Be honest, who does not love the stories of Atlantis or Brigadoon or any other disappearing and disappeared world? World mysteries have always fascinated me, wondering what people imagined from these lost communities and - even more so - what they wanted them to be and represent. The Destruction of Ravenser Odd I stumbled across the history of Ravenser Odd entirely by chance. But what a chance! Here was a setting for a story, one which was almost Biblical in its existence and destruction. Unlike Dunwich, which gradually succumbed to the sea, Ravenser Odd was swallowed in a very short space of time, the final straw coming in The Great Drowning of Men on Saint Marcellus' Day 1362. As well as this, the town was in the Humber, an area with which I was very familiar, having lived in Barrow-upon-Humber for ten years and being an alumnus of Hull University. Could there be a better setting for a historical fiction tale which was to be laced with horror? Well, I didn't think so. The
I have so much I want to say about Even
Heroes. The first thing is that I was desperate to know how it ended, which
is a sure sign of a good book. I was invested in the characters from early on,
but I really did not like Vincent. He’s exceptionally judgmental about everyone
around him and, because it’s all from his point of view, you get every sniping
thought which goes through his head. But that’s not a bad thing at all – for a
protagonist who fancies himself a superhero, the antihero vibe works very well.
I felt particularly sorry for his
mum. Vincent’s dad has been out of the picture since he was a little boy, and
she’s understandably very protective of him, especially given the fact he has
serious asthma. He is just mean about her all the time and, in fact, comes
across as very cold towards her at times. I think the fact she perseveres with
him probably means she’s a serious contender for Mother of the Year. There’s
one particular bit where she dares to give him tofu and he’s really rude
about it. Don’t get me wrong, I can’t stand tofu, but the poor woman is doing
her best!
Once you get into the swing of it,
you can easily get swept along with the adventure which Vincent embarks on.
Once or twice, it’s a bit too much. I could have done without the inference
that Vincent manages to cure his asthma with sheer determination. And, as a
teacher, I struggle to believe that all but one of the teachers at Vincent’s
school believe that he’s this trouble-causing little pain in the backside,
rather than noticing that two of his peers are physically and mentally
torturing him. Even when I was being bullied at secondary school, teachers were
reasonably good at noticing physical things, even if the sneakier nastiness stayed
under the radar.
Even for a YA novel, Even Heroes
is on the long side but there is never a moment where you feel like the
action has stalled. I don’t think it needs as many chapters as it has (I would
have combined a few of them) but the author works the cliff-hangers very well,
so the end of a chapter is rarely a point when you want to stop reading! You
hear every thought in Vincent’s head, which helps to build tension at some of
the crucial points, and the action is very visual, almost like you’re seeing it
in a graphic novel.
In summary, an action-packed novel which will take you through some of the darkest aspects of adolescence in America.
Blurb (from Goodreads)
A regular kid. An impossible dream.
Thirteen-year-old Vincent’s fantasy of being a superhero can never come true for two reasons. One: he’s an asthmatic weakling whose mom won’t even let him walk up a flight of stairs (something the school bullies happily remind him of each time they stick his head in the toilet). And two: this is the real world, where superheroes don’t actually exist.
Neither of these reasons can stop Vincent from donning a mask, cape, and homemade bulletproof shield, or from spending hours training to fight imaginary bad guys. Then one night, he captures an actual bad guy—and becomes an honest-to-goodness hero in the process. Soon, Vincent is living his dream life: corralling criminals by night, navigating new friendships by day, and keeping the mother of all secrets from the world’s most overprotective mom.
There’s only one flaw in Vincent’s fantastic new existence: he’s still just a regular kid. And he’s about to face his deadliest foe yet—a merciless killer who doesn’t care how old (or young) his victims are. To survive, Vincent must rely on his new friends, unite with old enemies, and accept a painful truth rarely found in his beloved comic books:
That sometimes, even heroes can’t save the day.
Crikey, I don't suppose sticking his head down the toilet helps much with asthma either!!
ReplyDeleteI know - he does have it very tough, bless him! The bullies are absolutely horrible - and not very subtle about it either!
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