A review by lines__lines
Dreadnought by April Daniels

adventurous emotional inspiring medium-paced

4.0

I'm not usually big on superhero stories, but that was a bingo square I had to fill, so I picked this one for the trans rep in particular. It was definitely the best of the three I read for that square, even though I didn't finish it on time to make the official card. Danny is an achingly realistic trans kid, and even with the most perfect transition physically she still has to deal with issues that so many face when coming out, from basic misunderstanding to outright hate and persecution. Plus, you know, a whole new set of superpowers and the world of white, gray, and black capes to navigate. There's also moments of ferocious joy and wild freedom. The overlap of a transition story with a "new superpowers" story worked really well, and the author built a great cast of characters to fill out this narrative. I might get around to the sequel eventually, though that was a lot of superheroes in a short amount of time for me.