Powerless: Excerpt and Giveaway

POWERLESS is the first book of The Hero Agenda series by Tera Lynn Childs and Tracy Deebs.  Read my review here.

How did they come to write together? One fateful summer, Tera Lynn Childs and Tracy Deebs embarked on a nine hour (each way!) road trip to Santa Fe that ended with a flaming samurai, an enduring friendship, and the kernel of an idea that would eventually become POWERLESS. On their own, they have written YA tales about mermaids (Forgive My Fins, Tempest Rising), mythology (Doomed, Oh. My Gods., Sweet Venom), smooching (International Kissing Club), and fae princes (When Magic Sleeps). Between them, they have three boys (all Tracy), three dogs (mostly TLC), and almost fifty published books. Find TLC and the #TeamHillain headquarters at teralynnchilds.com. Check out Tracy and the #TeamVero lair at tracydeebs.com. Hang out with all the heroes, villains, ordinaries, and none-of-the-aboves at heroagenda.com.

Summary 

 Kenna is tired of being "normal."

The only thing special about her is that she isn't special at all. Which is frustrating when you're constantly surrounded by superheroes. Her best friend, her ex-boyfriend, practically everyone she knows has some talent or power. Sure, Kenna's smart and independent, but as an ordinary girl in an extraordinary world, it's hard not to feel inferior.

So when three villains break into the lab where she interns, Kenna refuses to be a victim. She's not about to let criminals steal the research that will make her extraordinary too.

But in the heat of battle, secrets are spilled and one of the villains saves her life. Twice. Suddenly, everything Kenna thought she knew about good and evil, heroes and villains is upended. And to protect her life and those she loves, she must team up with her sworn enemies on a mission that will redefine what it means to be powerful and powerless...

Excerpt 

“You never answered my question. What are you doing down here so late?”

Those bright blue eyes sear into me as he takes a step back. “I have to go.”

His sudden evasiveness makes me suspicious, so when he starts to move past me, I sidestep into his path. “Excuse me,” I say, “but this is a secure level. Are you even authorized to be down here?”

“My dad,” he says, scowling at me. “He’s a security guard.”

A security guard? The facility might be so big that I can’t keep track of everyone who works in every lab, but I know all the guards by name. Especially the night guards, since I’m usually the last one here.

Travis and Luther are on duty tonight. Travis and his wife just had their first baby, a girl named Tia. Luther is old enough to be my great-grandfather and he never married.

I take half a step back as my suspicions turn to concern. “Who’s your dad?” I demand.

This guy definitely has the look of a villain.

What if he really is one?

Review: Powerless

Book one of The Hero Agenda

By Tera Lynn Childs and Tracy Deebs
Available June 2 from Sourcebooks Fire
Review copy

I couldn't resist reading POWERLESS.  I like Tera Lynn Childs' Greek mythology-inspired series and Tracy Deebs' romance novels as Tracy Wolff.  Plus, novels featuring superheroes are one of my favorite things.  A topic I like by authors I enjoy?  Yep, no way I could resist.

I'm glad I didn't.  POWERLESS is a propulsive read that both tells an exciting story and sets up several future plotlines for a series.  It all starts in a lab, where Kenna Swift is working late.  Kenna is powerless, but she's also immune to powers thanks to a serum her mother secretly cooked up.  Hero or villain, it doesn't matter - although Kenna can still be hurt by collateral damage.  That's why she remembers the three villains who invaded the lab looking for a friend, even though one of them thought he wiped her mind.  Kenna knows who the heroes and the villains are, but she can't help thinking that they didn't seem that evil.  So she goes snooping.

If you like stories about family secrets, people banding together to do the right thing, and creative uses of chapstick, you'll enjoy POWERLESS.  I liked that there was an interesting mix of relationships in the main group.  There's Kenna, her best friend Rebel, and her ex-boyfriend Jeremy representing the heroes.  Then Draven (who Kenna is attracted to), Dante, and Nitro representing the villains.  There are romantic, sibling, and friend relationships within the group, in addition to some tensions between people who used to be enemies.  This mix means that even though it is a larger ensemble, there's a lot to define each character and how they react to the others.

I liked that Childs and Deebs didn't spend too long building up to the heroes-are-the-villains reveal.  (In fact, the prologue basically gives it away.)  It's where the story is obviously heading, so why save it for the climax?  When we get it at the beginning of the book we get to see more of how Kenna reacts.  (To be fair, it is mostly denial at first.)

POWERLESS did feel like the beginning of a series.  There's several action scenes, but they're mostly set up for events in future books.  At the same time, I feel like Childs and Deebs still managed to tell a complete story about Kenna and her friends.  I'm definitely curious about how things will play out in the second book.

Be sure to visit on Thursday, 6/18 for an extended excerpt of POWERLESS and a jewelry giveaway.

Review: Super

Sequel to POWERLESS
By Matthew Cody
Available now from Knopf (Random House)
Review copy

I love superhero stories, and POWERLESS stood out from the pack to me because of it's brutal first chapter.  Michael's whole life is flying, until he wakes up without his powers or memories, never to fly again.  That's been the fate of the children of Noble's Green for centuries.  Many of them have a superpower, but they lose it and all memory of it on their thirteenth birthday.  Then Daniel Corrigan came to town and helped the Supers find and defeat the culprit.

But something has happened, and the Supers are again losing their powers.  Temporarily, but who knows when they'll be gone forever?  Meanwhile, Daniel is showing evidence of developing powers and the grandnephew of their nemesis the Shroud has come to town.  He's obviously the number one suspect, but Daniel's worried things aren't so simple.

In addition to having a fast and fun storyline, the morality of SUPER is not black and white.  Who deserves power?  Who can decide whether or not someone deserves power?  Daniel may want to help his friends, but some of the super-powered kids aren't as nice or altruistic.  If the local bully didn't have super strength, that would be a good thing.  But would it just stop there?

I liked that there isn't much romance, since the main characters are younger teens.  (They're maybe fourteen during SUPER.)  There are hints of crushes and a quick kiss, but nothing more.  There are a lot of friendships that cross gender lines, which is nice to see.  Molly, a flyer, is one of the toughest characters and always ready to defend her friends.  And Daniel is a good protagonist for the series, since he has no powers - just the ability to think things through and use his head.

I do recommend starting with POWERLESS, since SUPER deals with the fallout from the first book.  Both tell complete stories, however.  Each book has a definite end and can stand on its own if need be.  I'd be happy to read another Noble's Green novel, but SUPER does not require a sequel.  This series is a good choice for kids who love superheroes and are looking for a good read that isn't a graphic novel.