Honestly valid lol - I ended up liking this book cause I liked the banter between the characters and how things had a slight edge, but I definitely saw how many things were very similar to other YA books 😭 But it was a fun read for the most part so hence I liked it !
I never read those related books so I think I might took it a little better because of that. I absolutely loved it, especially those two perspectives. I really liked Kai’s wit and kind of communication. I found it somehow strange that Paedyn just joined the resistance that quickly- I kind of wanted her not to betray the princes because I loved their conversations and moments together. The last two chapters got me crying. I pitied Pae so much and Kitt’s perspective at the end surprised me a little. Personally I like the ending and the book, though I agree it’s a little dragged out in the middle part.
The issue I had with Powerless was not only did it blatantly copy RQ and THG (and yes, I said copy. You can’t just say your book was “inspired by” something and think that prevents all criticism of copying. Doesn’t work that way) but its lack of attention to the overall theme of gen0cide. If you take out the romance, this book is essentially a mixture of the Armenian gen0cide and The Hølocaust. And LR did nothing to break down the major themes of those events, the catastrophes, the devastations behind them. Through fantasy, young adult readers can learn about actual history in a controlled, entertaining manner. Think The Gilded Wolves (colonialism), An Ember in the Ashes (imperialism), and The Poppy War (horrors of war). In Powerless, we focus on a relationship between what is essentially a Jewish girl and a n•a•z•i war crimin@l. But it does nothing with it! It’s just surface-level, back-and-forth, “they’re so hot, omg” banter that removes any real emotional weight to an incredibly difficult situation. If we continue to make these types of hollow books popular, then critical thought over theme, history, and politics goes out the window. And if you’re like “it’s not that serious. It’s just a fun read” then don’t put gen0cide in a book. Simple as that.
I’ve been on the fence deciding if I want to read this book so I’m glad that you made a video!! Hopefully it gives me a little clarity hearing your opinion!😂
I will never understand the hype for this book. The writing alone is extremely unpolished and clearly was never revised by an editor. There were grammatical mistakes, run on sentences, WAY to much use of alliteration, and overall just super poor. That in of itself was enough to not allow me to enjoy the book (put me in such a reading slump). But the romance was a cross between trying to be insta love, slow burn, enemies, and triangle, without any of them being executed well. The banter was the same every other page (threaten with dagger, boring dance scene, ball where the protagonist is not like other girls, and thr trials). Don't even get me started on those and the world bearing, good lord. If this book is from Red Queen and Hunger Games, it's as if Luaren took the concepts of both WITHOUT understanding their underlying messages. The Hunger Games contained trials for the capitol to show the inhumanity of the districts that lost the war, to show their insuperiority. In Powerless, the Trials serve no purpose, are never explained, and have Elites killing one another for no reason, undermining the point of showing that they are powerful. I love romantasy as much as the next person, but I shouldn't be struggling to get through sentences that are on the 5th grade reading level when the book is advertised for older YA.
I’m scared to watch this because of how much I absolutely HATED that book
REAL! It’s crazy how much support this book gets bc it just ripped off other popular books, also this matters less but the writing is awful lmao
Honestly valid lol - I ended up liking this book cause I liked the banter between the characters and how things had a slight edge, but I definitely saw how many things were very similar to other YA books 😭 But it was a fun read for the most part so hence I liked it !
I never read those related books so I think I might took it a little better because of that. I absolutely loved it, especially those two perspectives. I really liked Kai’s wit and kind of communication.
I found it somehow strange that Paedyn just joined the resistance that quickly- I kind of wanted her not to betray the princes because I loved their conversations and moments together.
The last two chapters got me crying. I pitied Pae so much and Kitt’s perspective at the end surprised me a little. Personally I like the ending and the book, though I agree it’s a little dragged out in the middle part.
The issue I had with Powerless was not only did it blatantly copy RQ and THG (and yes, I said copy. You can’t just say your book was “inspired by” something and think that prevents all criticism of copying. Doesn’t work that way) but its lack of attention to the overall theme of gen0cide.
If you take out the romance, this book is essentially a mixture of the Armenian gen0cide and The Hølocaust. And LR did nothing to break down the major themes of those events, the catastrophes, the devastations behind them.
Through fantasy, young adult readers can learn about actual history in a controlled, entertaining manner. Think The Gilded Wolves (colonialism), An Ember in the Ashes (imperialism), and The Poppy War (horrors of war).
In Powerless, we focus on a relationship between what is essentially a Jewish girl and a n•a•z•i war crimin@l. But it does nothing with it! It’s just surface-level, back-and-forth, “they’re so hot, omg” banter that removes any real emotional weight to an incredibly difficult situation.
If we continue to make these types of hollow books popular, then critical thought over theme, history, and politics goes out the window.
And if you’re like “it’s not that serious. It’s just a fun read” then don’t put gen0cide in a book. Simple as that.
I’ve been on the fence deciding if I want to read this book so I’m glad that you made a video!! Hopefully it gives me a little clarity hearing your opinion!😂
LETS GO LAUREN 🙌
THANK YOU
I want to see Kitt becoming unhinged and a bit tyrannic in Reckless lolololol
I will never understand the hype for this book. The writing alone is extremely unpolished and clearly was never revised by an editor. There were grammatical mistakes, run on sentences, WAY to much use of alliteration, and overall just super poor. That in of itself was enough to not allow me to enjoy the book (put me in such a reading slump). But the romance was a cross between trying to be insta love, slow burn, enemies, and triangle, without any of them being executed well. The banter was the same every other page (threaten with dagger, boring dance scene, ball where the protagonist is not like other girls, and thr trials). Don't even get me started on those and the world bearing, good lord.
If this book is from Red Queen and Hunger Games, it's as if Luaren took the concepts of both WITHOUT understanding their underlying messages. The Hunger Games contained trials for the capitol to show the inhumanity of the districts that lost the war, to show their insuperiority. In Powerless, the Trials serve no purpose, are never explained, and have Elites killing one another for no reason, undermining the point of showing that they are powerful.
I love romantasy as much as the next person, but I shouldn't be struggling to get through sentences that are on the 5th grade reading level when the book is advertised for older YA.