Review: Rebel (Reboot #2) by Amy Tintera
Series: Reboot #2
Genre: Science Fiction, Young Adult
Publisher: Harper Teen
Expected Publication: May 13, 2014
After coming back from death as Reboots and being trained by HARC as soldiers, Wren and Callum have finally escaped north, where they hope to find a life of freedom. But when they arrive at the Reboot Reservation, it isn't what they expected. Under the rule of a bloodthirsty leader, Micah, the Reboots are about to wage an all-out war on the humans. Although Wren's instincts are telling her to set off into the wilderness on their own and leave the battle far behind, Callum is unwilling to let his human family be murdered. When Micah commits the ultimate betrayal, the choice is made for them. But Micah has also made a fatal mistake . . . he's underestimated Wren and Callum.
One of the things I really liked about Rebel was the fact Wren and Callum remained the same personality wise. Callum is still a highly emotional mess while Wren remains the level headed one. Although unlike in Reboot where Wren was really devoid of emotions and it took great pains to bring them to the surface, in Rebel it is clear that the events of the past few days have had an effect on her whether she wishes to acknowledge that or not. A highlight for me was Seeing Wren change from this cold, calculating, robot (essentially) to someone who can feel for others regardless of status. Don't get me wrong though, no matter what, Wren still remains as badass as ever. Another thing I really enjoyed about Rebel were the side characters. I loved Reily. He was one of the characters in the first book that I wish we had gotten to know more of so it was great getting to see some focus in Rebel. I also really enjoyed Addie she was so different than Ever and yet still provided the female companionship for Wren that she needed to help guide her. Lastly, I really like that the series was a duology. Initially I thought the story would have a hard time wrapping up itself in just two books but after reading Rebel I can say with 100% confidence that a third book wouldn't have worked for this series. Now that's not to say that I wouldn't like a companion series at some point in the future. The ending of the book leaves open many questions for the future of reboots and humans alike that I'd like to see explored a generation or two down the line. The Author even provided the perfect title, ReHuman should it ever come to pass. Now even though I really enjoyed Rebel it didn't quite live up to my expectations and here's why: First off, I didn't really like Wren and Callum as a couple any longer. The differences between them were so glaringly obvious it almost hurt to watch. Not only is Callum idealistic but I felt he was trying to change Wren when maybe she didn't want to be. She even says to him at one point, "Maybe you should take a look at who I am, instead of who you wish I were." It's hard watching characters you've come to love fall apart like this but I think it would've been better had they acknowledged this than kept them together for series sake. Plus I'm still sort of bitter that Wren and Reily didn't get together. Secondly, much like Wren and Callum's relationship troubles I didn't like Wren changing at the end of the story. I don't want to give it away since the scenes are meant to show why freeing the Reboots is so important but the outcome I felt was a backhanded way to make Wren more compatible to Callum as opposed to showing the atrocities being visited on those no longer fit for service. Lastly, I hated the entire Micah storyline. It could have been excellent had Micah actually been allowed to start laying waste to those who opposed him but before that could happen here comes a pissed off Wren and then what felt like two seconds later bye-bye Micah. I expected big, bloody, battles with the Austin group outnumbered only to be saved by the newly released Reboots from other areas but what I got was a laser tag game between 7 year olds at the community center. Big buildup, wee execution. Such a disappointment and a waste of time since the Author never intended for his plans to succeed in the first place. Final Thoughts While Rebel was certainly a good book and a fitting end to the series, I can't help but wonder what could of been if certain plot points had been trimmed or omitted entirely in the end. A few pages here and there could have eliminated the few pacing problems that I had in the middle of the story and made the book flow more cohesively than it did. Yet, despite the faults of the sequel, I'd still highly recommend reading this series. Wren is hands down one of my favorite heroines ever written. In a landscape full of boy obsessed mc's it was great getting to follow someone so in charge of her emotions. Someone who could handle herself and didn't need a male to justify her existence. She's this generations Xena and I liked that about her. I truly hope she can be brought to life one day on the big screen so that more than just us book lovers get a chance to know her. With that being said, I'll be rating Rebel by Amy Tintera ★★★★. *Copy provided by edelweiss. All opinions are my own and I was not compensated in an which way for providing them. |
About the Author
Hi! I’m Amy Tintera, and I write novels for young adults. I grew up in Austin, Texas and graduated from Texas A&M University with a degree in journalism. After receiving a masters in film at Emerson College I moved to Los Angeles, where I promptly discovered I didn’t enjoy working in the film industry, and went back to my first love, writing.
My debut, REBOOT, is out now from HarperCollins/HarperTeen, with the sequel to follow in 2014. Film rights have been optioned by Fox 2000. I am represented by Emmanuelle Morgen at Stonesong.
Want to read my review of Reboot? Click Here!
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