#the obake code

For more recs in YA, click here. For more queer heist novels, click here. No Body, No Crime by Tess Sharpe Killer Potential by Hannah Deitch The Obake Code by Makana Yamamoto The Long Con by Jenna Voris Be Gay, Do Crimes ed. by Molly Llewellen and Kristel Buckley Bonus: These are all Adult, but in YA, check out the Trust Me series by Mary Elizabeth Summer

Love Galaxy by Sierra Branham The Obake Code by Makana Yamamoto Earthly Playing Field by Radhika Singh What We Are Seeking by Cameron Reed Radiant Star by Ann Leckie Bonus: These are all Adult, but in YA, check out If All the Stars Go Dark by S.G. Prince and The Celestial Seas by T.A. Chan

The Obake Code is the story of bored hacker Malia, who finds herself on the wrong side of a group of vicious gangsters, and must now bring down a corrupt politician at their behest and face her dark past as she does it. 

-------- Comparison is the thief of joy and unfortunately, like most sequels, I could not help but compare The Obake Code to Yamamoto's debut, Hammajang Luck. Don't get me wrong! Malia is a great protagonist but when put against Edie, she just doesn't compare. 

The heist bits were fun! I liked that masterminding is not something that comes naturally to Malia and that she struggles with it. It really gives that human aspect to her character that is often amiss in the childhood genius archetype. Combined with her other self-worth issues and fear of connection, she's just such a great deconstruction of that trope and the impacts of gifted kid syndrome. 

However I just felt she had too much plot armour at times? Even with her struggles when it came to hacking, everything just felt too easy, like there was nothing allowed to go wrong for her. Which is funny because a lot of things do go wrong for her. I don't know, the stakes just never felt like they were high enough. 

I also missed a lot of the transness and Indigenous Hawaiian culture that made the first book such a standout for me. I get Malia is disconnected from her culture, but I would have really liked to see that aspect more present. Besides, the trans presence in this book was also much reduced.