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mothwing 's review for:
Dreadnought
by April Daniels
If you like superheroes, please read this book.
It is such a rare beast in that it has a transgirl as the main character. Teenage girl Danny chances upon the dying superhero Dreadnought who bestows his mantle of power on her, which turns her into "the best version of herself" - which also means her sex and physical matching her gender identity. She is then contacted by agents of the Legion to train with them to ultimately take over the name and superhero identity of "Dreadnought" completely, meeting some of the superheroes she always admired. My summary does not do this novel justice, I'm too excited about it, just go and read it, please.
Danny constantly puts herself on the line saving others while dealing with all kinds of transphobic horrors at home. Not everybody among the Legion is on her side either, as she has to learn, and thus she meets and befriends an unaffiliated superhero. Together they decide to go after the villain who killed Dreadnought, though they soon find they might have bitten off more than they can chew.
I have been waiting for this book pretty much all my life. A lot of the story mechanics and tropes of the superhero franchise seem to be so cut out for LGBT life stories, seeing as they deal in similar patterns of outward appearance and secret identity. And boy, does this deliver. It also is so great on issues like the dynamics of emotional and verbal abuse
It also gives us a strong action heroine with a lot of agency and plot control who ISN'T raped and who doesn't immediately get tangled up in a love plot. Also, I LOVE how the book doesn't constantly focus on her body. It is a very physical book and a lot happens TO her body, but there is no fetishistic objectifying OF her body, and this is very unusual in my experience with media about transfemale characters.
As always, I am creeped out and appalled at the behaviour of ciswomen and want to screw my eyes shut and pretend this isn't realistic, even though I ought to know better.
I'm reading this again right away.
It is such a rare beast in that it has a transgirl as the main character. Teenage girl Danny chances upon the dying superhero Dreadnought who bestows his mantle of power on her, which turns her into "the best version of herself" - which also means her sex and physical matching her gender identity. She is then contacted by agents of the Legion to train with them to ultimately take over the name and superhero identity of "Dreadnought" completely, meeting some of the superheroes she always admired. My summary does not do this novel justice, I'm too excited about it, just go and read it, please.
Danny constantly puts herself on the line saving others while dealing with all kinds of transphobic horrors at home. Not everybody among the Legion is on her side either, as she has to learn, and thus she meets and befriends an unaffiliated superhero. Together they decide to go after the villain who killed Dreadnought, though they soon find they might have bitten off more than they can chew.
I have been waiting for this book pretty much all my life. A lot of the story mechanics and tropes of the superhero franchise seem to be so cut out for LGBT life stories, seeing as they deal in similar patterns of outward appearance and secret identity. And boy, does this deliver. It also is so great on issues like the dynamics of emotional and verbal abuse
Spoiler
-like that scene in which she at first doesn't want to save her father but then does, anyway. Or how she realises that she is being bribed, but still can't escape the pattern. Or how she doesn't want to admit what's going on because that makes it real. Or how she comes back to make curfew even after having been turned out. All very realistic, sadly.It also gives us a strong action heroine with a lot of agency and plot control who ISN'T raped and who doesn't immediately get tangled up in a love plot. Also, I LOVE how the book doesn't constantly focus on her body. It is a very physical book and a lot happens TO her body, but there is no fetishistic objectifying OF her body, and this is very unusual in my experience with media about transfemale characters.
As always, I am creeped out and appalled at the behaviour of ciswomen and want to screw my eyes shut and pretend this isn't realistic, even though I ought to know better.
I'm reading this again right away.