Our teen book spotlight this week is focused on books that are linked together by being superhero inspired! We have a great selection of fiction and graphic novel titles which include superhero characters and themes; some are one that you may know from the Marvel or DC Universes while others are completely original to that author and story. Hopefully these will help inspire you to explore if you have superpowers and how would you use them if you could. These books and more can be found by searching the catalog using the search tag #yalandofheroes as well as on Libby and Hoopla. Check back next week for a new teen book spotlight and if you have any book suggestions, please let us know!!
Gotham High by Melissa de la Cruz--After being kicked out of his boarding school, 17-year-old Bruce Wayne returns to Gotham City to find that nothing is as he left it, and when a kidnapping rattles the school, Bruce seeks answers as the dark and troubled knight.
Dreadnought by April Daniels--Daniel Tozer is struggling to keep people from knowing she's transgender when the superhero Dreadnought is fatally injured in a fight with a supervillain and passes his powers onto Danny, transforming Danny physically into the girl she's always wanted to be. However, now Danny's father wants to cure her body, her best friend wants to date her, and other superheroes are arguing about her place in their ranks. Before Danny can adjust, Dreadnought's cyborg killer, Utopia, returns. Danny must deal with coming out, master her powers, and stop Utopia before humanity is destroyed.
Zeroes by Scott Westerfeld--Told from separate viewpoints, teens Scam, Crash, Flicker, Anonymous, Bellwether, and Kelsie, all born in the year 2000 and living in Cambria, California, have superhuman abilities that give them interesting but not heroic lives until they must work as a community to respond to a high stakes crisis.
Illusive by Emily Lloyd-Jones--The MK virus has a dire effect on humanity until the Praevenir vaccine is created. It succeeds, but it gives a small number of people one of seven super powers. Teenager Ciere Giba, already on the run from the government, finds she can take her illusionist skills to the next level, having the chameleon-like ability to blend in with her surroundings. For a while she lives the high life using stolen money to party with her friends, until a heist puts her in the sights of both the government and a super-powered criminal organization. Ciere may have stumbled upon the supposedly destroyed vaccine formula.
Battling Boy by Paul Pope--What would happen if evil were to triumph over good? This premise is exactly what happens in Pope's graphic novel, which focuses on the Earth city of Arcopolis, which has long been prone to attacks by the villain Sadisto and his army. For a time, the hero Haggard West was able to keep the city relatively safe, but when Haggard falls to Sadisto, the city is left entirely at his mercy. Enter Battling Boy, the 13-year-old child of a god on a faraway world, who has been tasked with proving his mettle by aiding the people of Earth. Traveling across the cosmos, Battling Boy finds Arcopolis in a state of disarray, and his work cut out for him as he begins the difficult task of setting things straight.
Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo--When Princess Diana breaks Amazon law and saves a mortal girl, she has no idea her actions could negatively impact the world. And the girl she saved, Alia Keralis, had no idea she is a Warbringer--destined to bring bloodshed and agony to the world. Now the unlikely friends will have to stand side by side in order to save both of their worlds.