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A review by rhyttinen
Superman: Dawnbreaker by Matt de la Peña
This is the fourth book in the DC Icons series with each of the books being standalone novels. This book is a reimagining of Superman, who is one of my favorite super-heroes, so I was really looking forward to reading this.
Superman: Dawnbreaker follows a young Clark Kent who's still living at home with his parents and struggling to keep his powers a secret. There are three main streams of intrigue in the story: 1) certain people are fighting to pass a law that would allow police to pull over anyone at any time to verify their immigration status, 2) a large corporation is buying up land around town and 3) people, mostly Mexican men, from Smallville and surrounding cities are disappearing without a trace. Clark also discovers strange men on the Kent farm trying to break into the barn which Clark's father keeps locked, leading to some interesting questions and subsequent revelations.
So once people begin disappearing, Clark along with his best friend Lana Lang take it upon themselves to investigate and get to the bottom of the town's mysteries. In the process, they encounter deadly foes and meet people who are not as they seem. When danger strikes, Clark needs to decide whether to keep his superpowers a secret or risk exposure to save the town.
Given that the story takes place on the Kent farm while Clark was still in high school, the book has a "Smallville" vibe to it and reminded me of the television show. But regardless, the author did manage to give Clark Kent/Superman a new spin in this modernized retelling set in 2019. The story mainly focuses on immigration and racial issues, which the author blended into Clark's story. I also thought the topic of immigration/illegal aliens in light of Clark being an alien from another planet was clever.
As an origin story, it was fun seeing Clark learn about his past and what he is capable of. I enjoyed watching him as he came into his powers and ultimately accepting who he is.
The story definitely got better during the last 25% of the book. I thought the beginning was boring as not a whole lot happened during the first part of the book. The story is also incredibly political which many people might find preachy or at the very least polarizing.
With its weaving in the theme of racism and immigration into the Superman origin story, the book felt a tad over ambitious and forced to me. I ended up feeling mostly underwhelmed by the end; I guess I was just hoping for a little bit more from a Superman origin story. The book never really explored the personality of Clark Kent and what he is all about, so his character ended up falling a bit flat for me.
Now I didn't dislike the book; it was an okay read. I just didn't love it as much as I had hoped and I ended up giving it 3 stars.
Superman: Dawnbreaker follows a young Clark Kent who's still living at home with his parents and struggling to keep his powers a secret. There are three main streams of intrigue in the story: 1) certain people are fighting to pass a law that would allow police to pull over anyone at any time to verify their immigration status, 2) a large corporation is buying up land around town and 3) people, mostly Mexican men, from Smallville and surrounding cities are disappearing without a trace. Clark also discovers strange men on the Kent farm trying to break into the barn which Clark's father keeps locked, leading to some interesting questions and subsequent revelations.
So once people begin disappearing, Clark along with his best friend Lana Lang take it upon themselves to investigate and get to the bottom of the town's mysteries. In the process, they encounter deadly foes and meet people who are not as they seem. When danger strikes, Clark needs to decide whether to keep his superpowers a secret or risk exposure to save the town.
Given that the story takes place on the Kent farm while Clark was still in high school, the book has a "Smallville" vibe to it and reminded me of the television show. But regardless, the author did manage to give Clark Kent/Superman a new spin in this modernized retelling set in 2019. The story mainly focuses on immigration and racial issues, which the author blended into Clark's story. I also thought the topic of immigration/illegal aliens in light of Clark being an alien from another planet was clever.
As an origin story, it was fun seeing Clark learn about his past and what he is capable of. I enjoyed watching him as he came into his powers and ultimately accepting who he is.
The story definitely got better during the last 25% of the book. I thought the beginning was boring as not a whole lot happened during the first part of the book. The story is also incredibly political which many people might find preachy or at the very least polarizing.
With its weaving in the theme of racism and immigration into the Superman origin story, the book felt a tad over ambitious and forced to me. I ended up feeling mostly underwhelmed by the end; I guess I was just hoping for a little bit more from a Superman origin story. The book never really explored the personality of Clark Kent and what he is all about, so his character ended up falling a bit flat for me.
Now I didn't dislike the book; it was an okay read. I just didn't love it as much as I had hoped and I ended up giving it 3 stars.