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A review by queer_bookwyrm
Dreadnought by April Daniels
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
4 ⭐ CW: violence, transphobia/trans misogyny, homophobia/homophobic slurs, deadnaming, child abuse (verbal and emotional), death
Dreadnought by April Daniels is book one in the Nemesis series. This is a YA sff superhero novel that is somewhere between The Avengers and The Boys. We get a transfeminine lesbian superhero!
We follow Danny (Danielle) Tozer, a closeted transgirl in the Pacific Northwest in a world with superheroes and villains. When Danny witnesses the death of Legion hero Dreadnought at the hands of new villain with a new dangerous weapon, she is given his mantle. When Dreadnought gives Danny the mantle, not only does it give her Dreadnought's powers, it also gives her the body she's always wanted. Which is great until she realizes she has no choice but to come out to her family and everyone else. As you can imagine, it doesn't go so well. Her parents, especially her father are deeply transphobic and want to find a "cure" for Danny's transition. Her relationship with her best friend David also changes, and she struggles with her self-worth along with her new found powers.
Then Danny teams up with teen vigilante Calamity, and they start caping outside the Legion's permission. They are set on finding Utopia, the villain who murdered Dreadnought, and stopping her. Danny learns that the Legion isn't all it's cracked up to be. They ignore a lot of bad things, and have a TERF on their team. Danny has super strength and is bullet proof, but still can't stand up to her abusive father.
Danny is such a great character. It was so hard to read her being so hard on herself and repeating the awful things her father has said about her. When you've been abused it's hard not to believe the horrible things they say about you. You internalize them, and we see Danny struggle with that throughout the book. Calamity is an amazing kickass character. She uses an old West cowgirl persona, and also has special abilities. I ship her and Danny so hard. Doc Impossible is also great.
There was a twist I didn't see coming, and I thought the villain did a good job of setting us up for the next book. I'm excited to see where this goes! A great first read of the year!
Dreadnought by April Daniels is book one in the Nemesis series. This is a YA sff superhero novel that is somewhere between The Avengers and The Boys. We get a transfeminine lesbian superhero!
We follow Danny (Danielle) Tozer, a closeted transgirl in the Pacific Northwest in a world with superheroes and villains. When Danny witnesses the death of Legion hero Dreadnought at the hands of new villain with a new dangerous weapon, she is given his mantle. When Dreadnought gives Danny the mantle, not only does it give her Dreadnought's powers, it also gives her the body she's always wanted. Which is great until she realizes she has no choice but to come out to her family and everyone else. As you can imagine, it doesn't go so well. Her parents, especially her father are deeply transphobic and want to find a "cure" for Danny's transition. Her relationship with her best friend David also changes, and she struggles with her self-worth along with her new found powers.
Then Danny teams up with teen vigilante Calamity, and they start caping outside the Legion's permission. They are set on finding Utopia, the villain who murdered Dreadnought, and stopping her. Danny learns that the Legion isn't all it's cracked up to be. They ignore a lot of bad things, and have a TERF on their team. Danny has super strength and is bullet proof, but still can't stand up to her abusive father.
Danny is such a great character. It was so hard to read her being so hard on herself and repeating the awful things her father has said about her. When you've been abused it's hard not to believe the horrible things they say about you. You internalize them, and we see Danny struggle with that throughout the book. Calamity is an amazing kickass character. She uses an old West cowgirl persona, and also has special abilities. I ship her and Danny so hard. Doc Impossible is also great.
There was a twist I didn't see coming, and I thought the villain did a good job of setting us up for the next book. I'm excited to see where this goes! A great first read of the year!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Transphobia, and Violence