Turns out I prefer my protagonists to be young adults who have at least some training/education in their parents' world — the most comparable setup that comes to mind currently is Daughter of the Pirate King.

That said, while I love stories of magic and adventure and life-or-death battles and dubious new friends, I enjoyed but didn't altogether love this book. I had a bit of trouble keeping up with the worldbuilding alongside the fast-paced plot, and the developments were pretty predictable if decently executed.

In which I continue to be reminded that reading Shakespeare on my own is very different from reading it in class and I honestly can't decide if it's more or less rewarding.

But this was an interesting experience — a lot of it is written in prose rather than verse; the variation in lengths of each act caught my attention (I'm sure it's not unique to Lear but I'd never really noticed before); the characters and their motives are engaging.

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CONVERSION: 11.67 / 15 = 4 stars

Prose: 9 / 10
Characters & Relationships: 8 / 10
Emotional Impact: 7 / 10
Development / Flow: 9 / 10
Setting: 7 / 10

Diversity & Social Themes: N/A
Intellectual Engagement: 4 / 5
Originality / Trope Execution: N/A
Rereadability: 3 / 5
Memorability: 4 / 5

This was fine — I'm not a superfan of the Hitchhiker's franchise by any means, though I thought the first few books were fun, so I just wasn't all that invested to start with? (Not sure why I picked this up in the first place, tbh.)

Still, it's always interesting to read about a writer's personal history and writing process, about the growth of a fandom/community, about how a cultural phenomenon develops and changes; in that sense, this is a wonderfully edifying book. My appreciation for Adams and his work has certainly increased.

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CONVERSION: 8.5 / 15 = 3 stars

Prose: 7 / 10
Intellectual Engagement: 2 / 10
Credibility: 8 / 10
Organization / Structure: 5 / 10

Emotional Impact / Interest: 2 / 5
Rereadability: N/A
Memorability: 4 / 5

It felt like this book is at least 90% machinations and angst, rather than actual events or character development. While it was interesting enough, I don't think this installment was totally necessary to the series; I'm not much more invested in the characters — except maybe

Spoiler

the Thunderhead itself

— and even the worldbuilding felt less significant than in the first book.

So in other words, it's very much a middle book in a trilogy. Bridging the first and third books, but otherwise not all that remarkable.

content warnings:

Spoiler

major character death(s), splatting ("suicide" without intent to die), self-gleaning (suicide), violence & blood

rep:

Spoiler

ethnically diverse world, Asian major character

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CONVERSION: 8.2 / 15 = 3 stars

Prose: 4 / 10
Characters & Relationships: 4 / 10
Emotional Impact: 5 / 10
Development / Flow: 5 / 10
Setting: 8 / 10

Diversity & Social Themes: N/A
Intellectual Engagement: 3 / 5
Originality / Trope Execution: 4 / 5
Rereadability: N/A
Memorability: 2 / 5

Came for the #ownvoices autism rep, stayed ... literally just for the #ownvoices autism rep.

content warnings:

Spoiler

parent with drug addiction, mentions of child neglect, on-page meltdown/panic attack, euthanasia (shelter cats), self-harm (hitting self), ableism, misgendering & mentions of transphobia

rep:

Spoiler

biracial Black (Dutch/Surinamese) autistic MC, trans major character (MC's sister), Jewish major characters (one family), diverse minor characters including East Asian & Moroccan Muslim & dwarfism

-----------
CONVERSION: 6.07 / 15 = 2 stars

Prose: 3 / 10
Characters & Relationships: 2 / 10
Emotional Impact: 2 / 10
Development / Flow: 4 / 10
Setting: 6 / 10

Diversity & Social Themes: 4 / 5
Intellectual Engagement: N/A
Originality / Trope Execution: 2 / 5
Rereadability: N/A
Memorability: 2 / 5