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A review by mary_soon_lee
Cagebird by Karin Lowachee
4.0
This is the third book in the Warchild science-fiction series. Major spoilers and content warnings ahead.
And yet, unhappy as I was about Yuri's ethics, he mattered to me. He felt like a character the author had deeply inhabited and cared about, and I couldn't hold myself apart in distant, disapproving judgment. I wanted him to overcome his experiences, to find redemption and friendship, even if only with a pet bird. There is one friendship in particular that I kept hoping would hold true. And the fact that this mattered to me indicates that the book succeeded.
Towards the end, the action in the book overlaps with events also shown in book two. To me, several of those scenes felt rushed, almost perfunctory. Maybe the author didn't want to repeat material covered in another book? I also note that the book ends with much unresolved. (I believe that a fourth book is due out in 2021.)
I'm giving this book 4 stars because it made me care about Yuri against the odds. However, be warned that it ventures into very dark, very murky waters.
About my reviews: I try to review every book I read, including those that I don't end up enjoying. The reviews are not scholarly, but just indicate my reaction as a reader, reading being my addiction. I am miserly with 5-star reviews; 4 stars means I liked a book very much; 3 stars means I liked it; 2 stars means I didn't like it (though often the 2-star books are very popular with other readers and/or are by authors whose other work I've loved).
Spoiler
First, the content warnings: this book contains child rape, the grooming of a child to perform sex, and many instances of violence, including self-harm and a scene where one child kills another child. This is a tough book for me to review, as I felt conflicted much of the time that I was reading it. The earlier two books in the series were dark, the first one especially so, but I found their protagonists easy to like. Yuri, the protagonist of this book, has a traumatic childhood and is pressured into committing acts of violence himself while still a child. I found his behavior believable and understandable, but I didn't find it likable.And yet, unhappy as I was about Yuri's ethics, he mattered to me. He felt like a character the author had deeply inhabited and cared about, and I couldn't hold myself apart in distant, disapproving judgment. I wanted him to overcome his experiences, to find redemption and friendship, even if only with a pet bird. There is one friendship in particular that I kept hoping would hold true. And the fact that this mattered to me indicates that the book succeeded.
Towards the end, the action in the book overlaps with events also shown in book two. To me, several of those scenes felt rushed, almost perfunctory. Maybe the author didn't want to repeat material covered in another book? I also note that the book ends with much unresolved. (I believe that a fourth book is due out in 2021.)
I'm giving this book 4 stars because it made me care about Yuri against the odds. However, be warned that it ventures into very dark, very murky waters.
About my reviews: I try to review every book I read, including those that I don't end up enjoying. The reviews are not scholarly, but just indicate my reaction as a reader, reading being my addiction. I am miserly with 5-star reviews; 4 stars means I liked a book very much; 3 stars means I liked it; 2 stars means I didn't like it (though often the 2-star books are very popular with other readers and/or are by authors whose other work I've loved).