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A review by shamelesslyintroverted
Powerless by Tera Lynn Childs, Tracy Deebs
3.0
Five Sentence Summary: Childs and Deebs created a powerful (hehe) book about superheroes and villains. Kenna is deemed powerless in a superhero world. She tries to make up for her powerlessness by developing her own powers in a lab with her mother. Her world gets flipped upside down when she realizes that the villains are the good guys and the superheroes have twisted secrets. With a team of villains and heroes (the good kind), Kenna storms the castle that was her life.
I have to say it. This book is cheesy. But I like cheese (not feta). I honestly thought this book was intended as a parody of superhero stories, which it still may be... who knows? This book is packed with humor and cliches, which is why I didn't think it was to be taken seriously... but it surprised me. Powerless is a lighthearted book that will boil your blood at the end.
YA is an interesting genre because you get a little bit of everything: adult themes, cursing, twisted plots, deep characters (despite most of them being in high school), among others.
This book teeters on the edge of lower-grade fiction and higher-grade fiction because of the cursing. The plot is more like lower-grade, but there are a few choice words sprinkled in. No adult themes, though. This book was not balanced correctly. The writing was lower level and the authors told us rather than showed us too much for my liking. Again, I think it's that YA genre balance that was off-putting.
However, once you get past the cheese and the predictability of the general plot, you get to know the characters and feel their situation as your own. If you're able to look past that stuff; I know a lot of readers that can't. The ending definitely set up for the sequel.
I borrowed this book from a coworker, whom borrowed it from the library. Luckily, she was able to snag the sequel when she checked out Powerless. I'll be reading that one next! Despite its cheese, I'm eager to find out what happens with our characters.
I would recommend this book to anyone that likes superhero-type books. I would feel comfortable allowing middle school-age readers to pick it up. It has a few choice words (as mentioned), but other than that, it's completely clean.
I have to say it. This book is cheesy. But I like cheese (not feta). I honestly thought this book was intended as a parody of superhero stories, which it still may be... who knows? This book is packed with humor and cliches, which is why I didn't think it was to be taken seriously... but it surprised me. Powerless is a lighthearted book that will boil your blood at the end.
YA is an interesting genre because you get a little bit of everything: adult themes, cursing, twisted plots, deep characters (despite most of them being in high school), among others.
This book teeters on the edge of lower-grade fiction and higher-grade fiction because of the cursing. The plot is more like lower-grade, but there are a few choice words sprinkled in. No adult themes, though. This book was not balanced correctly. The writing was lower level and the authors told us rather than showed us too much for my liking. Again, I think it's that YA genre balance that was off-putting.
However, once you get past the cheese and the predictability of the general plot, you get to know the characters and feel their situation as your own. If you're able to look past that stuff; I know a lot of readers that can't. The ending definitely set up for the sequel.
I borrowed this book from a coworker, whom borrowed it from the library. Luckily, she was able to snag the sequel when she checked out Powerless. I'll be reading that one next! Despite its cheese, I'm eager to find out what happens with our characters.
I would recommend this book to anyone that likes superhero-type books. I would feel comfortable allowing middle school-age readers to pick it up. It has a few choice words (as mentioned), but other than that, it's completely clean.