Indie G

Kindred (The Akasha Series #2)

by Indie Gantz

Genre: YA Scifi Fantasy

Release Date: February 2019

Summary

In Kindred we find the Damuzi twins settling into their new home with Kori Lark’s family. Desperate to keep the dangerous truth of their identity a secret, Charlie and Tirigan educate themselves on everything that was kept from them, while delving deeper into their mother’s past. In the future, Tirigan is dealing with the complicated emotions that overwhelm him after the events of Passage. In an attempt to control the situation, Tirigan turns inward and cuts himself off from those who need him most. By the time Charlie and Tirigan’s timeline’s merge, a burning mystery is solved, and more than one relationship begins to unravel. Friendship. Trust. Dependency. Lies. The Damuzi twin’s story continues.

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My Review

4 Stars

I received a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review. I enjoyed getting to read more of both Charlie and Tirigan’s story throughout Kindred. After reading Passage, I was curious to see where the story would go and how Charlie and Tirigan would be handling things after the events of book 1. I did find myself mental shaking Tirigan and telling him to open up, but everyone copes in different ways, even fictional characters. I found myself wondering how long they would be able to keep their secret and how would things change if they couldn’t. The story is told from two different points of view and timelines just like in the first book. It did take me a bit to get back into reading the different timelines but after Passage, I seemed to catch on quicker the second time. The points of view/timelines of both Charlie and Tirigan, while at times a little confusing for me, flowed together well when the time came. When they finally did come together things began to change and take you a bit by surprise. Like with Passage, Kindred has left me wanting to know what comes next for Charlie and Tirigan. I look forward to reading the sequel.

About the Author

Indie Gantz grew up in Northern Virginia and received her Psychology degree at George Mason University. Despite her passion and curiosity for the human mind, Indie left her chosen field of study to finally give voice to the many imagined minds she has created. Indie lives with her family in North Carolina. She spends her days drinking tea and clacking keys.

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Doesn’t straightwash queer characters! this was a big one. (marvel movies have a huge problem with straightwashing*)

Deadpool is canonically pansexual, and the movies reflect this! Reynolds doesn’t shy away at all from Deadpool’s sexual interest in men.   

(head injuries bring out deadpool’s romantic sexy feelings it seems. in the first movie, knife to the head = romantic montage with vanessa. in the sequel, fencepost to the head = deadpool sensually trying to go down on Colossus.) 

(semi-related, both movies have some cute references to deadpool enjoying being on the receiving end in the bedroom.)

(yeah, it’s canon, Deadpool enjoys being pegged)

Oh hey, a healthy romantic relationship based on mutual respect and love! and with a fully developed female character with personal agency! A love interest who doesn’t just function as a plot device. 

POLAR OPPOSITE OF TOXIC MASCULINITY. This really shines through in their marketing

(yes that pillows says “FEMINIST”) 

(yes that is deadpool in heels dancing to celine dion)

Diverse casting! Characters who are poc just because poc exist! 

Hey look, a cute lesbian couple treated with respect and one of them’s asian!

 Holy crap i don’t say this enough but i love Domino. What a badass. Sexy-but-not-sexualized black female action hero who is probably the coolest person in the movie. 

Deadpool 2 took a run-of-the-mill white character design and made her interesting! 

Her trademark eye patch is now vitiligo! She has awesome natural hair. And look, body hair exists! On a person who is a woman! Which shouldn’t be unusual, but here we are. Also, she’s fun

Portrayed by the talented Zazie Beetz. Did I mention how much i love this character?

Oh look, another much improved character design!

We’ve got your humdrum blondie cleft-chin stereotype replaced with a heavyset maori teen actor (Julian Dennison, who incidentally was in Taika Waititi’s indie movie Hunt for the Wilderpeople).

Overall themes: The movies have a lot of dirty humor and innuendo. But the overall takeaway is actually pretty sentimental. The Deadpool 2 themes in particular gets to me: 

Ending the cycle of abuse. Not repeating the mistakes of the previous generation. “Kids give us a chance of being better than we used to be.” 

The loss and recovery of family. Accepting friendship in the midst of tragedy. See also: Cable’s story arc. 

Letting go of loss and bitterness to try to save a child who’s been abandoned by the world. 

I’m honestly so excited about the choices the director & producers have been making for this franchise. They’re setting the narrative standard for modern superhero films. Can’t wait to see what the next movie has in store. 

*see more on straightwashing in the mcu below