YA Paranormal Pick: Powerless

Powerless

(The Hero Agenda, book 1)

by Tera Lynn Childs & Tracy Deebs

Sourcebooks

304 pages

2015

ISBN: 9781492616573

Available June 2, 2015

Edge of the seat thrilling, full of plot twists, conspiracy theories, good guys who are bad and bad guys who might turn out to be good, a tough as nails in-your-face-fierce, fearless and fantastic female protagonist, a darkly brooding male love interest, a tech nerd ex-boyfriend with an addiction to chocolate milk,  high stakes, live or die situations, a race against time, a few bombshells, and one MAJOR bombshell, what more could any reader want?

Powerless is that rare YA novel that stretches the boundaries of where YA fiction ends and comic book adventure begins. Reading like a Marvel comic book, Powerless has a fabulous femme fatale who is no shrinking violet. Move over Bella Swan and Katniss Everdeen. Kenna Swift is the next supergirl! Hollywood get ready to take notes; everyone will be looking for this movie next.

Kenna Swift is the daughter of two elite scientists working for the League's Elite Super Hero Lab. Kenna's father died when she was four. She remembers it...her dad obliterated by a  ball of flame thrown by a villain. Now her mother--THE world's top scientist, has developed the answer for fighting these baddies. Her heroes all have special powers, everyone except Kenna, that is. But Kenna is smart, not powerless. She has a brain and the ability to catch these super-villains off their game. She can still best them.

When Kenna happens upon a break-in at her mother's lab, she's toast ( pun intended). Nitro throws a ball of fire at her, and if not for Draven (another villain), Kenna would be dead. Draven grabs her, throwing her to the ground and taking the fire for her, saving her life. The criminals make a break for it, leaving Kenna wondering why a villain would want to save her.

Kenna has a few secrets of her own; it appears her mother does, too. Just what is Dr. Swift hiding about the League? Kenna decides to get answers for herself. Using her mother's security badge and her mad skills of outsmarting security cameras and guards, Kenna sneaks back  into the lab. She's searching for a secret underground level that only exists in some conspiracy theorists' minds. What she finds jolts her into reality. Everything Kenna believed about heroes and villains is changed. Now that she has the terrifying truth, what can she do to change the world? She's going to need a lot of help, and she's going to have to make alliances with enemies in order to stay alive.

Thrilling and chilling, Powerless is everything an action/adventure/thriller/mystery should be. The team of writers Childs and Deebs is a real dream team. The plot is a bit Maximum Ride, a bit Alex Rider, a bit James Bond, a bit "Conspiracy Theory" and all exhilarating excitement. The ending leaves an exciting segue for the next book in the installment. The problem with any trilogy or series is the waiting period for the next  book to be published. I can hardly wait.

Highly, highly recommended grade 7-up. A pretty gross torture scene, some pretty good hero vs. villain fights.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received the ARC from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

This review has been posted in compliance with the FTC requirements set forth in the Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (available at ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005revisedendorsementguides.pdf)

Fairy Tale Fantasy Pick: Between the Lines

Between the Lines
by Jodi Picoult & Samantha Van Leer
Simon Pulse
2012
352 pages


Breathtakingly beautiful, pensively poignant, and exceedingly entertaining, Jodi Picoult works with her own teen daughter to create a new kind of ya novel. Between the Lines is a refreshing take on a fairy tale with a happy ending. This one has it all: a quiet, loner teen girl captivated by a fairy tale book she checks out from the library. This book is different, though. Something keeps tugging her into the story, and suddenly the story changes. Things begin to appear on pages that were never there before. She thinks she's imagining things, or worse, she's going a bit crazy.

Oliver is a shy prince who isn't the least bit valiant; in fact, he is quite un-brave. He uses his wits to get past dragons, trolls and villians, not his boldness or swagger. He feels trapped in the same story forever...until, one day a Reader sees him, no...really sees him. He is able to talk to her and she can actually hear him.

Both Delilah and Oliver  think this new twist is exciting and weird, and Oliver begs Delilah to try to rescue him from  the story. What if Oliver could escape his world, and live a real life in hers?

The action is told sometimes in Delilah's world of high school hallways and her bedroom; sometimes the story is told as the Reader is reading the fairy tale and the action is forever and always the same for Oliver because he is merely an actor in the story, and sometimes the story is told as Oliver tries to escape his fairy tale life. The best times are when Delilah, the real girl, is talking to storybook character Oliver--who is real on the pages in front of her.

Fans of Picoult will see the mother's deft touch and hear her teen daughter's youthful voice in the voice of the main characters. What a team! It is the brilliant match-up--the seasoned writer with a new and vibrant, young voice of today's ya reader. This is sheer marketing genius! The cover shouts Jodi Picoult's name, so Picoult fans will likely pick it up and the teen girl on the cover invites high school readers to become new fans of Picoult and Van Leer.

I haven't read a book quite like this one. It's new and exciting, and I bet someone in Hollywood would like to see this story on the big screen--I know I would.  Bidding on this book's movie rights  is about to get fierce.

Highly, highly recommended grades 7-up. Finally, a book so entertaining, our middle school readers can access and high school readers will love.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.