robyn_willow's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
shadowofadoubt89's review against another edition
4.0
Maybe not one of my favorite Rick Riordan Presents books but still a solid entry into that Universe and a good read all around. I can't get enough of these kinds of books. They are always a joy to read.
jaballes's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Maybe my hopes were too high, but it was disappointing. The protagonist Zane was pretty enjoyable, and some of the scenes near his home had great imagery. But the story took too long to get going, and then it was a too-predictable copy-paste of Percy Jackson. The few times it wasn't, it was kind of a mess: repetitive, confusing, illogical. The last chapter somewhat redeemed what came before, but middling at best.
dkragick's review against another edition
3.0
I want to love all the RRP series, and I definitely enjoyed this story. I struggled following some of this one, though. As with many of this imprint, I expect that future titles will grow and I cannot wait to read them!
justinekorson's review against another edition
3.0
I am not a sensitivity reader, nor do I have a physical disability like Zane does in this story but some of the language in this story (specifically about Zane’s physical disability as well as descriptions of characters looks/features) did not sit right with me.
The MC, Zane, has one leg that is shorter than the other and so he uses a cane to walk. The way he talked about himself and his physical disability sounded, to me, very degrading. There were even times where Zane’s limp was “fixed” magically throughout the story which only made his inner self-hate more prominent when he talked about using his cane. Toward the end of the book, it even sounded like his limp was going to be “fixed” permanently by magic. This didn’t end up being the case (and I did read the first few chapters of the sequel to confirm this) but Zane still has a magical cane that can be used to make his limp “disappear”. He stated that he only uses this feature if he has to run anywhere (and that he feels more comfortable with his physical disability now) but I still didn’t like this conclusion. It also bothers me that across all three books, Zane is never depicted with a cane on the cover drawings. When I first started reading it, having known very little about the books to being with, I would’ve never guessed that he even had a cane
When I went to look up the author to see how they wrote a character with a physical disability, I found an interview where Cervantes said that while they don’t have a disability they’ve worked with children who have. They also stated that they had a special education teacher who works with kids with disabilities read the novel to make sure Zane was being portrayed correctly. In my opinion, this was NOT enough insight into physical disabilities for Cervantes to write this character. This book would’ve benefitted greatly from ACTUAL sensitivity readers who have the same kind of physical disability that Zane has. I tried to look for reviews of people with physical disabilities that might feel the same way I did about it but I couldn’t find any. Since I don’t have a physical disability I don’t know if my thoughts or feelings in this matter are as valid but the language felt too harmful not to note.
Other than that, the physical descriptions of characters that weren’t part of Zane’s family or circle of friends were described in ways that made normal features sound ugly. I don’t remember the exact quote but he described someone’s dreadlocks as “haven’t been washed in centuries” which I felt was a horrible stereotype that a lot of Black people with dreadlocks face because their hair looks “unclean” and “dirty” to people when that’s not the case. There were more instances than just this one but this was the one that stuck out the most and took me so far out of the narrative I wanted to stop reading.
Overall I did find the plot to be interesting and I did like learning about the Mayan Gods and other creatures so I wanted the rating to reflect that. If anyone else feels the same way I do about Zane’s physical disability or the descriptions of characters let me know.
The MC, Zane, has one leg that is shorter than the other and so he uses a cane to walk. The way he talked about himself and his physical disability sounded, to me, very degrading. There were even times where Zane’s limp was “fixed” magically throughout the story which only made his inner self-hate more prominent when he talked about using his cane. Toward the end of the book, it even sounded like his limp was going to be “fixed” permanently by magic. This didn’t end up being the case (and I did read the first few chapters of the sequel to confirm this) but Zane still has a magical cane that can be used to make his limp “disappear”. He stated that he only uses this feature if he has to run anywhere (and that he feels more comfortable with his physical disability now) but I still didn’t like this conclusion. It also bothers me that across all three books, Zane is never depicted with a cane on the cover drawings. When I first started reading it, having known very little about the books to being with, I would’ve never guessed that he even had a cane
When I went to look up the author to see how they wrote a character with a physical disability, I found an interview where Cervantes said that while they don’t have a disability they’ve worked with children who have. They also stated that they had a special education teacher who works with kids with disabilities read the novel to make sure Zane was being portrayed correctly. In my opinion, this was NOT enough insight into physical disabilities for Cervantes to write this character. This book would’ve benefitted greatly from ACTUAL sensitivity readers who have the same kind of physical disability that Zane has. I tried to look for reviews of people with physical disabilities that might feel the same way I did about it but I couldn’t find any. Since I don’t have a physical disability I don’t know if my thoughts or feelings in this matter are as valid but the language felt too harmful not to note.
Other than that, the physical descriptions of characters that weren’t part of Zane’s family or circle of friends were described in ways that made normal features sound ugly. I don’t remember the exact quote but he described someone’s dreadlocks as “haven’t been washed in centuries” which I felt was a horrible stereotype that a lot of Black people with dreadlocks face because their hair looks “unclean” and “dirty” to people when that’s not the case. There were more instances than just this one but this was the one that stuck out the most and took me so far out of the narrative I wanted to stop reading.
Overall I did find the plot to be interesting and I did like learning about the Mayan Gods and other creatures so I wanted the rating to reflect that. If anyone else feels the same way I do about Zane’s physical disability or the descriptions of characters let me know.
_kjmac_'s review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
leeza_robertson_writes's review against another edition
This book was a crazy ball of energy! It was part Indiana Jones, part the Mummy with a sprinkling of the Goonies on top. This was an action-packed book that took us deep into the world of the Mayan Gods. This book was so well written that at times I felt just as overwhelmed as our Main Character. As much as I really don't like to gender narratives, this book does feel like it was written with young boys in mind. There are parts of this book that are gross. There was way to much talk of pus and oozing monsters for my liking, but I can imagine my son at 7 or 8 loving every moment of it. This book would have been right up his alley when he was younger. From an adult perspective, I had no idea the Mayan pantheon was so extensive and this book has peaked my interest in learning more about these ancient gods, goddess and demigods. Some of the non-gross ones where fascinating.
A must read for young and old.
A must read for young and old.
blok_sera_szwajcarskiego's review against another edition
4.0
gdzieś tam we mnie wciąż siedzi ten gówniak, co to pożarł pjo w dwa tygodnie i potem nakręcał się tym przez lata, i ta książka mi o tym przypomniała