Reviews

Nubia: Real One by L.L. McKinney

Only show reviews with written explanations

breakfastgrey's review against another edition

4.0

This book simultaneously exceeded and fell short of my expectations. This DC Young Adult line has been faltering more of late, so I wasn't going into this expecting great things. But then the beginning knocked my socks off. The artwork was top notch (shoutout to the colorist, as well!) and the characters absolutely sang. The plot was both moving and subtle. Unfortunately, the second half gets a lot more blunt as if worried that readers can't handle the earlier nuance and begins to repeat itself to make sure you got it. Add in a super awkward cameo (why on Earth would she have arrived in costume and in the most regressive of her costumes, at that?) and I closed the book somehow feeling disappointed that a book I had no expectations for was anything less than 5 stars.

bickie's review against another edition

Go to review page

Nubia and her two best friends are in high school (feels like 11th grade). Despite trying to keep her super-human strength and speed a secret so that she doesn't have to move for the 6+th time, Nubia can't sit by and let others be hurt. When Wayland, a senior white entitled guy won't take "no" for an answer from Nubia's Black friend, he resorts to drastic measures,

Spoiler

including inciting violence at a peaceful BLM protest and showing up to school with a gun intending to kill her,

and Nubia has to decide whether she's ready to own her superhero identity. Includes good models of boundary-setting and discussion about being a bystander v. upstander (not using those terms).

CW: Teenage drinking, some profanity and vulgar language including use of "c*ckblock" a few times.