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A review by samiism
The Eighth Guardian by Meredith McCardle
3.0
This book and I started out meh. I had just finished reading [b:The Jump Journal|24689348|The Jump Journal|Douglas Corriveau|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1423608450s/24689348.jpg|44218418] and wanted to immediately start on another time travel book. Should've waited til the next day because the "action scenes" at the beginning made me fall asleep, literally.
I decided to give it a try the next day, and I actually hurdled through the first chapter. Wasn't bad. But I immediately felt a mild dislike for the main character, Amanda aka Iris. She defies authority. She is a special snowflake--while her teammates are named after the colors of the rainbow, Amanda gets to be Iris. She would risk killing herself and her teammates, and failing a mission because of her selfishness.
One character whom I hated, too, when she first came out in this book, said:
I did a little triumphant dance when she said that. Because Iris truly is selfish and self-centered. Granted, those qualities were the catalyst to the story's twist, but still.
And let's not forget the trial by fire that Iris had to go through. Without spoiling you, here's how it went: Iris is contracted into a top-secret government organization that deals with traveling back in time to "enhance, not alter" events. Super daunting, right? There are only a handful of people in this organization, and majority of them are practically teenagers. You'd think anyone who becomes an Annum Guard (that's what they're called) is heavily trained before they travel back in time (a one-chance-only type of deal) and enhance an event. But not, Iris. Nope. She is thrust into a mission blind. Her mentor tells her important details on the go, when Iris is just processing what just happened.
A few chapters later, this came up:
Indeed. This was explained away later in the book, but still struck me as odd nonetheless.
So, would I read the next book? Already started it. Only because the first one ended with a weird cliffhanger.
I decided to give it a try the next day, and I actually hurdled through the first chapter. Wasn't bad. But I immediately felt a mild dislike for the main character, Amanda aka Iris. She defies authority. She is a special snowflake--while her teammates are named after the colors of the rainbow, Amanda gets to be Iris. She would risk killing herself and her teammates, and failing a mission because of her selfishness.
One character whom I hated, too, when she first came out in this book, said:
“Iris, stop it,” Yellow says through gritted teeth.
“No!” She kicks me. Hard. Right in the shin.
“Stop making a scene,” she mutters under her breath. “You are the most selfish person I’ve ever met; you know that?”
My eyes fly open. “I . . . what?”
“It’s always you you you. What’s best for Iris? see things your way.”
“You don’t know me at all, Yellow.”
“Really? I think I do. You haven’t stopped talking about yourself since you joined Annum Guard. You were born in Vermont. You thought your dad was a Navy SEAL. Your mom is bipolar. You had to leave your boyfriend behind. No one likes you. Boo freaking hoo. Iris Iris Iris. All the time.”
I did a little triumphant dance when she said that. Because Iris truly is selfish and self-centered. Granted, those qualities were the catalyst to the story's twist, but still.
And let's not forget the trial by fire that Iris had to go through. Without spoiling you, here's how it went: Iris is contracted into a top-secret government organization that deals with traveling back in time to "enhance, not alter" events. Super daunting, right? There are only a handful of people in this organization, and majority of them are practically teenagers. You'd think anyone who becomes an Annum Guard (that's what they're called) is heavily trained before they travel back in time (a one-chance-only type of deal) and enhance an event. But not, Iris. Nope. She is thrust into a mission blind. Her mentor tells her important details on the go, when Iris is just processing what just happened.
“Enhancement, not alteration,” he repeats. “You were about to alter history in a pretty big way.”
“I don’t understand what the difference is,” I say.
“Clearly.”
I bristle. And I can’t help but feel this isn’t my fault completely. “Well, maybe you should have explained it a little better before you just plunked me down in the middle of the Boston Massacre.”
A few chapters later, this came up:
I'm angry. Partly at myself, but mostly at Zeta. No organization sends its operatives on a mission without a thorough debriefing beforehand. Learning in the field can get you killed. Everyone knows that.
Indeed. This was explained away later in the book, but still struck me as odd nonetheless.
So, would I read the next book? Already started it. Only because the first one ended with a weird cliffhanger.