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Alex Cabe

CitizenCabe@books.theunseen.city

Joined 1 year, 8 months ago

It's not like I'm a preachy crybaby who can't resist giving overemotional speeches about hope all the time.

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Alex Cabe's books

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Dreadnought (2017, Diversion Publishing) 5 stars

What happens when a trans* girl who is not out to her family accidentally inherits …

Pure Power Fantasy for Girls Who Could Really Use One

5 stars

There were a lot of familiar superhero tropes here, but the protagonist was from such an underrepresented perspective that everything felt fresh.

In interviews, Daniels will directly say this is a power fantasy to make trans girls feel strong, and Dreadnought sticks to that mission. However, Daniels resists the temptation to give her hero a perfect transition, and she deals with both fantasy and down to earth versions of realistic struggles.

It's always tricky to create a new superhero continuity from scratch. It's easy to see the fingerprints of Marvel and DC, and difficult not to feel like you're reading the store brand. The most successful attempts, like the Incredibles, stay tightly focused on the central characters. Daniels (mostly) succeeds here, but I'll be interested to see how the world evolves as the focus broadens a bit.

Looking forward to the second book (already in my Kindle) and hope we …

All the rage (2015) 4 stars

After being assaulted by the sheriff's son, Kellan Turner, Romy Grey was branded a liar …

Very Well Written Characters, Average Story

4 stars

My third Courtney Summers book, and it's become clear to me that her biggest strength is creating complex, difficult protagonists that are easy to relate to, but you want to rescue at the same time. Another great protagonist, story was fairly conventional and ended a little flat, but I really enjoyed the journey.

Sky in the deep (2018, Wednesday Books) 2 stars

Raised to be a warrior, seventeen-year-old Eelyn fights alongside her Aska clansmen in an ancient, …

Conventional love story with a ton of violence

2 stars

A fairly conventional love story with a lot, lot of violence that makes the protagonist very hard to relate to. It can be effective to involve a character in a war, but Eelyn kills dozens of people, which is just cartoonish. Story doesn't cover a lot of ground and is generally predictable.

The prose is generally very well done.

The Project (Hardcover, 2021, Wednesday Books) 5 stars

Propulsive Thriller with a Great Villain for Anyone Who's Interested in Cults

5 stars

Really enjoyed this one for the villain and the insight into cults. Lev felt like a cross of Jim Jones and a Junior Hannibal Lecter.

It was creepy but sympathetic to read about the cult manipulation tactics used on the characters. Lo as a main character wasn't as interesting as Sadie, but still a good point of view.

Sadie (EBook, 2018, Macmillan Audio) 4 stars

A missing girl on a journey of revenge and a Serial—like podcast following the clues …

Works Best By Far as an Audiobook

4 stars

Content warning Ending Spoilers

Tracy Flick Can't Win (2022, Scribner) 4 stars

Tracy Flick is a hardworking assistant principal at a public high school in suburban New …

Worthy Followup that Deepens Tracy's Character, but Doesn't Mention Others

4 stars

Content warning Character spoilers

Election (Hardcover, 1998, G.P. Putnam's Sons) 5 stars

Very fun read with memorable characters

5 stars

Quick, breezy read, where I very much enjoyed the character's individual voices. Tracy was kind of sad, Mr. M was enjoyably hateable, and Tammy was relatable.

Nearly every character was incredibly horny, and I hope that high school teachers don't talk about girls like that in real life.

Aside from the ending, the movie was the most direct adaptation I've ever seen.

Can't wait to start the sequel.

The Dawn of Yangchen (Hardcover) 3 stars

Fun Spy Story

3 stars

Didn't expect this to be a spy novel, and the world Yee set up is fun and layered.

Yangchen isn't as complex or memorable as Kyoshi, but I appreciated that the story started when she was an established Avatar and wasn't another origin story.

The prose tried a little too hard sometimes, but was more hit than miss. This book felt somewhat incomplete and was very conscious it would have a sequel. Interested to see where Kavik's character goes.