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Official Review: The Transitioners by Indigo Cox

Posted: 01 May 2018, 12:53
by Jaime Lync
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Transitioners" by Indigo Cox.]
Book Cover
3 out of 4 stars
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The Transitioners: The Purple Blues by Indigo Cox is the first installment in The Purple Blood Lineage book series. I was intrigued by both the book cover and title of this novel. I was even more riled up to read this book when I learned what inspired the author to write this story. Cox set out to write a young-adult fiction fantasy novel story featuring an Afro-American superheroine because she was saddened that although her daughters were avid readers, they scarcely came across heroines that shared their brown complexion.

Misty, our protagonist, is a beautiful hazel-nut complexioned young lady pursuing a doctorate in Music at Girard, a world renown university for great musician alumni. If she graduates, then she will be the first black person to receive a doctorate in music from the university. The keyword is “if”. It is the 1970’s, so not surprisingly she has a racist professor who is sure to flunk her if he knows that she is black. However, she can also fail by being absent from his class. Fortunately, Misty is not your ordinary girl. She can change her skin color to appear white for a while.

This ability to transition is only one of her superpowers. How and why did she come by these superpowers? There is an interesting response to these questions, but I cannot answer them hereto avoid providing any spoilers. What I can say is that, where there is a superhero, there is usually a supervillain. The main theme in this book is hope in the battle against racial injustice and other hate crimes.

For the most part, I enjoyed reading this novel. It consisted of a brief introduction, twenty-one chapters and chapter 1 from the second book in the series; All of this was composed in less than 200 pages. It was not that the book was super suspenseful, but the writing style flowed so well that I wanted to read on and know the full story. Misty was a likable protagonist, and I think that no matter the reader’s background, s/he should be able to relate to experiencing social injustice of some sort.

Unfortunately, there were a couple of things about this book that I consider demerits. There were so many simple grammatical errors that it seems to me that this book was not professionally edited. They did not hinder me from enjoying the reading experience, but they would have been easily spotted and removed with just one more proofreading. Also, there were several characters that I did not like. This point is rather subjective, so I will not divulge much information on it, but it does influence my rating of the book, so I figured I should mention it.

In conclusion, I rate The Transitioners 3 out of 4 stars. I would have still given it this rating even if the book was free of grammatical errors because of the characters I did not like. However, I cannot give it 2 stars because it inspired me to want to read the series, and I recommend it to fantasy fiction lovers such as myself.

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The Transitioners
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Re: Official Review: The Transitioners by Indigo Cox

Posted: 02 May 2018, 23:30
by 420waystoreachthesun
I really love the cover of the book. I find myself a bit ambivalent. Thank you for writing this.

Re: Official Review: The Transitioners by Indigo Cox

Posted: 02 May 2018, 23:53
by Kat Berg
I love that this has a diverse cast of characters. I am so thrilled that we are seeing more and more of that. Way to go for the author. If you don't see the books you want to read, write them! My curiosity is definitely peaked. Thanks for the review.

Re: Official Review: The Transitioners by Indigo Cox

Posted: 03 May 2018, 00:47
by stacie k
Your review has sparked my curiosity to know about Misty’s powers and what becomes of her. I like the theme, too. Thanks for a great review!

Re: Official Review: The Transitioners by Indigo Cox

Posted: 03 May 2018, 07:27
by kandscreeley
I love the idea behind this book. The author is right; there don't seem to be many african american heroines, especially in the science fiction genre. I love the cover as well. In spite of the grammatical errors, this sounds like a book that's right up my alley! Thanks.

Re: Official Review: The Transitioners by Indigo Cox

Posted: 03 May 2018, 15:02
by Libs_Books
Jaime Lync wrote: 01 May 2018, 12:53 Cox set out to write a young-adult fiction fantasy novel story featuring an Afro-American superheroine because she was saddened that although her daughters were avid readers, they scarcely came across heroines that shared their brown complexion....The main theme in this book is hope in the battle against racial injustice and other hate crimes.
That's a great reason for writing and a great theme, but it sounds as though it doesn't quite work out. I'm quite interested in the phenomenon of "passing" whether that's about different race, gender or Dis/Ability, but I find the idea of being able to change your skin colour as a superpower a bit weird. In fact, I might be inclined to find it insulting, but obviously you didn't, and I bow to your judgement as someone who's actually read the book. Thanks for a really interesting review.

Re: Official Review: The Transitioners by Indigo Cox

Posted: 03 May 2018, 15:51
by Jaime Lync
Libs_Books wrote: 03 May 2018, 15:02
Jaime Lync wrote: 01 May 2018, 12:53 Cox set out to write a young-adult fiction fantasy novel story featuring an Afro-American superheroine because she was saddened that although her daughters were avid readers, they scarcely came across heroines that shared their brown complexion....The main theme in this book is hope in the battle against racial injustice and other hate crimes.
That's a great reason for writing and a great theme, but it sounds as though it doesn't quite work out. I'm quite interested in the phenomenon of "passing" whether that's about different race, gender or Dis/Ability, but I find the idea of being able to change your skin colour as a superpower a bit weird. In fact, I might be inclined to find it insulting, but obviously you didn't, and I bow to your judgement as someone who's actually read the book. Thanks for a really interesting review.
I actually agree with you that it may seem counterproductive to a lot of people to have a story featuring an Afro-American heroine and her main power is to "transition" to appear white. However, I looked on this and saw that heroes have to sacrifice themselves for the elevation of their people ( I am not sure how to better explain why I saw this without giving any spoilers).
But for example, say your mother-tongue is Spanish (like mine) and you are in enemy territory and say the only distinction btw your people and the enemy is the language barrier; that is, they speak English and you guys speak Spanish. To make it through in that territory while weaker than the enemy you are going to need a bilingual (Spanish and English speaker) on your side.

Also, I am not a huge fan of superheroes like Superman where I am not given a plausible reason why people cannot identify him as Clark Kent - glasses and a hairdo is a weak cover. Okay, maybe this is just me ranting here.

Appreciate you reading and providing feedback.

Re: Official Review: The Transitioners by Indigo Cox

Posted: 03 May 2018, 15:52
by Jaime Lync
stacie k wrote: 03 May 2018, 00:47 Your review has sparked my curiosity to know about Misty’s powers and what becomes of her. I like the theme, too. Thanks for a great review!
Glad you liked it Stacy K. Hope you enjoy the book if and when you get the chance to read it.

Re: Official Review: The Transitioners by Indigo Cox

Posted: 03 May 2018, 15:54
by Jaime Lync
kandscreeley wrote: 03 May 2018, 07:27 I love the idea behind this book. The author is right; there don't seem to be many african american heroines, especially in the science fiction genre. I love the cover as well. In spite of the grammatical errors, this sounds like a book that's right up my alley! Thanks.
Yh, it would be great to read more sci-fi books that feature strong Afro-American female leads.
Thanks for reading and commenting Kandscreeley.

Re: Official Review: The Transitioners by Indigo Cox

Posted: 03 May 2018, 15:55
by Jaime Lync
Kat Berg wrote: 02 May 2018, 23:53 I love that this has a diverse cast of characters. I am so thrilled that we are seeing more and more of that. Way to go for the author. If you don't see the books you want to read, write them! My curiosity is definitely peaked. Thanks for the review.
Glad I could get you curious about the book. Authors should definitely write the books they want to read.

Re: Official Review: The Transitioners by Indigo Cox

Posted: 03 May 2018, 15:59
by Jaime Lync
420waystoreachthesun wrote: 02 May 2018, 23:30 I really love the cover of the book. I find myself a bit ambivalent. Thank you for writing this.
The book cover is definitely cool. I have read tons of fantasy novels and though like I said I recommend this book, it's NOT to the point where I am like - "HEY PEOPLE, YOU MUST READ THIS OR YOUR MISSING OUT!"
If you do decide to read it and like it, then you will definitely want to continue the series. If you decide not to read it, there are tons of other fantasy novels to choose from.
Thanks for reading and commenting.

Re: Official Review: The Transitioners by Indigo Cox

Posted: 04 May 2018, 04:07
by Sahani Nimandra
It's fascinating how the author was inspired to write this book and even more when the main character is more of a ambitious, never-give-up attitude girl. Nice! Thank you for your review!

Re: Official Review: The Transitioners by Indigo Cox

Posted: 04 May 2018, 10:15
by kdstrack
Sounds like a really interesting theme. I think I would like to try this book, in spite of the grammar errors. You have me intrigued about the characters you didn't like!

Re: Official Review: The Transitioners by Indigo Cox

Posted: 04 May 2018, 12:35
by Vickie Noel
I applaud the author for branching out into an otherwise non-existent angle; that of using African American superhero. I think Misty's ability to transform her skin color to white for a while is cool, much like an invisibility cloak for heroes who have access to that. I'd like to know what other powers she possesses and how she fares as a black superhero. Thanks for a great review as usual, Jaime!

Re: Official Review: The Transitioners by Indigo Cox

Posted: 07 May 2018, 09:13
by kfwilson6
Jaime Lync wrote: 03 May 2018, 15:51
Also, I am not a huge fan of superheroes like Superman where I am not given a plausible reason why people cannot identify him as Clark Kent - glasses and a hairdo is a weak cover. Okay, maybe this is just me ranting here.

What an excellent point. It is nice when things actually make practical sense. I never understood the Superman/Supergirl thing with the glasses either. I think I would need a little more information about where exactly this series is heading beyond just knowing about the main character's abilities. I kind of thought the same as Libs_Books, but liked your explanation of the differences in language. Sometimes blending in can really be a type of ability. You can gather information by fitting in with the crowd. It could make sense. I'd have to read the book to find out if it was executed well. Nice review.