Batty About Books - Insignia by SJ Kincaid

Batty About Books reads

Insignia 

by SJ Kincaid

(Katherine Tegen Books, 2012. 464p. $17.99. 9780062092991)

We finished it! Maria and I just wrapped our final post on Insignia. While Maria (@mselke01) enjoyed the book. I thought it was just ok. We would love to hear what you thought, too! Over at Maria's Melange, checkout what she thought of the book as a whole. Here, Maria's thoughts are in purple, while mine are in blue!

In case you missed the previous discussions here are some links.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
And now, Part 4!
The Final Countdown
The Story
The government is recruiting teens to make into cyber soldiers. Great premise.  They are getting computers put into their heads and they can plug into the network through a wire into their brains.  We’ve got a classic hero’s tale going with Tom coming from a background he needs to overcome: No home, gambling/drunkard dad, mom’s gone.  He’s good at video games but not so hot at school. I can see students getting behind this story. They’ve read it before but not in terms of the future
  I like how you bring up the hero’s journey idea here. Often, in a first book, the main character still goes through the entire journey (like Book of Three or Wrinkle in Time). I think Insignia didn’t bring the journey to completion, though. That’s not completely uncommon, the Lord of the Rings series takes all 3 books to complete the journey as well.
The Main Man Tom’s no Harry Potter but he tries to stand up for himself and his friends by taking on the authority. He tries to resists the bad guy and his gifts come in handy in the end.  I think students will like the way he takes matters into his own hands while I didn’t like or dislike him. Tom is definitely not my favorite character in this book. I agree that he doesn’t have the resonance that Harry had. I really adored Harry - I empathized with him completely. I liked Tom, but it wasn’t quite the same.
The Friends Wyatt - super intelligent but socially awkward. She was my favorite character and I especially loved when she tried gloating.  She’s our Hermione and our Ron. I do wonder if she secretly has a crush on Tom, though. Wyatt is my absolute favorite - though I did start to get more interested in Medusa by the end. I like how you put it - she does encapsulate both of those character types. I have to agree, I do think she has a thing for Tom. I hope that doesn’t become a big “thing” and bring all the angst to the table. Not something I want to see happen either! I like the way the relationship has built between Tom and Medusa and will be interested in seeing if they can overcome.
Vik - the spicy Indian. He’s loyal to Tom but he also loves the military and everything it stands for. Will he be able to keep the secret??? It will be interesting to see which side he falls on in Vortex. He’s Neville but funny. I liked how Vikram and Tom played out. I hadn’t thought about him as the potential leak. Curious. I do agree that he may be the weak link here. I’m not sure if it will be due to divided loyalties or just his lack of ability to keep a secret. If he ends up even ⅓ as awesome as Neville by the end it’ll be awesome.
Yuri - why was he here?
 Hmm... I hadn’t considered that. I saw Yuri as a window into the paranoia of the leadership. He’s a little bit of a Chewbacca in the group. Supportive, strong, but not really critical to the plot? (As a side note, I do love Chewie). I think students will be able to relate to both Wyatt and Vik but not sure what they’ll think of Yuri. Will there be new plebes for him to befriend?


The Grownups Blackburn - one of the most disappointing turns in the book for me. His 180 hurt me the most. I could get behind Eliot’s change since he’s young - they may change on a dime - but a grownup who’s fought long and hard to overcome some problems and specifically came in to help students then turning on said students?  I guess I should have seen it coming when he first humiliated Tom. I can see students despising his character and being gleeful for his comeuppance.  No one likes a bully. Especially one who’s in power over you. This bothered me a lot as well. In section 3 I mentioned how much I liked Blackburn, and then he totally crashed and burned. I was able to accept it as part of the brain destruction that occurred with his neural implant, I guess. It made the danger of tampering with the human brain more real to me - as did what happened to his family. I still would have preferred to get this lesson a different way.
Ossare - Absent most of the book, she has a huge role in the end. Even if it’s only find someone else to help Tom. Would have liked to see more of her. And in a positive light. What will happen between her and Blackburn now? They are really on opposite sides of this thing and he crossed a line.  Her part is pretty throwaway so I’d be interested to hear if students talk about her when talking about the book. I wonder if she’s back in the story more because she’ll be a bigger part in the next one? I agree with you - either more of her or take her out completely.


Neil (Tom’s dad) - Another absent character that has a big role. Kincaid told us he’s not that bad of a guy. And his scene with Tom at the end supports that. Though he asked to see Tom NOT an avatar and then Tom told him he was an avatar. Weird. What will he do when he finds out what’s happening? Will he want the neuro processor out of Tom’s head? Will it be too late? We all want our parents to be proud of us so I think students will like him in the end. I definitely want to hear more about Neil. I think he’ll have a bigger role to play - but maybe that's just me reading into his behaviors and comparing him to Blackburn.
Overall I’ve been wondering why I couldn’t enjoy this book more. I think it’s because I’m a detailed reader.  I’ve noticed in our conversations you are a forest girl - you focus on the big picture, the how it all comes together, while I’m a trees girl - I look at each chapter, each character, each sequence as an individual thing. Then I break that down.  It’s a tough way to read but I also think it’s what makes me a good librarian.  I’m on the lookout for books for book clubs, for literature circles, for teaching, and for fun. And ALL those things run through my mind as I read any YA/MG book. After reading through all of what you wrote, this is where I started responding. I think you are absolutely right. I am definitely more of a global thinker - a big picture processor. It’s one reason I love my current job. I help students move toward more global themes or overarching connections in everything we do - and they get it. Yes, I also insist the back up those ideas with specifics,but I do tend toward getting the global insight first. When I read a book and think about using it for a class, I ask myself those kinds of questions. If the individual pieces are exceedingly lovely (Seraphina, I’m looking at you), I absolutely notice it. If they aren’t, I tend to gloss over that as I look for bigger meanings. If they are horrifically bad (Beyonders, anyone?), I do notice. Overall, though, I’m looking for the bigger picture. So awesome we get to do things that play to our strengths!
What bothered me most about this book was it seemed to support the very things it was against. I was also bothered by the way it seemed to use negative examples to support it’s points. Also, the characters would 180 without any hints of where those “changes” came from. Tom says “Nothing in their conversations...could’ve readied her for the truth about him...” He’s talking about his battle with Medusa and his last actions but I think this sums up my feelings about the book. I felt blindsided by too many things. And they left me with questions of how these things could come about - which I should have been able to see in the story - instead much of it was just told to me.   I can see, however, the story moving in the direction of working against the “appearances” focus. I also see Blackburn’s humiliations of the students in a new light. Taking the book as a whole (and assuming that some of those themes continue into Vortex), I think I’m more happy with how those themes played out. I agree, though, I’m more satisfied with character changes when I can see them coming. I didn’t feel the information was there for us to get an “aha” moment - more of a “what??” moment. I prefer to have some sense that I’m predicting things correct. Or at least that all the little pieces have fallen into place in a way that makes sense by the end.
Tom says “It wasn’t worth being somebody if it meant hollowing himself out...” He’s talking about losing his soul if had to act like Eliot - shaking hands and smiling at people he didn’t like. But, what he does to Medusa. Wasn’t that like losing his soul?   
Yes! I mentioned this in my section as well. I just ached when he did that. Though I do think the resolution at the ending with her brought me some relief.

Something Else Vortex -  is the title of two books coming out 2013 and they are both sequels to books I didn’t love but I might read the sequel. Weird they are also both blue. Though Kincaid’s cover is better. What is the other one? I like the Kincaid cover a lot. I wonder what the new symbol is. The other book is the sequel to Tempest by Julie Cross.

Batty About Books - Insignia by SJ Kincaid - Pt3

Batty About Books

Insignia by SJ Kincaid

After a short break Maria and I are back tackling Insignia by SJ Kincaid.  Maria's responses are in purple and she has a different take on this part over at Maria's Melange!

We’ve covered 1/2 the book so far.  Check out Part 1 and Part 2 if you want to catch up.  

Maria and I wanted to start talking about book covers. As we are all so visual, it pays for a company to make a book eye-catching but you also want the cover to speak to what’s inside the book.  So, we’ll be adding a segment where we talk about the cover before and after we read!

Cover
I wasn’t attracted to this cover.  The red background with the white lettering, while shouting science fiction, did not pull me in.  I would not have given it a second glance without a twitter buddy’s recommendation.  Once I picked it up and read the back, I wanted to read it.  Word War III? Secret weapons? A blurb by Veronica Roth of Divergent fame??? Closer look needed!  That’s when I noticed the computer chip-like background and the 1s and 0s (which Tom mentions whenever he’s trying to tap directly into a computer location). The cover reminds me of The Matrix but red instead of green. Yes! That’s exactly it. Definitely Matrixy.



On to Part 3 - pg. 223-332
This week we see Tom going through some changes.  We are also introduced to a magic word - and we still don’t know what it means! There’s also some primping, some exercising, and a whole lot of sewage!

First off let me say that my feelings for this book have not improved. It’s just not my cup of tea.  I’ve tried to put my feelings aside and just read the book, but then the writing style gets in the way. It’s uneven.  So, I ask that you read my part with a grain of salt keeping in mind that this is not my book.   I will be quick and try to keep this spoiler free. What’s really funny is that I often get nervous when I like a book and someone else doesn’t. So I have had to try to focus on whether I was enjoying this book or if I was trying to spot the things that are making you not like it. As I generally take on the “mediator” role in any group or conversation, I have to watch that tendency here.

Another interesting thing is that you raved about Ready Player One. I’m listening to it now, and enjoying it, but I don’t think it is one I would rave about. The “info dumping” has gotten a bit old. 
I wonder if NOT having read Ready Player One first would have changed things for me? Though my beef isn't with the story - which I like - it's the execution.
The Good
Tom gets to fight with Medusa. I like that they are becoming friends even though they haven’t met yet. It’s refreshing to read about a building relationship instead of an insta-romance. I agree. I’m finding their relationship very entertaining also. I like that she is happy to keep beating him.

The Bad
I was let down with the ending of the virus battle. I wanted more man!

They cut the old neuroprocessors out of the adults that went crazy and re-used them??? SCARY! I expect to hear more about that! Also, the student’s memories are stored on the processors? (232) So if Beamer’s get removed, will he only remember his life before or after the Spire? This whole idea is crazy scary, but seems so plausible. Can’t you just picture some government doing this?

BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION PROGRAMS!

Tom threw out the word ROANOKE and heck breaks loose! What does it mean? Will we find out in this book? I was so fascinated by this! I have to admit, I’ve read a bit more now and they do talk about it... I’ll be curious to hear what you think when you get to that.

Dalton says - “once the lot of you are public...” What are his and Vengerov’s plans???? Is Dominion planning domination?

The Ugly
First, Why did Tom get in the car without using netsend to let Vic know what was going on? His earlier feelings about Dalton should have prevented this from happening.  Also, he was gone a long time and no one knew? If Dalton used Tom’s GPS to track him, wouldn’t his friends use it to look for him too? (247) Yes, I was surprised that he didn’t say anything to Vikram - but he was so intent on finding a way to keep this life that I can believe he would get into the car for the chance to get sponsored.

Second, no one at the Spire suspected or noticed anything? One whole month went by! I agree on this one, although I think it may be because we were getting Tom’s perspective. I bet his friends did suspect things were weird. There is some evidence that they were getting annoyed and suspicious (though I don’t think I marked any specific passages so I can’t find direct quotes). Wyatt, for one, seems to feel there is something wrong with him.

Lastly, I get the impression the author doesn’t like any of the characters. Teenaged boys? They are immature and easily provoked by saying they can’t do something. Teachers? Evil and will use their position for their own amusement including “getting back at” students with assignments. Adults? Evil or blind. They are just promoting their own interests. No real feelings for anyone else. Also, the ones in charge don’t notice anything. Teenaged girls? If they are smart, they are mannish and uncouth.  If they are pretty (and they can’t be both) they will use their looks to forward their agenda or they are shallow like the ones we see in the mall (294). I honestly did hope we would get more with Heather so that she would have a chance to redeem herself. I’m fascinated by Blackburn - but I’m not actually “liking” him as I move into section 4. I bet you’ll really hate him now!

Overall for Part 3
It just felt implausible. I’m heading into Part 4 still holding out hope for redemption. I commented on a few things I felt were unlikely, but it sounds like I’m a lot happier with this book than you are. Hopefully our next book will be more up your alley!

Batty About Books - Insignia by SJ Kincaid - Pt2

Here we are for Part 2!

Batty About Books

reads

Insignia 

by SJ Kincaid

(Katherine Tegen Books, 2012. 464p. $17.99. 9780062092991)

We're halfway through Insignia with more questions and some answers.  Maria, whose thoughts are in purple, talks more about the science connections, gender roles, and historical aspects over on Maria's Melange.  We also ponder what the author's role is in portraying parts of the teen life. 

Part 2 - pg 117 - 223

I wasn't enthralled with Part 1 of Insignia by SJ Kincaid because I thought the author focused too much on looks and humiliation.  I liked the idea of war being fought by human-controlled machines though, so looked forward to Part 2. I’m actually a little bit MORE disappointed! I know we are only 1/2 way through but I’m having a hard time seeing how this book will redeem itself. I don’t want to have big personality and idea changes - they need to be gradual for me believe in them.  But, enough about that, let’s get to my objections.
Maria: I was hoping we would have gotten more into the action in this chunk of the book. I wonder if I’d feel differently about the pacing if I had just kept reading... guess I’ll find out soon!

Repetition
I feel as if I keep reading the same things over and over and over.  I understand Kincaid doesn't want us to forget important stuff but this is a little bit of overkill for me.  We read repeatedly that they are owned by the military.  We’d heard it from Neil and the social worker in part one and now we have Beamer mentioning it as well as Tom thinking it.  The Achilles - Medusa connection was mentioned 4 times in 60 pages (p. 125, 159, 184, 187) as well as the mentions during battle. And how many times will I hear about the food and water patents? I don’t feel as if I need to remember or pay attention because the author will just tell me again.
Maria: Yes, I felt like this second chunk gave us a lot of repetitions. I also commented on some of the “info dump” aspects of the tactics class. Again, I wonder if it would have bothered me if I’d just been reading right through instead of stopping to take notes?

Looks
The focus on looks troubles me. Heather using her looks to get what she wants. The continued discussion on Wyatt. Wyatt’s role in the King Arthur sim. Wyatt’s parent’s reactions. Tom’s memory of his mom. “She couldn't believe such an ugly creature came from her.” (170) Tom’s reaction to being told they were turning off the growth hormone.
Maria: This is one of those instances where I wish I had a teen perspective. I know the appearance thing bugged me a lot, too, but I also remember (vaguely) feeling this way as a teen. So at what point does a book need to veer from actual teen experience? We want kids to see themselves in the characters, but we also want them to learn better ways to feel and experience life. I don’t know where the balancing point is, and I’d be interested in exploring this idea more. Meg (in Wrinkle in Time) spent an awful lot of time bemoaning her hideous appearance. Is that the same? I was more disturbed by Tom groping himself in his Guinevere form. I asked myself, “is that would a teen boy would do?” Then I realized I wasn’t sure I actually wanted to know the answer to that question! Hahahah! Good points. Where is the balancing point? How much becomes harmful? Must it always be helpful? Why was it ok in Wrinkle in Time?

Humiliation
This was huge for me. I was already disturbed by Kincaid using Blackburn’s character to humiliate Tom for laughs but I was completely appalled in this part.  First, the description of Nigel’s facial tic (which could also go under looks), then Dalton’s reference to him (174), then the virus that was named after him and used to embarrass him and make everyone else laugh (213).  
Maria: Yes, I wasn’t pleased by that at all. I kept waiting for someone to stick up for him! Again, I wonder at what point we stop reflecting actual teen behavior (which, sadly, I think this is) and start showing alternate positive choices. Is an author responsible for reflecting reality or altering it? I wanted there to be negative consequences for this behavior, at the very least.

Then, the whole Beamer incident where we learn that needing help from the social worker is a cause of shame. (154, 213) And I won’t even mention Blackburn saying use your dislike of each other to create viruses. (199)
Maria: Yes! We cheer for girls when they get active roles, but we also need to see boys being allowed to express vulnerability without shaming.

Hodgepodge
Eliot’s complete change of heart! Based on what we have been told (repeatedly) about his character, I didn’t believe his actions in the Troy scene.
Maria: I agree. I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop - for Elliot to reveal what he hoped to get out of allowing Tom to take on that battle. When it didn’t happen, it felt like Elliot wasn’t being portrayed consistently.

Self worth: normal = nothing = worthless (213) WHAT????

Despite the negative above - there were still some things I liked about this part!
The Duel: I LOVED this. I could totally picture them standing around sending codes with glee. The virus names were so funny.  
Maria: “Worst duel ever” (214) I completely cracked up when I read this. I loved how Wyatt is schooling them all. I’m cheering for Wyatt now - forget everyone else. I want a book about her. YES, she is my favorite and I hope to see her role get even bigger and better! Maybe she’ll feature in the sequels!

Obsidian and the role they will play in upcoming parts. The potential for “insider trading” is huge here. Also, this part somehow brings to mind the merger of Random House and Penguin as well as the one of  Disney and Lucasfilms. What does all this combining of resources do for the consumers?
Maria: Yes - this is another great link in to current topics. I bet we could teach all of current events, and many history lessons, by tying into science fiction texts.

The “lessons” about past reasons for war and how we ended up in World War III. Agreed - though I thought the scenes ended up too long. I started to get bored before the lesson was over.

I look forward to the next part to see how all of this plays out. Will I feel better next week? I can’t wait to find out.

Batty About Books - Insignia by SJ Kincaid - Pt1

Welcome to the latest installment of 

Batty About Books! 

For the next 4 weeks 

we will tackle

Insignia

by SJ Kincaid

(Katherine Tegen Books, 2012. 464p. $17.99. 9780062092991)

Insignia is about World War III where the government hires teens to fight the wars for them. Using their minds... I’m also re-reading Ready Player One by Ernest Cline at the same time and my mind is protesting! Throw in my recent re-read of Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card and my past read of Epic by Conor Kostick and my head is starting to explode. I can see elements of all three of these novels in Insignia.  The humor of Ready Player One, the simulations that are part of Ender’s Game, and the type of gaming from Epic. Now, I understand that there are only so many stories to be told and as we delve deeper into the story, I’ll be on the lookout to see how Kincaid handles the familiar elements.  Will this be a book to bring to book club because it brings something new to the gaming table? Or will it just be one to recommend if there's nothing better? We shall see.

NOTE: This week we are doing things a little bit differently. Instead of two separate discussions - we did one LONG one! We decided to divide the post into pieces for each blog. Most are Maria's initial thoughts with my responses and then her rebuttal/response, then me again if needed. At Maria's Melange you'll find her overall book opinion as well as her thoughts on how females are being handled in Insignia and how well the "science" is pulled into the science fiction.

Insignia by SJ Kincaid - Part 1 1-116p.

Big ideas
Being someone: Tom comments that he would “give anything to be important” (49). I can see this idea resonating with the target audience. I wonder how much more he’ll find he has to give to fit into this world - what’s the catch and when will we discover the crisis that I’m sure is coming?
Kathy: I think not just the target audience will identify here.  Though, playing devil’s advocate, will saying it so bluntly actually turn the target audience off? Point well made. I made the same point in my review of Supernaturalist - where one character kept saying things like “this is what leaders have to face.” I’m not sure why it bugged me in that book but seemed more natural in this one. I’ll have to ponder that more. Kathy: Maybe because the characters are older, and so far, it’s not being overused? There should be some things left to the reader to decide, especially in a YA book. I’ll have to see how Kincaid proceeds with this. We want authors to feel their readers have some intelligence.  I had a super-hard time with Virals and Seizure by Kathy Reichs. She seemed to want to dumb things down for her young adult readers. I haven’t read any of her work for adults, though, so maybe that’s just how she writes.  Have you read Virals?

Well, we know that something involving his father and Eliot Ramirez has to come up again. I feel like we’ve been fed the perfect setup between these two. Which is my major beef with the book so far. I feel like Tom did when he came to Pentagonal Squire, like I’m being manipulated. I’m being told too much information and not being left to figure anything out. Okay - I just had a “revelation” (maybe?) I can’t believe it didn’t occur to me before, duh me. Blackburn’s mental illness stems from having the processor. His paranoia was a major symptom, right? Maybe dad was more involved than we know? Though you’d think THAT would have come up when Tom was being recruited.... so maybe I’m wrong. Kathy: OOOHH!! I actually just said that out loud! That would be an AWESOME twist.  I like your thinking - maybe dad also has some of what Yuri has and he can only access so much info. Could be why he drinks and gambles...


Warfare - is it better to fight through proxies? No one gets hurt, right? I can feel the coming storm as the programming instructor runs them through the drills about defending their mental processors from hackers and viruses...
Kathy: Add that to Falmouth’s earlier discussion of the four reasons offshore war is better and we can smell the conflicts coming later. Also, the names of companies - Nobind and Stronghold - have to also come into play later. I smell author agenda. Which I don’t mind, as long as the story isn’t sacrificed for the message. Absolutely. This could be handled well or it could become one long soapbox. With the current political climate, I’m curious about the way the corporate entities are handled.

Overall Impressions
I’m having a hard time enjoying this book right now. I think it’s a due to reading Ready Player One right now. There are so many similarities, I’m finding myself disappointed in Insignia. I hope that as I read on, I can put those thoughts aside and just enjoy this book. Hmm.  I wonder if that is why I’m able to enjoy this one so much? I have Ready Player One on my list, but haven’t gotten to it yet. I’d love to hear what Brian has to say about the book (I tweeted him because I thought he’d enjoy it, and he confirmed that he loves it!) Kathy: His review is one of the reasons I wanted to read it. I would have happily skipped it since I’d read my share of game-based stories to last me a while! Also, I loved Ready Player One and am reading it again for the Level Up Book Club game.  Matthew is following the type of challenges Wade faced in that book, even if his are different. I’m still loving it and could easily devour it!

On Maria's blog we also discuss MG vs YA science fiction and how note taking changes with the books you read. One thing I point out is a blog post on SLJ's Heavy Medal that discusses emotional vs. Intelligence type reads. It will be well worth your time to read that after you finish at Maria's Melange! Knowing what type of books you prefer can help you put aside your biases, or at least recognize them!

Come back next week as we dive deeper into Insignia by SJ Kincaid.
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