentence was probably written by both of us together. When we have a first draft, we pass it back and forth for rewrites and polishes and additions.
I have done several collaborations, and enjoyed them all, though each is very different. The fun part of writing with Rachel is that we never get writer’s block, because as soon as one of us runs out of ideas, whether on a single sentence or in a scene, the other either picks up with it and zooms ahead, or we can talk it out. Sometimes act it out!
cornflower's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Intersting workd and situation. Loved all the different types of carnivorous plants
cornmaven's review against another edition
1.0
Interesting post-apocalyptic world, but I had to abandon this after 100+ pages because it was just not moving along. Character driven, and extremely wordy. I think the authors could have established what they accomplished in 124 pages with half of that. I couldn't see slogging through another 300+ pages, waiting for something of substance to happen.
Super disappointed because it got such good reviews, and I love this genre.
Super disappointed because it got such good reviews, and I love this genre.
nenya_kanadka's review against another edition
4.0
This book was a lot of fun. I was slightly confused at first by the multiple points of view because there were so many of them (Ross, Mia, Jennie, Yuki, and Felicité) but that's my only complaint. The large cast is actually one of this book's strengths: it is a story with heroes in community, not just one or two people on their own. And Brown and Smith pull this off beautifully. The young people are all engaging, with a variety of goals, flaws, and personalities, and the supporting cast of other youth and adults is superb. I especially liked Mia's dad Dr. Lee, and Sheriff Crow with her superpowers and her practicality. Jack from the local pub/community centre was pretty great too.
The worldbuilding was really trippy, with the million kinds of flora and fauna that want to EAT YOU. I may have nightmares about the pit mouths, OMG. And the singing trees are startlingly beautiful and scary. Which brings up another great thing about this book: from the very first scene onwards, almost everything has a consequence. One of the authors is a PTSD therapist and you can tell; without being overblown and maudlin, characters do react to trauma, and it takes more than the love of a hot boy or girl to make them better.
Which isn't to say that there isn't romance: there is! In all kinds of configurations, from the teenaged gay boys with different life goals but obvious affection for each other, to the polyamorous relationship between two of the girls and one of the guys, to a cute lesbian relationship that I've heard gets more development in later books. Bigotry against the Changed (think people with X-Men powers) seems to take the place of homophobia and racism in this book, meaning that the m/m or f/f relationships blend seamlessly into the social landscape alongside their m/f neighbours. I really liked that, as a queer person myself. Also loved that red dress--you'll know what I mean when you hit that chapter. And badass Sheriff Crow has two mothers: hurray for older lesbians!
An aside about the m/f/f relationship: I loved that the friendship between the girls is so central here. This is not the eternal, and eternally boring, will-they won't-they YA love triangle. Instead, it's two friends who don't see why a boy should come between them, a boy who likes both of them, and a lot of gentleness on all sides. This is a very kind book, for all that the characters are struggling to survive in a harsh world. Even the antagonists are fleshed out and humanized; even the teen breakups don't vilify either party.
I am definitely looking forward to the rest of this series.
The worldbuilding was really trippy, with the million kinds of flora and fauna that want to EAT YOU. I may have nightmares about the pit mouths, OMG. And the singing trees are startlingly beautiful and scary. Which brings up another great thing about this book: from the very first scene onwards, almost everything has a consequence. One of the authors is a PTSD therapist and you can tell; without being overblown and maudlin, characters do react to trauma, and it takes more than the love of a hot boy or girl to make them better.
Which isn't to say that there isn't romance: there is! In all kinds of configurations, from the teenaged gay boys with different life goals but obvious affection for each other, to the polyamorous relationship between two of the girls and one of the guys, to a cute lesbian relationship that I've heard gets more development in later books. Bigotry against the Changed (think people with X-Men powers) seems to take the place of homophobia and racism in this book, meaning that the m/m or f/f relationships blend seamlessly into the social landscape alongside their m/f neighbours. I really liked that, as a queer person myself. Also loved that red dress--you'll know what I mean when you hit that chapter. And badass Sheriff Crow has two mothers: hurray for older lesbians!
An aside about the m/f/f relationship: I loved that the friendship between the girls is so central here. This is not the eternal, and eternally boring, will-they won't-they YA love triangle. Instead, it's two friends who don't see why a boy should come between them, a boy who likes both of them, and a lot of gentleness on all sides. This is a very kind book, for all that the characters are struggling to survive in a harsh world. Even the antagonists are fleshed out and humanized; even the teen breakups don't vilify either party.
I am definitely looking forward to the rest of this series.
daffz's review
5.0
The first few moments of this book were a little confusing. You get thrown right into an action scene and there's a lot of worldbuilding information to take in right from the start. As soon as I got into the book more, though, I absolutely loved it.
Stranger is, in my opinion, everything a post apocalyptic young adult novel should be. The world building was very well done, I loved all the strange and dangerous plants and animals. I also adored every single pov character immensely and their storylines were very nicely tied together. There was tons of diversity, which made the story feel very natural and realistic. I loved how there wasn't too much focus on the romance. It was there but it wasn't hugely dramatic and didn't take over the story.
One last thing I want to mention is that the descriptions of food in this novel were amazing. I was constantly hungry while reading it and I wanted to try everything!
Stranger is, in my opinion, everything a post apocalyptic young adult novel should be. The world building was very well done, I loved all the strange and dangerous plants and animals. I also adored every single pov character immensely and their storylines were very nicely tied together. There was tons of diversity, which made the story feel very natural and realistic. I loved how there wasn't too much focus on the romance. It was there but it wasn't hugely dramatic and didn't take over the story.
One last thing I want to mention is that the descriptions of food in this novel were amazing. I was constantly hungry while reading it and I wanted to try everything!
megatsunami's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars. Very much enjoyed this character-based dystopian YA adventure story set in post-apocalyptic Los Angeles (because LA). I felt there were too many points of view (5), but at the same time I liked that the book didn't make it all about the One Hero, and instead tried to portray the complex interplay of people. Also, I liked that some of the apparent villains turned out to be more complex than originally suggested. The diversity written into the story was great although at times it was a little too intentional, like "Ahmed Hussein asked Maria Ramirez to show him how to shoot a bow and arrow, but he got distracted by Marcus Jones's dark muscled arms as he was showing off his new engineering plans." (not an actual quote)
kdefriese's review against another edition
4.0
This isn't a review- more just a list of things I want to remember about this book.
-it feels kind.
-beautiful, casual diversity. It isn't A Thing... it just is.
-post-apocalyptic and dystopian, but set within a well-functioning society.
-traumatic experiences have realistic consequences.
-nothing gets a magic fix.
-it feels kind.
-beautiful, casual diversity. It isn't A Thing... it just is.
-post-apocalyptic and dystopian, but set within a well-functioning society.
-traumatic experiences have realistic consequences.
-nothing gets a magic fix.
lillianhong's review against another edition
3.0
It's alright. When I read the summary, I expected a story focusing more on the book and the crazy adventure to protect it. You don't get any new information about the book until the very goddamn end, and there's nothing on the more interesting part if the books, the diagrams. I also expected more on the setting of the story, because it's sounds so interesting, but you're fed barely enough details to satisfy. There's no adventuring and thus discovery of this world, despite it being about a goddamn prospector! It almost feels like the book expects you to know some stuff already. This book feels more like a sequel with a missing prequel that would've shed more light on the world.
In conclusion, if you're expecting a cool adventure, forget it. It's more about a skittish boy trying to fit in a (rather open minded yet also close-minded) town, with a battle at the end. This book was unsatisfying, especially considering its potential. Like I said before, this book feels more like a sequel with a missing prequel.
Extra: this book is also very casual and open minded, with heterosexual and homosexual couples to a seemingly asexual character. There's even a hint of a polygamous relationship for the main character. A book that Tumblr would lose its shit for.
In conclusion, if you're expecting a cool adventure, forget it. It's more about a skittish boy trying to fit in a (rather open minded yet also close-minded) town, with a battle at the end. This book was unsatisfying, especially considering its potential. Like I said before, this book feels more like a sequel with a missing prequel.
Extra: this book is also very casual and open minded, with heterosexual and homosexual couples to a seemingly asexual character. There's even a hint of a polygamous relationship for the main character. A book that Tumblr would lose its shit for.