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A review by pm_me_book_recs
Rebel Skies by Ann Sei Lin
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Many thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.
This was such a great concept, there were a few things that fell a little flat for me.
The world building is so good, as others have said, it's reminiscent of Studio Ghibli but also it's very much it's own thing. Kurara growing in confidence and power The Shikigami are way cool, I can't wait to learn more about them in the next book(s). The magic was day-dream inducing. As a bookseller, I'm now imagining what a Crafter could do with all the paper in the shop. It could be a great way to get kids into origami. The action was fast and fun, the characters are entertaining (but I want to know them better), and LGBTQ support is always fantastic to see.
I love love love the formatting- the decorative border at chapter beginnings, the fonts, the maps and short appendices at the end. I would absolutely have picked this up as a kid and been drawn in by those details.
I'd say this is a solid middle-grade story, the content may be stressful for some kids, but the dialogue and internal monologue made this feel incredibly young. At it's core (pun) the story is about a girl coming into her power and confidence- how old the girl is seems to be left out? I kept feeling like she was 12, but Haru seems SO YOUNG despite being older, and then Kimura feels so much older (17?) and is supposed to only be a year or two older than Kurara? I've reread the first few chapters a couple times trying to figure it out, but seem to be stumped. I also want to know more about how the ships fly, how Sola-Il floats. There's one line that mentions levistone, but how's it all work? How can that be integrated naturally within the story instead of info dumping?
The repetition of a few phrases is tiresome, I can see some higher level readers getting annoyed with it. There is a moment when I thought foreshadowing was happening concerning the control/calming of the Shikigami, but it never happened- or it's being held until a later book. I think it was a massive missed opportunity, but fingers crossed for book 2!
This was such a great concept, there were a few things that fell a little flat for me.
The world building is so good, as others have said, it's reminiscent of Studio Ghibli but also it's very much it's own thing. Kurara growing in confidence and power The Shikigami are way cool, I can't wait to learn more about them in the next book(s). The magic was day-dream inducing. As a bookseller, I'm now imagining what a Crafter could do with all the paper in the shop. It could be a great way to get kids into origami. The action was fast and fun, the characters are entertaining (but I want to know them better), and LGBTQ support is always fantastic to see.
I love love love the formatting- the decorative border at chapter beginnings, the fonts, the maps and short appendices at the end. I would absolutely have picked this up as a kid and been drawn in by those details.
I'd say this is a solid middle-grade story, the content may be stressful for some kids, but the dialogue and internal monologue made this feel incredibly young. At it's core (pun) the story is about a girl coming into her power and confidence- how old the girl is seems to be left out? I kept feeling like she was 12, but Haru seems SO YOUNG despite being older, and then Kimura feels so much older (17?) and is supposed to only be a year or two older than Kurara? I've reread the first few chapters a couple times trying to figure it out, but seem to be stumped. I also want to know more about how the ships fly, how Sola-Il floats. There's one line that mentions levistone, but how's it all work? How can that be integrated naturally within the story instead of info dumping?
The repetition of a few phrases is tiresome, I can see some higher level readers getting annoyed with it. There is a moment when I thought foreshadowing was happening concerning the control/calming of the Shikigami, but it never happened- or it's being held until a later book. I think it was a massive missed opportunity, but fingers crossed for book 2!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Confinement, Kidnapping, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail