I have not heard of the author prior to requesting this book, so did not realize he had a large online following for his youtube channel. The book premise sounded interesting. I love superhero stories and I love when stories make a point of adding diversity to the cast.

Pros:
The plot moved along quickly, and all the characters were likeable. It was a coming-of-age story for superheroes. I liked that in the end, (view spoiler)

Cons:
This book needed a round of editing with an eye solely for continuity. There were several points during the narrative where it was apparent the author forgot that his characters were disabled in some fashion. Many many times, Philip would turn his head to look at somebody or watch something (even before Henry let him borrow his sight). One of the pivotal scenes required a one-armed character to have two hands. Little things that threw me completely out of the story.

This book failed the Bechdel test and it really shouldn't have. There were girls in the Ables' class who could have played a role in the plot. The teacher could have played a larger role. One of the Ables could have been a girl instead of a boy. Etc. For all that this book was about representation, it sucked a lot at female representation. (Also, ethnic diversity. Henry was the only non-white character, and the fact that Philip made a big deal about that implied that all the other characters defaulted to white.)

Also, the plotting could have used a little work. I understand this was a middle-grade or young adult book, but all the plot twists were readily apparent for a reader who was paying attention. I figured out fairly early on who Finch was, who Elben was, and even who the traitor was in the Ables.

There was a lot of potential here. It just never came together for me.

Review copy courtesy of the publisher via Netgalley ( )

What a great listen. The author reads his own work which is great because who else would know the character better? There's a good mix of humor and heartrending parts evenly distributed throughout the story, but above all everyone from Phillip, the protagonist, to his best friends, to the villain of the piece is an interesting character who help keep the plot moving and fun. The best part is how a group of young people who are at a disadvantage in some way (Phillip is blind, his friend Henry is in a wheelchair, etc.) not only overcome those things but figure out to work together and use their abilities in ways that complement each other.

I hope Mr. Scott is planning another book soon. I'd like to read more of his work!

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Review for the audiobook:

The story is pretty good, but the author's reading made it very difficult to follow. He didn't pace himself well or allow for pauses for emphasis and understanding. I stopped listening after a couple hours. I think this book deserves to be read instead of listened to. It will likely result in higher ratings once I get the chance. ( )

This review and others posted over at my blog.

This was a reread for me and I enjoyed the story more the second time around!

I initially read The Ables back in 2015 (wow, that long ago!?) when Jeremy Scott (of Cinema Sins fame) first published his book. I rated the book 3 out of 5 stars – I enjoyed the characters and the mix of powers and disabilities, but added some sins *ding!* for a monologuing villain and the lack of training for the kids.

The second time around was no different than the first when it comes to my love of the characters. Phillip and his main friend group – Henry, Bentley, Freddie, James and Donnie – are likable, funny, and flawed. Phillip especially, as the narrator, displays a lot of wisdom and positivity for a fourteen(ish) year-old boy and also manages to be a colossal idiot. He’s slow to learn some lessons, but learn them he does! (On the heels of a book about another teen boy, I much prefer the character development in this story.) I enjoyed the development of the friendship of the boys and how they learn to make use of their own and each other’s disabilities and powers to form a team.

The addition of disabilities to characters with superpowers is both engaging and realistic. In a world where people have the powers of flight, telepathy, telekinesis, weather control and everything in between, it would be impossible to think some wouldn’t also have common disabilities such as blindness, deafness, cerebral palsy and Down Syndrome. Some characters find their powers aren’t so much affected by their disability – such as Henry, who is in a wheelchair but has telepathy – and yet, due to their disability they are still placed in a special class in the school and banned from the training completion. It’s a very interesting premise.

I think the pacing flowed well too – there was a good mix of action and downtime and Phillip’s narration was easy to read.

But, as the Cinema Sins tagline says: no movie is without sin. No book is without sin either:

There aren’t a lot of female characters in this book. Now, I get that fourteen-year-old boys probably aren’t hanging out with a lot of girls, and I also don’t think every book needs to have an equal mix of genders. But the two (or three? See, so forgettable) girls in the special ed class are glossed over and not involved in the training competition. The only other present female is Phillip’s mom. I won’t go into any spoilers, but I’ve got some issues there too!

Now, for this training competition I keep mentioning. There are competitions held throughout the school year where the adults in town stage crimes and the students form teams and use their powers in “real” situations in order to practice fighting crime. This is definitely some good hands-on practice – but I was curious if there was any specialized training in the classroom to help the students develop their powers. For instance, Phillip is telekinetic, but if no one teaches him how to use his powers or helps him practice, how is he supposed to do well in the competition? I definitely don’t want chapters upon chapters of classroom training and montages and that sort of thing, but I think it would have been good to know if the school provided any sort of education about the students’ various powers.

There’s not much to say about the monologuing villain – that’s a trope we’re all familiar with. It’s not even one I mind, but it’s definitely a common sin on Cinema Sins so I feel obligated to point it out. I did also wonder about the motivations of his key henchman, but it wasn’t anything that really annoyed me.

In all, this was a fantastic book and I’m looking forward to reading the sequel. I’ve upped my rating to a 4. I am hoping to see some more characters in the second book, maybe a lady or two, or even just other students outside the friend group.

I recommend this if:

+ You’re looking for some disability rep in your superhero novel
+ You like YA contemporary fantasy centered around a male protagonist with NO ROMANCE
+ You want to support the creator of Cinema Sins in his writing endeavors ( )