A review by lesserjoke
Supernova by Marissa Meyer

3.0

This is overall a competent conclusion to a decent YA trilogy, but I'm still pretty flummoxed that author Marissa Meyer never delves deeper into the issue of what makes someone a hero or a villain. If anything, a late reveal cements the villainous side as wholly evil, which I guess is better than the rival gang they've been characterized as until then. But the 'Renegades' are pretty clearly a fascist police force wielding a terrible power with no oversight, and the only characters to ever raise concerns about that are treated by the text as either bullying minor antagonists or naive children. The premise of this story about conflicted undercover star-crossed superpowered teens could allow for great examination of the gray areas of peacekeeping, vigilantism, and individual liberty, but Meyer doesn't really get there in the end.

The climax also kind of breaks the basic rules of the series worldbuilding, and it feels like the two protagonists get past the surprise revelations of one another's big secrets a bit too easily. I'll always appreciate that the two strongest superheroes in this setting are a pair of happily-married gay dads, but that's ultimately not enough to save it from itself.

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