The Supervillain and Me by Danielle Banas
Never trust a guy in spandex. In Abby Hamilton’s world, superheroes do more than just stop crime and save cats stuck in trees—they also drink milk straight from the carton and hog the television remote. Abby’s older brother moonlights as the famous Red Comet, but without powers of her own, following in his footsteps has never crossed her mind. That is, until the city’s newest vigilante comes bursting into her life. After saving Abby from an attempted mugging, Morriston’s fledgling supervillain Iron Phantom convinces her that he’s not as evil as everyone says, and that their city is under a vicious new threat. As Abby follows him deeper into their city’s darkest secrets, she comes to learn that heroes can’t always be trusted, and sometimes it’s the good guys who wear black.
The premise of this book sounded amazing; a look into the lives of superheroes from a powerless spectator? Sign me up! The book really delivers on this front, not going to lie. From hilarious meet and greets with the Red Comet, to a best friend who writes fanfiction about her brother, Abby’s experiences with her superhero brother are downright hilarious.
It’s only when the book starts moving towards an actual plotline that things get a bit messed up. First off, the major problems in the book make little to no sense. No spoilers, but don’t think about the plot too much. Also, it is absolutely ridiculous how long it takes Abby to figure out who Iron Phantom is. The book literally has a random character that serves no purpose throughout the story except being really nice to Abby … I wonder why! (And Iron Phantom’s mask only covers HALF his face.)
From there, the book goes from weird to ridiculous real quick. Abby’s town is pretty run-down … like, people don’t go outside after it’s dark run-down. And yet, Iron Phantom lives in a mansion? How? Why? What? And this isn’t even touching on the book’s actual plot.
The characters in the book all seem to revolve around Abby. Other than her, no one really has any fixed character traits. Her brother can be sloppy at times (but not always?). He is super dedicated to saving the world (but sometimes he falls victim to fake news?). Her dad is super busy with his job as mayor (but sometimes he just sits at home and watches old tapes?). This basically just makes it really hard to get attached to any of the characters, and really takes away from the book’s overall charm.
I found the beginning of the book really hooking, but the end didn’t really deliver. It’s a light novel, without any majestic fight scenes, but it does a great job of humanizing heroes. Major aspects of the book seem awkward and/ or forced, but it was funny and touching at times. I wasn’t expecting too much from the book, but I did read it in one day! It was a quick, sweet read, and there wasn’t much under the surface. Sometimes, you need a book like this.
The premise of this book sounded amazing; a look into the lives of superheroes from a powerless spectator? Sign me up! The book really delivers on this front, not going to lie. From hilarious meet and greets with the Red Comet, to a best friend who writes fanfiction about her brother, Abby’s experiences with her superhero brother are downright hilarious.
It’s only when the book starts moving towards an actual plotline that things get a bit messed up. First off, the major problems in the book make little to no sense. No spoilers, but don’t think about the plot too much. Also, it is absolutely ridiculous how long it takes Abby to figure out who Iron Phantom is. The book literally has a random character that serves no purpose throughout the story except being really nice to Abby … I wonder why! (And Iron Phantom’s mask only covers HALF his face.)
From there, the book goes from weird to ridiculous real quick. Abby’s town is pretty run-down … like, people don’t go outside after it’s dark run-down. And yet, Iron Phantom lives in a mansion? How? Why? What? And this isn’t even touching on the book’s actual plot.
The characters in the book all seem to revolve around Abby. Other than her, no one really has any fixed character traits. Her brother can be sloppy at times (but not always?). He is super dedicated to saving the world (but sometimes he falls victim to fake news?). Her dad is super busy with his job as mayor (but sometimes he just sits at home and watches old tapes?). This basically just makes it really hard to get attached to any of the characters, and really takes away from the book’s overall charm.
I found the beginning of the book really hooking, but the end didn’t really deliver. It’s a light novel, without any majestic fight scenes, but it does a great job of humanizing heroes. Major aspects of the book seem awkward and/ or forced, but it was funny and touching at times. I wasn’t expecting too much from the book, but I did read it in one day! It was a quick, sweet read, and there wasn’t much under the surface. Sometimes, you need a book like this.
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