- My rating: 5 out of 5 stars
- Genre: Teen Suspense Fiction
- Part of a Series: yes
- Publication year: 2013
- Publisher: Marcher Lord Press
Description:
Publishers Weekly STARRED Review: "Otte nails the concept . . . He balances fantasy with teen hormones in a clever and page-turning debut . . . The amusing noirish atmosphere of the setting draws older readers . . . A TV show full of sequel possibilities."
Why did Robin Laughlin (a.k.a. Failstate) think being a superhero on a reality show would be a good idea? Things seemed so simple: Win the show, become an official, licensed hero. But with his brother, Ben (a.k.a. Gauntlet) stealing America's heart-and with Rob's own powers proving too unwieldy for TV-Failstate begins to wonder if he's going to live up to the failure in his name. Until one of his friends and fellow competitors is murdered. Robin vows to find the killer, and he sets out on a very real quest to unmask the hidden villain. Can Failstate find justice? Or will his lunk of a big brother ruin everything-including taking the girl who has stolen Rob's heart? Very soon, Failstate and Gauntlet will come to blows. Which has been the villain's plan all along.
My Thoughts:
This was fun! I always like super hero movies, especially ones where there's a human side to the super hero. This story reminds me a bit of the new SpiderMan movie, where Spiderman has some adjusting to do to get used to his new abilities. Rob has some of that going on too.
At first it was a bit strange to me to think of super heroes praying to God and asking for guidance, but I grew to really like it. Rob's character is super likeable and that perfect combination of akward teen boy wanting to be a man, but not being able to quite pull it off. There's humor, a bit of love, friendship, family, and action all rolled into one exciting book. The cover's not my favorite and I think a better design of that would do the book more justice. Looking forward to reading the next book in this series.
