I actually started reading this one a second time to try to catch things I needed to put the story together in my head. It's complex enough without being overly so. A great read for the target age group.

The Runaways are trying to move past what happened with their parents, villains known as The Pride, by helping kids on the streets. On a rescue mission, they're swept back into the chaos The Pride left behind.

I enjoyed reading a novel about the Runaways, though I felt that it wasn't quite right for a new reader. I think people more familiar with the Runaways, either the Hulu show or the comics, will pick this book up faster than a newcomer to the characters. However, this will be an easy book to hand-sell.

"The city is overrun with criminals, each faction bent on murdering them for one reason or another. It's only when the Runaways uncover the truth behind their parents' past that they realize the evil isn't just in L.A."
I've never read the comic or seen the tv show so this was a new story for me. Many seem to complain when comparing this novel to its other forms, but I found it enjoyable.

The Runaways seem to be having a comeback. They have a TV series on Hulu, a rebootish new comic book, and then this book. Very cool.

For the most part the origin story of the Runaways is nicely woven into the bigger plot in the novel, and so we don’t see a lot of how they met and that sort of thing, but we do learn about a lot of that. And I thought Golden did it well. Still, it’s definitely a better read if you already know something about the Runaways (either from reading all the comics they’ve been in... who me??, or even having seen episodes of the TV series would definitely help). This is a book that definitely plops the reader in In Media Res.

In this book, there’s some new Masters of Evil trying to take over the LA underground now that The Pride is gone. Then the Runaways find out about a girl who has been taken by someone. And they wind up rescuing her, Allis, as well as a boy named Zeke. They have a back story quite similar to the Runaways and these two newcomers start causing quite a bit of friction among the team. So then they’re going up against Zeke’s parents as well as the Masters of Evil, while trying to also simply stay alive, and stay friends too. It was a lot of plot and here and there it did seem to bog down just a little, but, overall I thought it was a good story.

In this book Karolina is also a lesbian (or, I shouldn’t assume, since it’s never specifically spoken about in the book, so we’ll go with, Karolina is a wlw in this book). And while I would have loved to see her subplot bigger and maybe a little less angsty, it fit very well with the story.

I’ve liked all the other versions of the Runaways so far, and I definitely liked this one too. And it would be soo very cool if (like the Squirrel Girl novels) maybe there was a second book here too? (I know, I know, just enjoy what I did get. :))

I was given this ARC by Netgalley on behalf of Marvel Press.

I started Runaways by Christopher Golden but chose not to finish it. Don't get me wrong - I like that DC and Marvel are asking YA authors to turn popular comic books into novels for teens, especially as TV shows and graphic novel reboots are in the works. But if the author cannot manage to set the novel apart from the comic, then the whole story just feels like a narration of the graphic work without the best part: the graphics. I am a big fan of Brian K. Vaughan's original Runaways series and I'm excited for Rainbow Rowell's reboot, so there's no way I would recommend this novel to a teen with the original comics available. I definitely do not think libraries need to purchase this volume. If the graphic novels are immensely popular, just purchase more copies of those!

They archived this like three days after I was approved to read it, and I hadn't downloaded it yet. Super disappointing since I was looking forward to reading it, but I guess I wasn't quick enough on the draw. :(

Since I had never read runaways, I decided to give this a try. Unfortunately, because i haven't read any, it took me a little while to understand their world and the characters. Readers who have read this before would most likely enjoy it more than I did, as I had to work very hard to understand what was going on because the world building was relying on the older stories.

I love the original Runaways comics and was super excited to see this join the new novelization of comics. Teens will be sure to grab it for its recognizable name.

Well written and an exciting read, but a bit much for someone unfamiliar with the Runaways universe. It drops you in the middle of their story, so if you didn't read the comics or graphic novels, it can be hard to catch up with who everyone is and what's happening.

I was pleasantly surprised by this read. After being disappointed by DC's new Batman novel I didn't have high hopes for another superhero book. This one however, was actually pretty good. It stuck close to the graphic novel origins. It gave good back story so those who haven't read the comics will still be able to enjoy the story, though I kind of wish there was more character looks descriptions. I feel like the "good guy" characters acted the way they were suppose to and the bad guys were very "Marvel" bad guy like. There was plenty of action and plot development to keep the story moving and to keep the reader interested. The ending wasn't really a big surprise, but it was still done in a clever way. Due to swearing (mostly done by the youngest Runaway member) and sexual content (Two members end up naked in bed but it doesn't end up going all the way... if you know what I mean) I'm not sure I'd give it to younger teens. Those who are looking for a decent Marvel read or who are getting ready for the Runaways TV show will probably enjoy this read though.