shealea's review
5.0
(Content/Trigger warning: It should be noted that there are instances of ableism, systemic racism, and misgendering as well as content involving other sensitive issues in the book. However, these instances are addressed and corrected later on. Still, proceed with utmost caution.)
As someone who’s been waiting for the sequel to Disney’s The Incredibles for more than a decade now, I was more than eager to dive into the lives and relationships within the Sentinels. And I was certainly not disappointed. It was extremely interesting to me how ordinary family drama could play out so realistically in a family of superpowered people, albeit with much higher stakes involved.
Brimming with social and political relevance – a relevance that has been amplified by the problematic and oppressive climate we are currently facing in real life, Secondhand Origin Stories valiantly attacks globally encompassing, systemic issues, such as racism, marginalization, and inequalities across all intersections, while simultaneously navigating through more individual-centered issues, such as coming to terms with one’s identity and learning to differentiate between what defines a person and what shouldn’t.
Effective writing, impressive world-building, wonderfully intricate plot, well-delivered action sequences, and a tremendous impact that unfailingly resonates with the heart of humanity. In all seriousness, in all my years of reading, Lee Blauersouth’s incredible YA debut novel is the most underrated, underappreciated title I’ve ever encountered – and that definitely needs to change immediately. Vastly powerful and all the more empowering, Secondhand Origin Stories demands to be read, loved, and ultimately, internalized.
Disclosure: I received a digital copy of Secondhand Origin Stories from the author in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to Lee Blauersouth for the copy as well as for the opportunity to organize a blog tour!
Actual rating: 4.5 stars
* Read the rest of this review in my natural habitat!
** Check it out: 9 reasons to make reading Secondhand Origin Stories your priority!
As someone who’s been waiting for the sequel to Disney’s The Incredibles for more than a decade now, I was more than eager to dive into the lives and relationships within the Sentinels. And I was certainly not disappointed. It was extremely interesting to me how ordinary family drama could play out so realistically in a family of superpowered people, albeit with much higher stakes involved.
Brimming with social and political relevance – a relevance that has been amplified by the problematic and oppressive climate we are currently facing in real life, Secondhand Origin Stories valiantly attacks globally encompassing, systemic issues, such as racism, marginalization, and inequalities across all intersections, while simultaneously navigating through more individual-centered issues, such as coming to terms with one’s identity and learning to differentiate between what defines a person and what shouldn’t.
Effective writing, impressive world-building, wonderfully intricate plot, well-delivered action sequences, and a tremendous impact that unfailingly resonates with the heart of humanity. In all seriousness, in all my years of reading, Lee Blauersouth’s incredible YA debut novel is the most underrated, underappreciated title I’ve ever encountered – and that definitely needs to change immediately. Vastly powerful and all the more empowering, Secondhand Origin Stories demands to be read, loved, and ultimately, internalized.
Disclosure: I received a digital copy of Secondhand Origin Stories from the author in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to Lee Blauersouth for the copy as well as for the opportunity to organize a blog tour!
Actual rating: 4.5 stars
* Read the rest of this review in my natural habitat!
** Check it out: 9 reasons to make reading Secondhand Origin Stories your priority!
sollie's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.5
2,5 stars. I really try to read all the books I buy because DNFing something you were intrigued enough by to spend money on is just a huge bummer... Couldn't do it for this one, I'm sorry. I feel bad for not connecting to it, because the whole premise seemed so close to the "Not Your Sidekick"-series, one of my favorites. And YET.
My main issue was the introduction to the world. Maybe the reason I didn't intuitively get it is because I've never lived in the US, but that just sounds weird. It's not like it's based on knowing the geography of the US super well or anything like that, just, it felt so intimately connected to its cultural climate in broad assumptions that somehow it alienated me. I know it sounds weird and I wish I could explain it better, but I was majorly confused at all times. The thing about basing a fantasy/sci-fi story in current times is that one can rely on that some unspoken things just Are and the reader will Know, and that's mostly fine--but add a number of names and corporations and connections between them and suddenly it's like interpreting alphabet soup with dense broth.
A side note, there were some printing errors in the 150 pages I read. Random numbers were crammed into the middle of a word at le2ast times (yes i just did that). Sometimes the spacing between paragraphs and chapter breaks was whack. Not a major issue, but that stuff can really bother me.
My second issue bleeds into the first--the characters. Multiple POVs are fine but when names drop left and right and my mind imagines them in a void full of question marks it's very difficult to get comfortable, especially when the POV switches in jarring ways. First up, where am I? Why am I following your thoughts all of a sudden? It became all too difficult to keep track when all four protagonists have deep introspections and very little plot happens. I mean sure, their interactions were fun at times, their on-page queerness was lovely to see, disability being granted a space to exist in a sci-fi/fantasy in a way that wasn't Glorified Inspiration was great. I read the last chapter and there was a kiss between the two girls being described as "it was a movie kiss, it left her breathless" and then she reaches for her inhaler, it was very cute.
But the pros couldn't save it for me when I was nearly in tears asking myself "Capricorn?? who is THAT? oh my god now who's EZEKIEL??? is that LodeStar--no? yes? wait, supervillain? is LodeStar a supervillain? wasn't he hired by the--wait he's in jail? he's Dad to this character but not that character who is the sibling to that character, someone made pancakes, they call her Mom, what is her regular name, does she have a superhero name, maybe she's Capricorn...? wait is gene therapy legal or not--oh no oh no POV SWITCH, FUCK, where????"
This book stressed me out and I'm trying to protect myself from a reading slump and for the sake of my mental health I had to quit. I think it has a lot of redeeming qualities, it has a breezy tone that can turn dark and depressive and back again in skillful ways, it has queerness and disability rep in abundance.
My main issue was the introduction to the world. Maybe the reason I didn't intuitively get it is because I've never lived in the US, but that just sounds weird. It's not like it's based on knowing the geography of the US super well or anything like that, just, it felt so intimately connected to its cultural climate in broad assumptions that somehow it alienated me. I know it sounds weird and I wish I could explain it better, but I was majorly confused at all times. The thing about basing a fantasy/sci-fi story in current times is that one can rely on that some unspoken things just Are and the reader will Know, and that's mostly fine--but add a number of names and corporations and connections between them and suddenly it's like interpreting alphabet soup with dense broth.
A side note, there were some printing errors in the 150 pages I read. Random numbers were crammed into the middle of a word at le2ast times (yes i just did that). Sometimes the spacing between paragraphs and chapter breaks was whack. Not a major issue, but that stuff can really bother me.
My second issue bleeds into the first--the characters. Multiple POVs are fine but when names drop left and right and my mind imagines them in a void full of question marks it's very difficult to get comfortable, especially when the POV switches in jarring ways. First up, where am I? Why am I following your thoughts all of a sudden? It became all too difficult to keep track when all four protagonists have deep introspections and very little plot happens. I mean sure, their interactions were fun at times, their on-page queerness was lovely to see, disability being granted a space to exist in a sci-fi/fantasy in a way that wasn't Glorified Inspiration was great. I read the last chapter and there was a kiss between the two girls being described as "it was a movie kiss, it left her breathless" and then she reaches for her inhaler, it was very cute.
But the pros couldn't save it for me when I was nearly in tears asking myself "Capricorn?? who is THAT? oh my god now who's EZEKIEL??? is that LodeStar--no? yes? wait, supervillain? is LodeStar a supervillain? wasn't he hired by the--wait he's in jail? he's Dad to this character but not that character who is the sibling to that character, someone made pancakes, they call her Mom, what is her regular name, does she have a superhero name, maybe she's Capricorn...? wait is gene therapy legal or not--oh no oh no POV SWITCH, FUCK, where????"
This book stressed me out and I'm trying to protect myself from a reading slump and for the sake of my mental health I had to quit. I think it has a lot of redeeming qualities, it has a breezy tone that can turn dark and depressive and back again in skillful ways, it has queerness and disability rep in abundance.
yourtitakate's review
5.0
Secondhand Origin Stories tells us about second-generation superheroes on both sides of the divide. We have Jamie, Issac, and Yael, who grew up seeing their parents and/or idols saving the world on television screens, who were raised in the highly-guarded Sentinel Plaza, and who trust the Altered Persons Bureau as being the ultimate good guy. On the other hand, there’s Opal, who as both a black woman and an altered faces discrimination that the “tower kids”, as she eventually comes to call them, can’t even begin to imagine. She wants to use her powers for good, but she also knows that the Altered Persons Bureau is not all it’s cracked up to be. Just ask her father, who’s in jail for “illegally” using his powers (read: he intervened in a domestic abuse situation, but because he’s not backed by an official APB-sanctioned superhero team, his actions are considered vigilantism and are punishable to the highest extent of the law). The four kids band together when a conspiracy when the Sentinel Plaza is attacked by an altered, and when, in the wake of that attack, a private company that creates prisons meant to hold altereds surfaces and tries to recruit Issac, a renowned supergenius, to their side.
The premise of the book makes it sound pretty action-packed, but to my surprise, it actually wasn’t. Which isn’t a bad thing, mind you! Secondhand Origin Stories is more character-driven than it is plot-based, but I appreciated it a lot because it made sense. The title itself tells you that this is going to tell you what makes these characters the way they are, and Lee Blauersouth delivered on that count. I found myself relating to, rooting for, and in Yael’s case falling in love with these teens who are determined to do better than their parents. Their motivations, strengths, weaknesses, foibles, fears, hopes, and dreams were all so vivid and well-written. I truly felt each character was their own person – one I’d want to meet in real life, mind you.
The book also addresses some real-world issues very nicely. In particular, it talks about the privatization of the penal system and the government’s inability to deal with crime at the grassroots level. Rather than addressing poverty, inequality, and other root causes of crime, the APB simply seeks to keep treating the symptoms, enabled by a profitable military-industrial complex that feeds off of altered prisoners. Create a problem, sell the solution. Without giving away the plot of the book, I would just like to say that Lee addresses a lot of the questions I have about the Marvel and the DC universe.
Read my full review here.
Find more from me:
Blog | Twitter | Instagram | Youtube
The premise of the book makes it sound pretty action-packed, but to my surprise, it actually wasn’t. Which isn’t a bad thing, mind you! Secondhand Origin Stories is more character-driven than it is plot-based, but I appreciated it a lot because it made sense. The title itself tells you that this is going to tell you what makes these characters the way they are, and Lee Blauersouth delivered on that count. I found myself relating to, rooting for, and in Yael’s case falling in love with these teens who are determined to do better than their parents. Their motivations, strengths, weaknesses, foibles, fears, hopes, and dreams were all so vivid and well-written. I truly felt each character was their own person – one I’d want to meet in real life, mind you.
The book also addresses some real-world issues very nicely. In particular, it talks about the privatization of the penal system and the government’s inability to deal with crime at the grassroots level. Rather than addressing poverty, inequality, and other root causes of crime, the APB simply seeks to keep treating the symptoms, enabled by a profitable military-industrial complex that feeds off of altered prisoners. Create a problem, sell the solution. Without giving away the plot of the book, I would just like to say that Lee addresses a lot of the questions I have about the Marvel and the DC universe.
Read my full review here.
Find more from me:
Blog | Twitter | Instagram | Youtube
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