Book Review: The Supervillain and Me by Danielle Banas

The Supervillain and Me
by Danielle Banas
Release Date: July 10th, 2018

SYNOPSIS:

As witty as it is heartpounding, this fresh take on the beloved superhero genre is all about finding your own way to shine even when it seems everyone else around you is, well... super.

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.

Chosen by readers like you for Macmillan's young adult imprint Swoon Reads, The Supervillain and Me is a hilarious, sweet, and action-packed novel by debut author Danielle Banas that proves no one is perfect, not even superheroes.

REVIEW:

I was sent an early copy of this from Fierce Reads in exchange for an honest review.

I always gravitate towards superhero stories and this definitely didn't disappoint. I could not put this book down! When I started it I felt like I knew who the guy behind the mask was and I am so glad I was wrong. I enjoyed the progression of every character and the ending. Hopefully there's a second book soon because I need more! I also need and Iron Phantom artwork in my life...I'm just saying. *wink wink* I won't post spoilers as this hasn't been released yet, but if you like superhero stories I believe you will enjoy this. The Supervillain and Me felt in many ways reminiscent of the Playstation show Powers and I loved that show. Danielle's writing style is fun and easy to follow and I definitely think you all should check her out! Since this comes out on my birthday I may have to put a finished copy of this on my wish list.

RATING: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Book Review: Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith

WHERE TO BUY:

Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, Book Depository

SYNOPSIS:

Sixteen-year-old Austin Szerba interweaves the story of his Polish legacy with the story of how he and his best friend , Robby, brought about the end of humanity and the rise of an army of unstoppable, six-foot tall praying mantises in small-town Iowa.

To make matters worse, Austin’s hormones are totally oblivious; they don’t care that the world is in utter chaos: Austin is in love with his girlfriend, Shann, but remains confused about his sexual orientation. He’s stewing in a self-professed constant state of maximum horniness, directed at both Robby and Shann. Ultimately, it’s up to Austin to save the world and propagate the species in this sci-fright journey of survival, sex, and the complex realities of the human condition.

MY REVIEW: 

Seriously… WTF was this book?

I bounced between a 4-star and a 5-star rating for about 12 hours. Mainly because this book was a lot to process, but not in a bad way. Andrew Smith is crazy. This book is crazy. The plot is crazy. The characters were extremely hormonal (they’re teenagers – boys, at that!). I cannot begin to count how many times Smith used the word ‘horny’ while we were in Austin’s, the main character, head!

Anyway, this story follows the life of Austin Szerba and his confusion over his sexual orientation. That, to me, was the primary focus. He was in love with his girlfriend (since the 7th grade), Shann and also with his best friend, Robby. Through his trying to figure out his preferences, he and Robby accidentally unleashed a plague upon the small town of Ealing, IA. People become infected/infested with parasitic “stuffs” and mutant grasshoppers hatch from within their bodies. Gross, I know!

This is definitely a weird adventure. And I don’t use that term lightly. While the grasshopper part was interesting enough, I found myself more interested in Austin and his relationship struggles. He is a comical, though horny boy who likes to feel good and he always has sex on the brain. I laughed out loud at times, especially when he was telling stories about getting in trouble for reading specific books or when he and Robby were “experimenting”. It felt awkward because it was, but it was also one of my favorite moments in the book.

The characters DID fall a bit flat for me at time, while I really enjoyed Robby, I didn’t come to learn too much about him. Shann — I really knew nothing about her personally. Austin was the only one that I can say that I kind of knew the most, but that’s because we were in his head the entire time.

This time around, I feel that Smith focused on the weird, complex plot of mutant grasshoppers and Austin’s sexual orientation experimenting. Not a bad thing, but I do kind of feel like something was sacrified for the sake of the weird plot.

With that being said, I enjoyed the book. I like how weird it was, I like Austin’s confusion over Shann & Robby. While this book is primarily about a boy’s adolescence and self-discovery, Smith threw in some Storm Trooper crap to make it more interesting. And it was absolutely more interesting. I 100% like “Winger” a lot better, but this one was not a bad read at all!

MY RATING: 4 out of 5 stars!