Thank you NetGalley for providing me the audiobook of this novel

I almost thought this was going to take a turn into the divergent. This is your typical YA but the characters are not fighting the system (yet).

The society is divided into groups based on what ability an individual has. There are those with supernatural strength, those who can read minds, those who can fly, move things with their, become invisible, and are agile. Usually, individuals only have one off these abilities and sometimes some people have two or more of them. Those with abilities different than these are called Ferals and then comes deficients, those with no abilities at all. And our MC is deficient.

There were other resembles to your typical YA, like MC's terrible relationship with his father and brothers, him getting bullied for being different, a friend who has a crush on him.

Well, that is where the resembles to your typical YA seems to end. This novel focuses more on the murders and disappearances and I honestly, appreciate that.

The characters are very loveable and I mean it as a compliment but this feels like a good fanfic. Just what you will need when you don't want to be introduced to new characters but you want to read something similar to what you read but also you don't have the capacity to take a new world in.

And I also loved the narrator. It wasn't very irritating to ear but that may be because he was voicing teenagers?

All in all, I think this is fun read when you don't want to put too much effort in reading. As this is a YA, the language is rather very easy to focus on for those whose first language isn't English.
The only think that I did dislike about this novel is the romance. I was hoping for a slow burn and I was looking forward to seeing their friendship grow before they became lovers but the ending scene just felt very abrupt and forced. I wish that author would've waited till the second book for them to get together. Other than that, I have no complains.

I await the release of the next book (im)patiently.

Thank you, Mintaka Press, for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed Deficient by Michael Solis. It was very interesting. I loved getting to know all the unique powers the characters had. This story is about a boy, Ale, who does not have powers in a world full of people with amazing abilities. People with no abilities are looked down upon, so he is subjected to a lot of abuse from his peers and some of his family. I loved all the characters' personalities. I really felt bad about how Ale was treated. He was so nice and wanted to belong, but the views of the others made him lonely. I rarely read YA books, but this one was great. I suggest listening to the audiobook. It’s narrated by the Author and I think he did a great job. I felt like I got to know the characters' personalities a little more because of the narration.

Audiobook - it's particularly special when an author not only writes a very good book, but then narrates it really well too. In the case of some of the "foreign" words in this world, it's also good to find the way the author meant to have them pronounced. This is an own voices author, which I always appreciate even more.
Story - in a world where most people have a particular extra gift (like strength, telepathy, flying), Ale doesn't have any, making him a deficient. This group is generally despised, and Ale is bullied relentlessly at school and hated at home (except by his mother). When his only friend Yalamba goes missing, he finds some supportive new friends at last, and they work tirelessly to try to save her. There are some excellent plot twists in this story, and support from unexpected people.
Thanks for the copy via NetGalley, I am happy to leave a voluntary review.

I wasn't familiar with this until the re-release popped up to listen on NetGalley but I really enjoyed it. The world was interesting, basically a caste system based on super abilities or lack thereof. The story flowed quite well and I liked the characters. Really hoping to get more of this series.

Thank you for NetGalley and Mintaka Press for the review copy. All opinions are my own.

Fantasy and Sci-fi audiobook for teens and YA. A growing up, coming out, and found family story, with superpowers and villains. What you are told by society is not always true, but can you accept that?

Adults, who enjoy this genre will like it too.

Senior school, where the haves and have nots are to do with having powers. The have nots, the deficients, are treated badly by everyone else.

Alé, a deficient, tries to hide in the shadows at school, staying out of trouble. That’s difficult when trouble comes looking for him in many forms, including other pupils and his family.

Then his best friend Yalamba disappears. As he is wrongly accused, and searches for answers he friends unlikely help, and many surprises.

This is a LGBTQIA encompassing story. But all the characters characteristics and feelings are part of the story, not add ons for street cred. And the story is much more than that as well.

I did find it really strange that at one point when Alé is questioned by the Headmaster, authorities and another girl’s parents, that this was done without an adult being there to represent him.

Thank you to Mintaka Press and NetGalley for the audio ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely given.

An engaging, fast-paced mystery, packed with action, injustice and sneaky investigations. The MC is weak, targeted and isolated. When his one friend, who recently hurt him deeply, goes missing he pours everything into finding her. He finds new allies and friends and digs with everything he has, even without a magical power giving him an advantage. The narrative is full of twists and turns, while the background consistently portrays a hate-filled unequal society. The MC grows a lot through the narrative, the world builds, the case progresses and everything is brought to a satisfying, intriguing conclusion. There is even a small redemption arc!

I enjoyed the world, the characters and the development of the case. A short, easy read!

This was a beautifully written debut! I was able to feel deeply connected to the main character and truly felt sad for the things they went through. Very excited to follow along with this author and what they do next.

ARC Reader (Thanks to Netgalley). I was able to get access to this gem via book and audiobook.
The book centers around a world where everyone has powers that make them who they are. Though there is a class of powerless called deficient. The book reminds me of a variation of My Hero Academia meets the Giver.
Of course there are no such thing as superheroes or super villains, though it doesn't mean there aren't corrupted individuals that seek to use their powers for evil.
Everything changes for Ale when his best friend Yalamba disappears after the threats of Ferals happen to appear.
This book has lots of unexpected twists and turns including friendships and the development of different types of relationships.
This is a wonderful start to a series and I'm ready to see what the next stage is for Ale and friends.

The audiobook was actually rather well despite it being done by a single narrator. I'm used to duets or full casts lately, but honestly it was done well. It helps that the narrator was the author himself. The book has a load of potential and if an additional narrator or even narrators were added -- it would have been even better.

Deficient By Michael Solis is such a great book! I really enjoyed reading about Alejandro and his investigation, one that takes place in a very different world! The classes that citizens are placed into depend on their abilities and those classes basically determine how much others will value or not value your life. Ales mission to find his missing bestie brought him so many unexpected friendships, enemies, & insane moments! I love this book so much! Especially the way the author wrote the characters & how the characters were narrated!

I cannot believe nobody told me about Deficient because WHAT WAS THIS BOOK? 😭🔥

This was futuristic academia, superpowers, mystery and suspense all wrapped into one bloody good story.

Alé being treated differently for being deficient genuinely broke my heart. But watching him slowly find his voice and stand up for himself? LOVE THAT FOR HIM.

The mystery had me suspicious of everybody because the plot twists kept coming.

Kazuki was my quirky little pipsqueak and Gwen? MY GIRL. Fierce and powerful. I loved the unlikely friendships and how the mystery felt like watching an actual investigative series. I won't forget Alé's love interest Landon hopefully I get to see a better version of him in Book 2 he was a d**ck for most half of this book

The author did an amazing job building suspense because I genuinely could not predict where things were going.

Also, the audiobook narration was fantastic and made the experience even better.