Amy Tintera

A high-stakes sci-fi adventure about a teen girl who will do anything to escape her troubled home--even if that means joining a dangerous monster-fighting squad.

All These Monsters

izzy

decimal rating: 3.75 stars 

i finally read all these monsters by amy tintera after nearly one year of it sitting on my tbr pile, and i'm happy to say that it did not disappoint!! i'm always meaning to read more science fiction since it's one of my favourite genres and this year i've actually been reading more sci-fi than last year. most of the sci-fi i read is set in space, so it was nice to read one set solely on earth for a change. all these monsters is set in an alternate version of earth that's filled with scrabs, which are basically dangerous monsters that dwell in the earth. the main plot follows clara, who in order to escape her abusive father, decides to join an international scrab fighting squad. 

all these monsters was a little predictable and i didn't like it as much as amy tintera's other sci-fi series, the reboot duology, but it was still a fantastic read. there were so many characters in the book, probably around like twelve characters in clara's scrab fighting squad and a few other important characters, so it was a little bit difficult to keep track of everyone. i also liked how the large cast of all these monsters was pretty diverse as well. i didn't care for some characters at all, but my favourites of the side characters were edan, madison, and patrick. noah was also a fun character. i liked how clara and madison's friendship grew by the end of the book, and madison was given way more depth than just being the jealous ex-girlfriend. i love love love how amy tintera writes friendships and makes them just as important as romantic relationships.

another thing that i really appreciated in all these monsters was that the teenagers actually feel like teenagers, both thru their dialogue and actions, not like twenty-somethings. and the characters, while capable of fighting, don't immediately get really badass after like one day of training and it actually takes time for them to grow and they make actually make mistakes and they aren't perfect. but the fight/action scenes themselves are interesting and well-written. really, the only things i didn't like as much was that the romance was a bit too fast paced and there were some death scenes that were not impactful at all because the character wasn't really introduced or developed all that well before the death occurred.

While trying to expose a private security firm hired by the government to weaponize scrabs, Clara and Team Seven face their biggest threat yet--their own demons.

All These Warriors

decimal rating: 4.00 stars

immediately after i finished all these monsters, i knew i had to pick up the sequel. i was so excited to read all these warriors, and my expectations were definitely surpassed, since i ended up liking it more than the first book. all these warriors by amy tintera is a young adult science fiction novel which follows clara and her friends on scrab fighting team seven, picking up where the first book wrapped up with the reveal of mdg's association with the scrabs and julian's betrayal. clara attempts to heal from her relationship with julian, even as she continues to run into him while investigating mdg alongside edan, maddie, and the others. 

all these warriors is better than the previous book. the side characters are more fleshed out, more full of personality, and the deaths were significantly more impactful. as with the previous book. especially with the character of dorsey. all these warriors also features a large and diverse cast. my favourite side characters were maddie, edan, and laurence. in addition, i like how this book put a lot of emphasis on clara and maddie's growing friendship, and it was given as much time to shine as the romantic subplot. as always, i love how amy tintera writes friendships. speaking of romantic subplots, clara and edan were so adorable!! i really appreciated the slow development of their relationship from friends to lovers and how genuine their connection was. they didn't rush into a relationship, especially while clara was still healing from her toxic relationship with julian in the previous book. this gave her room to grow as an individual first and be able to heal on her own, instead of treating her problems as something to fix by a love interest. 

again, like in the previous book, i really appreciated in all these warriors was that the teenagers actually feel like teenagers, both thru their dialogue and actions, not like twenty-somethings. and the characters, while capable of fighting, don't immediately get really badass after like one day of training and it actually takes time for them to grow and they make actually make mistakes and they aren't perfect. but the fight/action scenes themselves are interesting and well-written. also, the worldbuilding is really expanded upon in all these warriors, and i like how team seven visits multiple locations and much more is revealed about the world. in addition, this duology does not have the typical syndrome of young adult books having a tragic backstory for every character in which their parents are all dead/missing/horrible. we are introduced to much more characters outside of the immediate team, including maddie's mother, who really cares about her daughter and her friends and is a developed interesting character with an active role in the book. 

i really loved all these warriors, and the duology is a very compelling science fiction read. i highly recommend this book to sci-fi lovers, particularly those who are fans of reboot by amy tintera.

review by @bookishlyizzy. find me on instagram! thank you to netgalley & hmh teen for providing me with an eARC for an honest review!!

All These Monsters

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