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rinku's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
Graphic: Death, Violence, Xenophobia, Death of parent, War, and Classism
Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and Colonisation
Minor: Animal death, Kidnapping, and Cultural appropriation
bookcheshirecat's review against another edition
3.5
“But conquering people is easy. You break past their defenses, seize their cities, burn their world to the ground. To annihilate us, though, is impossible. A seed will survive. I am not done. I will not forget.”
➽ Skyhunter is an interesting dystopian (somewhat post-apocalyptic) story! It follows Talin, a Striker who defeats the vicious Ghosts - humans that have been experimented on and transformed into monsters. She serves Mara, the last free nation that stands against the ever-expanding Karensa Federation which creates the Ghosts and conquers every other nation one by one. I really liked the premise, as it was intriguing and had many great themes such as colonization and the treatment of refugees. Talin is a refugee herself who fled the Federation's conquest with her mother. Ever since she's mute, but the Striker force communicates in sign language as the Ghosts they hunt hear the slightest sounds. I liked how sign language was incorporated into this book and utilized within the Strikers!
➽ It was easy to empathise with Talin, who risks her life for Mara while many people discriminate against refugees. Without the help of her partner - her Shield - she wouldn't have even been allowed to become a Striker. Even though she's confronted with daily microaggressions and suspicion from her own people, Talin still takes pride in her crucial work of keeping Mara safe. I liked her determination and bravery, as she's not giving up, no matter how harshly others try to put her down. The story touches upon the lingering trauma of her escape into Mara and the treatment of most refugees as second-class citizens who are forced to live in the outer region of the country. When Talin saves a captured soldier from the Federation, it seems like he might hold the key to staving off the looming invasion!
➽ In the end, the book missed a certain spark that I've come to expect from Marie Lu's books. Skyhunter had a lot of potential and I enjoyed the disability representation and discussions about refugees and war. However, I needed more from the story, as the world of Mara and the Federation still didn't feel fleshed out. Unfortunately, there were no interesting twists and turns, no shocking revelations that Marie Lu has pulled off in her other books. Skyhunter was a bit too straightforward for me and I wish the story had dug deeper into the people from before, why they were wiped out and how exactly the Federation rose to so much power. I also didn't feel invested in any of the characters apart from Talin. Her Striker friends faded into the background for me and Red, the Federation soldier was ultimately a forgettable character. I actually had high hopes for Red, but I feel like he lacked depth and I didn't connect to him. Maybe a dual POV would have helped with that. I don't think I'll read the sequel as I can already tell the direction it'll go, and I'm not invested enough into the story to continue!
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Violence, Murder, and War
Minor: Ableism, Torture, and Xenophobia
beingsimba's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Violence, and Grief
Moderate: Xenophobia
asahome's review
4.5
Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Police brutality, and Classism
emily44's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Death, Gore, and Blood
pelb's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Graphic: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Racism, War, and Injury/Injury detail
ashylibrarian's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Death, Violence, and War
Moderate: Child abuse, Racism, and Blood
Minor: Torture and Death of parent
artmuseam's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Grief, and War
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Genocide, and Classism
fictionaladventures's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Blood, Death of parent, War, and Injury/Injury detail
literarypenguin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The plot of this book held me, talking about war and racism throughout this world. The Federation is bent on taking over the continent and spreading their legacy to all parts. They want to run their experiments on people and let those experiments fight for them to take cities that do not comply with them. They really think that what they are doing is right while the city of Mara is a city holding on to it's independence from the Federation trying to fight off swarms of Ghosts, mutated creatures that when they bite humans they turn into them.
The characters are great in this book my favorite was Talin, a refugee that came to the city of Mara with her mother after her village was destroyed and her father killed. Because of this incident she becomes mute unable to speak. I love how the other characters use sign language to communicate with her and they even weave it into the Strikers and how they do things on the battle field. That was very clever! Her other friends Jaren and Adena were amazing and their bond as Striker and Shield was so close and lovely. These group of characters all have a struggle in the world that bonds them together. Talin faces racism every day by not being trusted by the other Marans but she keeps her chin up and head held high, Jaren is abused by his father and brother but has a sweet and gentle heart despite this. Adena tries to make her brother proud of her and tries to advance her inventions and Red deals with his trauma after the Federation tortures and experiments on him.
The world was great and I loved learning about the Ghosts, Strikers, and Shields. It was a harsh environment to live in torn up by war and survival which our characters had to learn how to survive in. The Ancient Ones were fascinating and I hope that we learn more about them in the next book.
I highly recommend this book and I can't wait until I can pick up the next one!
Graphic: Death, Blood, and War