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REVIEW: Skyward by Brandon Sanderson

Ok.

So I, after procrastinating on this book for a reaaaallly long time, had a sudden urge to read it yesterday.

And it did not disappoint!

So this book basically follows Spensa who, for her entire life has been treated pretty awfully because her father was labelled as a ‘coward.’ In this fictional society, being a coward is the worst insult to you and your family and Spensa has been prevented from doing many things as a result. And so, when she applies for the prestigious cadet program, she faces a lot of resistance.

Let’s talk about the characters:

This book is basically a burgeoning found family. Due to her circumstances, Spensa hasn’t really been able to bond with her crewmates as well as she might have, but they definitely form their own group regardless. I felt that the characters were each unique enough that even though the page count was pretty thinly distributed between them, I cared for each one of them.

Notably throughout the book we become familiar with:

Cobb, Callsign ‘Mongrel’: Cobb is the instructor of the cadets and ex-wingmate of Spensa’s father. I really like the attitude that he took toward his students, actively contradicting the beliefs of the society they live in to prioritise their own safety and livelihood. Over the course of the book, he almost became the exasperated, protective substitute father giving Spensa the little pushes she needs towards the future and answers she desires.

“I feel like a munitions man, reloading artillery. I stuff you into the chamber, fire you into the sky, then grab another shell“

Bim: Bim is one of Spensa’s fellow cadets. He is very vibrant and is certainly overreager to get his hands on the weapons systems of the jets. He also can never make up his mind on a bloody callsign.

Magna, Callsign ‘Morningtide’: Morningtide is a very quiet, aloof character. She really has the least of an impression among the crewmates, but serves as a commentary on English speakers assumption that everyone will know our language, which was thought-provoking.

Nedd, Callsign ‘Nedder’: Nedd is one of the richer members of the cadets and bestfriends with Arturo and Jorgen. He is extremely easygoing and a mediator of the group. Although he acts dumb, Spensa makes the observation that he is actually extremely perceptive and just plays himself down.

Hudiya, Callsign ‘Hurl’: Hurl is an extremely, headstrong and competitive cadet. She sees life, and her prospective military career, as a game. To me, Hurl felt quite realistic because she did not necessarily handle conflict in a likeable way. She could become quiet, or brash in ways that did not benefit Spensa.

Arturo, Callsign ‘Amphisbaena’ or ‘Amphi’: Arturo is a rich, initially arrogant cadet member. He is inquisitive and often becomes an intellectual resounding board for Spensa, questioning the tactics and methods of the flight. I particularily liked his subplot, dealing with the fear of death and cowardice against his desire to help his team.

Freyja, Callsign ‘FM’: FM is a very outgoing cadet who, like Spensa, is unafraid to speak her mind. She is almost the stereotypical activist, constantly critising and putting herself above their society.

Jorgen, Callsign ‘Jerkface’: Jorgen is exactly his callsign, a jerkface, but by the end of the book he’s a loveable jerkface. He is prudish, stuckup and so eager to win respect that he can come across quite mean. He constantly conflicts with Spensa in often hilarious ways, but grows to become an active and equal member of the team.

Rodge, Callsign ‘Rig’: Rig is the bestfriend of Spensa and he’s kind of a genius. He takes the pilot test and gets a higher score than anyone else. Looks at M-Bot and can figure out how he works. And he builds his confidence from veing very self-conscious over the course of the book. Honestly, I wish he had more of a role. For someone who is supposed to be the Main Character’s bestfriend, he was very blink-and-you’ll-miss-him. IDK. That’s just my thoughts.

And then there’s Spensa, Callsign ‘Spin’: Spensa is not a likeable main character – she isn’t supposed to be. She makes long, crazy monologues and lives in a fictional reality where everything is going to go her way. She lashes at at the people and systems built against her. But despite this and the barriers she has against her, as a reader I wanted her to achieve. And in a way, I liked this unlikeable character so much because I knew her. I saw her everyday in the people around me, in the mirror. She wasn’t likeable, because she was real.

And that’s the skill of Sanderson, his characters feel real.

There’s also M-BOT, the talking ship who is the sarcastic, mocking funny relief of the book, constantly interrupting Spensa’s thoughts with her own commentary.

One thing I appreciated about this novel was that Sanderson did not pull his punches. Characters died. Characters went through s***. And that increased my desire to read more. I could not draw myself from the pages because I knew that there was no guarantee of a happily-ever-after, no guarantee of my favorite characters being OK.

The world was a little confusing, but brimming with details and atmosphere. Spensa’s dreams didn’t stop or change the society: it kept moving without her. I lived in Spensa’s story.

And I can’t wait to see where she goes next.

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REVIEW: The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune

CAWPILE: 10

Rating: 5 Stars.

To quote the protagonist from this novel:

Oh. Dear.

Any book I have previously rated as a 5 star read needs to automatically be demoted to 2 stars because this one blew every one of them out of the water!

I cannot describe how much I loved this book!

This is the first (and probably only) book to every get a 10/10 on my CAWPILE system because I just loved it SO much.

The House in the Cerulean Sea has been described as “feeling like a warm hug” and it really does. As a character driven reader, this book corrupted every bit of my being with its amazing characters, storylines and general wholesomeness. I laughed at the satirical “extremely upper management” that is the overlord of this book, relished at the whimsical narrative style that reminded me of the stories I read as a kid but most of all, I fell in the love with the people it contained.

The narrator, Linus Baker is the orphanage inspector that  felt like a wholesome, average, do-good character, but with what I would imagine the narrative voice of Sheldon Cooper to be. He generally tries to do his best but has a bit of a stick-up-his-ass and is unaware of his own unwanted prejudice. Despite this, I fell in love with his “oh, dears” and genuine love for these children he just met.

The only comparison I can make to the orphanage master, Arthur, is the man with the yellow hat from Curious George, and only really in his fashion choices.

He is quirky, loveable, soft-spoken and extremely intelligent. But I wont speak too much about Arthur because it is the children that steal the show.

Talia is the gnome who is fiercely protective of her found family, threatening many times over the course of the story to hit people over the head with her shovel to protect her own.

Wyvern is a literal bird with human intelligence who loves to collect buttons and hide them in his hoard under the couch.

Phee is the mischievous forest sprite who cultivates the forest and works under the tutelage of Zoe, the motherlike caretaker of the island to cultivate her powers.

Sal is the giant but sensitive teenage boy who turns into a tiny Pomeranian whenever he is shy or scared (which is a lot), who also loves to write and produces some wicked poems.

Chauncey is the creature who can only be described as an eight-year-old green blob from Hotel Transylvania [Insert picture] who is incredibly wholesome and desperately wants to become a bell-hop.

And then there is Lucy, the hilarious six-year-old antichrist who loves to meaninglessly threaten people in order to scare them to death and listen to music from the day that music died.

This book is hilarious, wholesome (yes I know I’ve used that word a lot but its true!) and an absolute delight, but it also ventures deep into our unintentional prejudices in a way that is eerily metaphorical of the world today.

Quotes like:

“Just because you don’t experience prejudice in your everyday doesn’t stop it from existing for the rest of us.”

And

“Hate is loud, but I think you'll learn it's because it's only a few people shouting, desperate to be heard. You might not ever be able to change their minds, but so long as your remember you're not alone, you will overcome.”

Bring a refreshing undercurrent to a book that is overwise a character study in cuteness. But most of all, this book is about family and the bonds that tie us. None of these characters are related and they all have very tragic backstories but together, they have created a happy sanctuary that I can only begin to imagine.

“A home isn’t always the house we live in. It’s also the people we choose to surround ourselves with. You may not live on the island, but you can’t tell me it’s not your home. Your bubble, Mr. Baker. It’s been popped. Why would you allow it to grow around you again?”

Read this book, I dare you.