With a classic superhero fix that would do Marvel proud and a protagonist that speaks from the heart, Dreadnought is the book you didn’t know your soul needed, but it answered just the same.

Sometimes the world is a bleak and terrifying place and so much seems hopeless. All we can do is fight through the darkness and stand strong in our convictions. Dreadnought is that quintessential story. The world can be a cruel place for those who are different and humanity can leave a lot to be desired. Dreadnought is a story of strength, hope, and perseverance, of embracing what you know in your heart and not letting anyone tell you different, despite the adversity and fear.

Danny (Danielle) Tozer has lived her life in a body she feels betrayed her. I’ve never had such a keen insight into a character and their emotions. Danny’s story reflects the boxes that our sex puts us in, the way that society pushes and crafts each child into perceived ideas of masculinity and femininity. Danny has always known she was female, despite being anatomically male. She talks about how she gradually was pushed out of a circle of girls that she was friends with, how she was pushed into sports, and what she was expected to act like to assume the role of a male. My heart broke a little more with each loss, because that’s what they are deaths. It didn’t matter if Danny wanted to hold her books is a “girly” way, she was criticized for being too feminine and forced to adjust even the smallest of her mannerisms for fear of reprimand, even if part of her was dying inside with each small defeat. It’s eye-opening. How many times are people dismissive? How many times do people say, what’s the big deal, it’s a choice, what’s it matter, just hold your books differently? When you’re hit with Danny’s emotions and how it’s slowly killing her inside to relinquish even the tiniest bit of herself to satisfy society’s need to dichotomize, it cuts deeply. It’s powerful and insightful and will make you see the world differently. A transgender superhero. This makes my heart happy.

Dangerous forms of masculinity and femininity are summarized in Danny’s parents. I felt sick and disgusted by the way Danny’s father treats her and the way her mother cowers. The verbal abuse is gut-wrenching. There are all sorts of abuse and words can be just as painful and damaging as physical blows. I felt rage and hatred, and so sad for Danny. All she wants is to be accepted for who she is and the people who are supposed to love her unconditionally cast her aside.

Throw in randomly gaining a superhero mantle on top of all this emotional turmoil. Obviously the adrenaline and emotions are high. The Legion is full of a diverse cast of superheroes that are both memorable, occasionally prejudiced, and super interesting.

Calamity. I LOVE HER. She’s a little clichéd, but that’s her schtick. She’s funny, reckless, smart, and daring. The way she accepts Danny right off the bat and befriends her is sort of serendipitous and heartwarming.

That being said, the world building was iffy. There were details just thrown in as explanation. Things weren’t clearly defined. They were more broad than anything.

Utopia’s plan for domination is creative and she’s complex as a villain. However, all of these plot points were piled on at once and a little much. There’s not much spacing. The reveal too was so in your face that it didn’t pack the punch it could have. Some of the action scenes were too step-by-step and lasted an abnormally long time. Not in the sense that they dragged, because the description was epic, but you kind of wanted them to hurry up so we could get to the next catastrophe.

#ownvoices trans girl superhero! Woohoo! Loved the concept a lot. Danny was a great MC, and I enjoyed her friendly (maybe more???) relationship with the "gray" caper Calamity.

The book has a loooooot of slurs and emotional violence directed right at Danny for being trans. While I appreciated the story of a girl overcoming the voices who put her down, it made me very frustrated that the ones who supported her ended up being punished and the biggest aggressors walked away scot-free.

Maybe this will be resolved in the next book, but I don't think I will be reading it. Just hurt *me* too much to get through this. Others, including trans girls, may find a lot of hope here.

***e-ARC provided by NetGalley***

This book touched on so many different issues within the realm of fantasy it would have been easy for it to become confusing. The storyline covers emotional abuse, race and class issues, rape culture, sexism, and LGBTQ issues. I relished in this book because of the fact that all too often the fantasy genre is filled with a certain type of character (white, cisgendered, heterosexual). I love the huge step into diversity this story took and love even more that it did it so well.

Danny isn’t a character that I connected with right away. The more I got to know her the more I felt for her, especially after meeting her family. I can’t imagine facing the challenges she does on a daily basis. In the story itself, it’s like she gets her ultimate wish – she finally looks on the outside exactly how she’s always felt on the inside. What was eye opening for me were the various issues this brought up that I hadn’t even really thought of before. I appreciated this peek into her life and the education it gave me. I am curious as to how accurate the portrayal of her transgender issues are to those in real life. Obviously, in real life, no one gets a wish granted like this which only makes it worse. I think about how a character like Danny would have survived if she’d not been given this golden ticket out of her circumstances.

When I finished this book I was in awe. I felt like I’d just read the origin story of a superhero I can’t wait to get to know more. I can easily see this becoming a tv series right up there with SuperGirl, the Flash, and the many others on Netflix. I’m looking forward to this as a series and will be sure to check future books out.

This book had me invested from the very first page, told in the first person, everything is experienced through our heroine, Danny, who identifies as a transgender lesbian. Her inner dialogue really adds a connection to her character, her experiences, and the story as a whole. The writing is easy to get into resulting in an immersive experience. I read the first half of this in one sitting in what felt like no time at all. Dreadnought blends contemporary elements with the superhero genre. At times the superhero elements take a back seat to everything else, this is where we see some fantastic character development.

First and foremost, Danny’s sudden transformation has effectively outed her as transgender to everyone, there is no more hiding. Not everyone is supportive or kind and she faces a lot of prejudice. I’m not trans, so it’s not my place to say much about how realistic this representation is, but this book is #ownvoices, and the way everything is written feels very raw and real. What makes this book so effective is that you experience everything through Danny’s eyes, including the toxic effects of transphobia, and being misgendered. This is a novel that has clearly been carefully thought out, down to the sexism Danny experiences with her new appearance. The representation of women in the media (airbrushing models and such) is also discussed.

The superhero side builds a detailed world, with an altered history and a hierarchy of super powered individuals. These elements are fun, and familiar. I don’t want to give away too many details, but Danny has a choice to make about what she wants to do with her powers. She meets the local Superhero team, the Legion early on, she also meets a vigilante known as Outlaw, a girl the same age as Danny. A big part of the story is Danny trying to figure out where she belongs and whether she wants to take on the title of Dreadnought.

One thing I loved about this book is the friendship that develops between Danny and Outlaw, who takes Danny under her wing. It’s always nice to see a strong friendship between female characters – to often are women portrayed as rivals.

I don’t want to say too much more because spoilers, but this book brings so much to light. While I highly recommend this book, I am going to include a trigger warning for transphobia, homophobia and emotional abuse, if any of these are a trigger for you then proceed with caution. Otherwise, this is a highly worthwhile read, both in terms of diverse representation and as a great superhero story, I couldn’t give this book anything less than 5 stars.

This is a book that I want to love. The idea behind it is one that immediately hooks me. Being under the queer umbrella myself, I look for books to read with LGBTQIA representation. The fact that this is also a superhero book was a double positive for me. In fact, I read the first four chapters on Google Books before requesting it on Netgalley because I couldn't possibly wait to finish reading it. The reasons why I couldn't wait to finish it aren't all positive though.

First off, I don't like Danny. I like how she was introduced and how she received her powers but I didn't like her as a character. I wanted to but to me she came off as more then a little spiteful. She also had very black and white definitions on gender, i.e. thinking that eating a certain way is how a boy would eat. This kind of thought process can be hurtful to people who fall along the gender spectrum but don't identify as a male or a female.

This book also to me felt like it could have been much better paced. There is very little action during the beginning of the book and at the end it is all jammed in there. It gave me a bit of literary whiplash. I think a little bit more length at the end would have been very helpful. There was very little space for the action and it really feels as if it was just tacked on at the end to round off the story.

I also have some issues with feeling as if the summary blurb didn't accurately represent the book. The scenes with her best friend were much shorter then I thought they'd be based on the summary.

Also, with the idea that there is no longer any hiding that she is a girl, not that I think she should hide that she identifies as a girl just that I expected her to come out to her parents and her friends as transgender much much much sooner then she did. She seemed to expect them to accept that she was now their daughter even though she hadn't told them that she identified as such. She neglected to tell anyone that she was transgender until someone else finds out during a physical exam.

All of this being said, I do like the book and I look forward to the sequel. Doc. Impossible and Calamity are wonderfully developed characters. The action scenes are well written which can be a hard thing to do. The addition of superheroes to the already existing history of the world was done smoothly, honestly I would read an Abbreviated History of Superheroes if April Daniels wrote it because I really enjoyed the sections where she went into the history of the Dreadnought mantle.

I also believe that this is a good book to start discussions. I ranted and raved to my coworkers about this book. I searched out other reviews on this book to see how other people felt about it. This is a book that is a good book to read and to think about. It gives a role model to young LGBTQIA young adults and could be a very good book for a book club to read and then discuss.

Dreadnought by April Daniels

Pros: complex issues, great world-building, transgender protagonist

Cons: a few minor complaints

When the superhero Dreadnought dies in front of Danny, he gives the teen his mantel, which changes Danny’s body from male to female. Now in the body she’s always wanted, Danny’s never been happier, though she feels guilty about how she got it. Her new body also causes her new problems, as her parents and schoolmates finally see the real her, and not everyone’s happy with her transition. The superhero community is different from what Danny’s always believed, and she faces several difficult choices - including whether to go after the supervillain who killed Dreadnought.

The book deals with several complex issues, not the least of which is Danny’s gender transition. I appreciated that the author didn’t pull punches, and showed Danny’s conflicted emotions and real consequences for both long term and short term actions.

It was great seeing a transgender protagonist, and the author showed how difficult things are: from coming out to friends and family, dealing with opposition, and learning to feel good in your skin. I especially appreciated the scenes where Danny learns about make-up and gets her first bra. While the book didn’t make me cry, I did feel for Danny on multiple occasions and was frankly shocked by a lot of the things that happened.

While Dreadnought is described as being invincible - his death notwithstanding, Danny quickly realizes she has limitations and can still feel pain and hurt herself. So there was tension and actual concern during fights that things might not go well for her.

I also appreciated that there was no romance in the book. There were times I thought the author was heading in that direction, but Danny had so much to deal with already, I think a love interest would have been too much. Having said that, I wouldn’t mind seeing a romance develop in later books.

The world-building is quite good, with some basic history into where super humans come from and how they’ve impacted recent history. While you don’t learn everyone’s backstories, some of them - specifically Calamity’s - are very realistic. Others are brushed off as comic book style transformations (specifically ones dealing with mythological or mystical origins).

The plot is great. while I saw one or two of the complications that cropped up, I was blindsided by most of the plot twists. The mystery of Utopia’s identity kept me guessing, and I enjoyed seeing Calamity teach Danny the ropes of ‘caping’.

I had a few minor complaints, like Danny’s insistence that her best friend would come around to her new body quickly. Considering the fact that Danny didn’t feel she could share that she was transgender with him, something about her friend must have tipped her off to the fact that she couldn’t trust him with the news.

I also had trouble picturing the action in some of the airplane rescue scenes, though the author did a great job explaining Danny’s powers in other scenes.

This is a fantastic debut and I’m really looking forward to seeing how the series progresses.

Danny lives in a world where superheroes exist right alongside regular folks – the catch though, is that when a hero dies, their mantel is passed on for someone new to step into the role and that’s exactly what happens the day Dreadnought dies. Danny, several cities away from home and crouched behind a building so she can paint her toenails in privacy, is in the wrong place at the wrong time: just as there are superheroes, there are supervillains and Utopia is the baddest of them all. As they’re engaged in a fierce battle, Uptopia blasts Dreadnought out of the sky, sending him plummeting to the ground…and right into Danny’s path.

Dreadnought is teetering on the brink of death and in his final moments, he passes on the title of Dreadnought to Danny – and it’s not what she expected. As she takes on the name and powers, she also takes on an entirely new body – literally. Inside Danny has always felt like a girl, she knew she was a girl, and now she has the body to prove it. Unfortunately for Danny, while she might be over the moon with her new outward appearance, those around her aren’t quite as readily accepting. Not to mention there’s still that nasty business with Utopia to attend to.

I…did not like this book. At all. There’s been such a huge surge lately of LGBT novels in YA (particularly Middle Grade!) and I’m loving it, so right off the bat I was looking forward to this novel about a transgender superhero. Sadly, almost immediately I realized Dreadnought was not the book I had hoped for. Instead of a novel devoted to the trials and tribulations of a transgender character (I really wanted to get inside her head and experience her thoughts and feelings), Danny gets her magical makeover in the first chapter.

Dreadnought felt like a series of barely-connected daydreams. You know the ones where you finally tell your boss what you think of him? Or how you imagine you’re walking down the street and, out of nowhere, a blazing inferno erupts at a hospital – but no fear, for you’ve managed to save every last child and are dubbed a national hero? Those kind of daydreams. That’s exactly what reading this book felt like: a string of fantasies that are held together by the flimsiest plot ever. Danny, now Dreadnought, discovers her body is not only able to withstand horrific injury (she saves a flaming airplane from crashing into the ground) but she’s also in perfect shape and has an amazingly massive chest, which her BFF can’t stop staring at (of course) and, gosh, she practically has to beat him off with a stick because now he wants to date her after years and years of believing her to be male. She comes to huge blows with her father – an absurd character who was only included so the book would have a bad guy, since Utopia didn’t appear again until 72% of the way in, and then promptly vanished once more a few pages later. Danny, 15, and another 15-year-old casually walk into a bar and no one bats an eye. In the middle of a VERY crucial battle, there’s a multi-page lesson on make-up.

Although I really appreciated the message in Dreadnought, it was so heavy-handed and every single character was either wholly good and loving and accepting or absolutely horrid (wildly insulting and prone to hurling every offensive slur imaginable.) There was a bewildering scene involving another superhero (an adult, mind you) who couldn’t accept that Danny was female:

“I’m just as much a girl as you are.”
“Oh really? She leans forward, steeples her fingers. “Do you even know how to put in a tampon?”

Really?

Another quote that got to me was when Danny said “Suddenly, I’m worried about getting fat, which is something that hasn’t happened to me before.” Yeah, no.

Sorry, Dreadnought, I wanted to cheer you on and I know I’m in the minority here, but you just weren’t the book for me.

“I see a world that is terrified of me. Terrified of someone who would reject manhood. Terrified of a girl who knows who she is and what she’s capable of. They are small, and they are weak, and they will not hurt me ever again.

My name is Danielle Tozer. I am a girl. No one is strong enough to take that from me anymore.”

Let’s all take a moment to appreciate that quote, because damn, is it ever powerful.

- - -

Meet Danny! She is transgender, a lesbian, and as of late… a superhero?

One night, while Danny is on one of her top-secret missions across town (to buy nail polish and paint her toenails), she stumbles upon the world’s greatest superhero: Dreadnought. Then he dies, and suddenly all of his superpowers are being transferred over to her. As if that wasn’t exciting enough, this transference of power somehow turns Danny into a girl, physically! Now she looks exactly the way she’s always felt on the inside.

This sounds like it will be super empowering and uplifting, right? Wrong. Her dad is an ignorant, homophobic dick who is a living example of why hypermasculinity is so damaging during childhood (or adulthood, for that matter). Her supposed “best friend” is an insensitive pervert who acts as if she owes him a date (disgusting). And her spineless mother has done a terrible job of showing Danny what it means to be a woman–to be strong. Basically, Danny can only count on herself. Here she is, in this new body (that she’s always wanted), and now the whole world can see on the outside who she really is. She is a girl. She is strong. And she won’t let anyone take that away from her.

Throw in some quirky side characters (who also have superpowers), some underdeveloped villains, and a fictional town that hasn’t really been fleshed out yet, and you’ve got yourself a mediocre superhero novel with the potential for something more. There are good capes, and bad capes, and gray capes. But sometimes it’s hard to tell who’s on the side of Good or Evil. A lot of them are in between… especially the so-called superheroes.

In any case, I don’t think you need to know much else about the plot or characters. This was an interesting read. It is very comicbook-esque, if you’re into that sort of thing. Danny offered some great representation, but I am not transgender, so I can’t say for certain if this representation was completely accurate. If it counts for anything, her character did seem very authentic and brought up some very important issues. Namely, how people can be completely uneducated assholes when it comes to understanding anyone who isn’t straight and heterosexual. I almost wish that there was more of a focus on the emotional issues and character development rather than the action scenes and bad guys, but I guess that would defeat the whole point of this being a novel about superheroes, right? I don’t know. Danny was already a superhero in my eyes long before she became Dreadnought. I can’t imagine what it would be like to live in a family like hers.

Overall, this book has a very interesting premise but I feel like a lot of the potential was wasted on cheesy fight scenes! On the other hand, I’m happy to hear that there will be a sequel. I’d really like to see Danny grow from a strong girl into a strong woman!

*Review will my posted on http://www.laylabetweenthelines.com (01/24/17)

Note: I received this book from Netgalley & the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Dreadnought is a superhero story unlike any other. It tells the story of Danny Tozer, who is hiding the fact that she's transgender from the world. In her world, superheroes and supervillains are real and very much a part of society. When one of those superheroes dies right in front of Danny, her secret is out. Dreadnought, the superhero, passes his powers on to Danny and her body suddenly matches what she knows she's always been: she's officially a girl. Now, she not only has to deal with her new superpowers, but also has to deal with how her family and friends perceive her change, and her unwillingness to change back.

I enjoyed this book. It was a little slow for me at times, but I love superheroes, so this was right up my alley. It's also a great coming of age and transition story all wrapped up into one. The characters are extremely real and believable, even though some of the people Danny considers to be closest to her say some truly terrible things to her after her transition (all the trigger warnings for strong discriminatory language). As she comes to terms with this welcome change to her body, she also has to deal with her verbally abusive father, timid mother, and a best friend who now pretty much sucks. She also develops new relationships with people who didn't know her before the change, including reigning superheroes and a graycape (someone with powers who makes morally questionable choices) named Calamity, who's also a very likable and fun character.

As a cis woman, I can't speak with certainty as to the authenticity of Danny's transition process. While realistic transitions obviously don't happen so quickly, Danny's journey post-transition felt authentic to me. The emotions she goes through were well-written, and people in her life had some pretty egregious reactions (again lots of trigger warnings for transphobia, homophobia, and emotional abuse). Danny herself isn't perfect either, but she feels real. I also think it's amazing the way the author integrates a superhero origin story with a coming out/transition story. This representation is really needed in YA and I really hope it helps promote positive images and thoughts for both trans and cis teens.

Dreadnought is a fun story, too. The battle scenes are really well written and easy to picture in your head. There were uneven moments, and some of it dragged a bit, but overall, I really enjoyed it. I would've liked more exploration of side characters, including the Legion, but ultimately this is Danny's story, and I recognize that. If you're looking for a fun, diverse read, this book was a wonderful one and I recommend it. You can get Dreadnought on January 24.

Errata:
"With Dreadnought's dead" Makes no sense. 'With Dreadnought's death', or 'With Dreadnought being dead' makes more sense.
Camouflage misspelled at start of chapter 14
Bicep on p115 needs to be biceps!
I wouldn't keep let mom bribe me p115 makes no sense. 'I wouldn't keep letting mom bribe me', maybe?

I'm not a fan of series in general because they tend to be bloated, repetitive, and derivative. I like my novels fresh, not warmed over from the previous volume in the series! Once in a while though, a series comes along that's worth reading, and though it's premature to say so after only one volume, this series, Nemesis, of which Dreadnought is volume one, might be one I can finally stomach! Note that this was an advance review copy for which I thank the author and the publisher.

Let me address some issues I had with it first. The story was in first person. I have no idea why authors are so addicted to this, but usually it sounds awful, self-obsessed, and totally unrealistic. Once in a while an author can carry it off, and in this case it wasn't bad until it got to about 80% of the way through when the big action finale began, and then it really showed what a poor choice this voice was. No one narrates like that when experiencing horrors or trying to figure out how to set wrongs right in emergency situations.

Yes, I would agree that the actions and thoughts of Dreadnought in some ways showed how new she was to this job, but in other ways it was steadfastly undermined that by how analytical and detailed she was in relating what was happening. Even accounting for the inexperience, for me it was almost completely lacking in credibility. It wasn't god-awfully bad, but the scenes needed to be tightened considerably. There was way too much fluff and filler, and with the first person voice it simply didn't feel realistic. Overall, the finale was not bad in terms of being a finale. It was just poorly executed, I thought.

It may seem strange to make this point with someone like Trump in office, but the extremes depicted in the novel, in terms of how people despised Danny, the mtf transgender girl who became the super hero Dreadnought, were too polarized. It’s like there was no one on the fence - they were either totally supportive or psychotically antagonistic and to me, this lacked credibility. I know there are many people hostile to the LGBTQIA community, and for the next four years, we're going to see them crawling out of the woodwork, emerging from the shadows, and slithering out from under rocks, I'm sorry to say, because they've been invited to do so by one of the most bigoted and insensitive public figures I've ever seen, and unfortunately, because of the complacency of registered voters, he's now in a position of way too much power for four years.

As far as this story is concerned, more nuance would have served it better. Danny's high-school friend, her dad, and the Graywych character at the super hero building came off more like caricatures than actual people, and this robbed them of their power, although Graywych's perspective was an interesting one, I grant. Instead of being threatening though, they were more like "representative' cardboard cut-outs, or placeholder set up to mark a particular perspective without making the perspective feel real.

That said, I really liked this story overall, and I loved how it brought the character into being with a history and a legacy already in place because of the way the mantle is passed on from one Dreadnought to another. Like Danny needed any more pressure! Danny is a girl, Danielle, as she'd like to be, born in a boy's body, Daniel as he was known.

She has felt trapped for seven or eight years, and is desperately counting the days until she's eighteen, and can get a job to save up for the surgery which will make her outward appearance match her inner self, or at least as close as modern medical science can render it. She did not ask for super powers, but once she gets them, and realizes that part of this transference grants some wishes to the recipient we quickly discover (like it was any surprise!) what her dearest wish was, and this is what she got.

Some reviewers, I've noticed have had issues with how 'beautiful' and 'curvaceous' she became, and I’d have an issue with it if that was all she became, but there was more to it and it’s wrong to focus on one aspect to the exclusion of others which turn out to be more important.

That said I would have preferred it if it had been toned-down, or if it was only Danny who considered she was 'beautiful'. This is for two reasons: one, because I'm tired of female super hero tropes where they're essentially nothing more than pneumatic Barbie doll clichés instead of real people, on the outside, and guys on the inside. Two: I think it would have made for a more powerful story and a more compelling character had Danny been just 'ordinary' looking, but was so thrilled to finally 'be a real girl' that she felt beautiful. But that's just me!

One problem here is that she wasn't really a girl, though, not biologically speaking. This part made little sense to me. She got the proportions and outward appearance of a girl, including a 'healthy cleavage,' but inside she was still XY, with no womb. There was no overt discussion of what her genitalia looked like exactly, just the hint that it was entirely female, so what I didn't get was why? Why did she have this limitation? If the mantle could confer femininity on her, why could it not go all the way?

I didn't buy the flim-flam we were given that it was too much for the mantle to confer. Men are really just mutant versions of women when you get right down to it, and there are direct parallels between a male and a female body. What's referred to as a penis in a male is nothing more than a distended clitoris. Men have an X chromosome, so if the changes somehow called for a man to be raised to the power of X to put him on par with a woman, then why couldn't the mantle achieve this? What couldn't the Prostatic utricle become a uterus? Was it because the man-tle was designed by a man?! You could argue that you would lose your transgender character if this had happened but I would disagree with you!

I like the way Danny came into her powers, and I speak not of the initial transference here, but her growth into them over the story, her reluctance to blindly throw in her lot with the Legion, and her willingness to learn everything the mantle could show her, and put it to good use. The other side of this coin is that it made little sense that she didn't stand up to her father earlier, but when you're beaten down so hard for so long, it's very hard to get back to your feet with any strength of conviction, so I was willing to let that go. I felt bad though when Danny's first thought on waking after Calamity's injury was not that of going to see how she was, but a lot of selfish thoughts about how much she was having to put up with herself. That felt like a real betrayal

I adored Calamity. This seems to be my lot on life whether I like the main character (as I did here) or not: I like the 'side-kick' more, although Calamity never was a sidekick, and even had the balls to call Dreadnought her sidekick at one point, which was both beautiful and funny. So enough rambling. Overall I really did like the story despite some issues. It's the first I've read of a series in a long, long time that has really stirred my interest and made me seriously want to come back for more. That's about the biggest compliment I can give it, and from me, it's a heck of a lot!

I’m not that big of a fan of superhero movies or books, it’s not really my thing, so I was a bit apprehensive about this book but I really enjoyed it.

The plot is intense. We follow Danny, a trans girl who transitions after the legendary superhero Dreadnought hands over his superhero powers before he dies. Thus proceeds the hardest/happiest week of her life. The plot started right off the bat. We don’t really have a lot of time to get to know Danny before she transitions since that’s pretty much the opening scene of the book. It took me a bit off guard since I was expecting a much slower build up to what the blurb mentioned and I wasn’t really sure what more things the book was gonna bring. However, I was really pleasantly surprised with all the different elements within the plot. I really liked the balance between the action and everyday life. Danny is dealing with her powers and all that comes with it, specially since they are so legendary. All of those things are overwhelming enough but I liked that the author also showed us Danny in her natural environment before she received the mantle. Going to school, dealing with friends and family, none of that was ignored in favor of the cool superhero powers. Adjusting to school and family strife is just as important to the plot and to Danny’s character as searching for the super villain who murdered Dreadnought. Both parts of her life are presented in the story and both have good and bad things within them. The action scenes are really intense and have a lot of details that while I enjoyed them, it took me awhile to read and make sure that I was wrapping my head around everything that was going on. This book also makes it a point to challenge a lot of different things like misgendering, discrimination and prejudice. Harmful things that hurt people on a daily basis were explored but nothing got a pass which is amazing. It made the character’s story much real and powerful and it definitely drove home the message of acceptance that I believe the author was trying to share. The writing like I mentioned above took me awhile to get used to, it was kind of choppy in ways. Some things were overly described, others weren’t described enough. Because there’s a nice balance between the action and everyday stuff, I wanted the same thing with the writing but I think the shifting gears of fast paced, fighting scenes to chill and emotional ones needs some work. The ending was a bit rushed, I would’ve liked to see more closure or have the last few scenes wrapped up in a different way but it was also left open enough to welcome the sequel which I’m really excited to read! So many things happened in those last few chapters and I can’t wait to see where the series grows from here.

Danny took awhile for me to warm up to. She’s going through so much through this book. Her narrative is like an emotional roller coaster and that really affected my connection with her. It was so up and down and so messy when it came to describing how she felt, that I felt like I couldn’t really understand who she was in the beginning. Her transition is such a big part of the story and I can’t really comment much on how well the representation is done. However, I will say that while the beginning of the story, the first scene being her transition, made it hard for me to get into the story as a whole, it made it much easier to understand Danny as she is, rather than how people around her were used to seeing it. It made her perspective and her anger toward people who refused to see her as she is much easier to connect to and to understand from a cisgender perspective, because I never saw her as anyone but herself. As the story went on however, I got to understand her personality and her goals not only as a person but as now a hero with so much responsibility on her shoulders. That was also something that shifted my thoughts about her, she has so much she needs to do, so many people giving her their opinions and expecting her to follow them as well. I love how her character development and journey had a lot to do with her finding her voice and deciding what she wanted to do and what she wanted to believe in. I can’t wait to read more about her and to see how she moves forward from what the end of the book entailed.

Now I want to talk about the side characters. This is probably where I have the most complaints. There are SO MANY side characters that I felt like I couldn’t really get to know any of them well. Some are there as pure antagonists and once they finish their job, they are gone from page time. And others had more of a positive role in Danny’s life and yet I still felt like they could’ve given me more about them as individuals. Sarah or Calamity, who is a girl that Danny meets in the first scene of the book and with whom she strikes a friendship and a sort of partnership with. I really liked her because she had a very spunky attitude. She’s really self-confident and has very strong opinions and isn’t afraid to make them known. However, she’s also very reckless and both of them as a team get into situations that are very dangerous for them. One of the things that bothered me about Sarah’s characterization is that apparently she’s supposed to be Latinx. Danny says that she looks to be Latina in one sentence in the book when she first meets her and that’s never brought up again. It’s such a small detail that I actually thought Sarah was black for the majority of the book, specially because of a specific conversation she has with Danny. I really wanted this to be much clearer than it is in the text. If she’s really Latinx, her name would likely be spelled like mine is (Hi, if you didn’t know I’m Latinx and my name is Sara, without an H). I’m nitpicking and I know it, but another review mentioned her being Latinx and it’s so unclear in the text that I can’t help but complain about it. Nothing makes me more excited than seeing Latinx representation… as long as that’s really what it is. Doc is another character that Danny gets close to and I really liked her presence and support of Danny. I really wanted to see more of her and I want to learn more about her now, specially because of some reveals toward the end that I never saw coming at all. She’s really kind and open and just so nice to Danny and understanding and just cool.

Overall, I liked this book but I feel like it had the potential to blow me away and just fell a little short. The plot of the book is really intense and powerful though some areas are more fast paced than others. The writing style can feel choppy and disjointed at times and it took me awhile to get into the rhythm of the book. However, I really enjoyed Danny and the majority of the side characters and I can’t wait to see where the series goes from here.

In a world where the skies are filled with superheroes and supervillains, 15-year-old Danny's dreams come true when the famous Dreadnought perishes in her arms and passes his powers on to her - powers that include super-strength, flight, and an outer body that matches the girl Danny's always been inside.

And, well... I loved it! Danny is going to steal the hearts of so many readers. This is such a beautiful ownvoices work and it shows from the very first chapter when we meet Danny sneakily buying nail polish. She tells us:

"Painting my toes is the one way I can take control. The one way I can fight back. The one way I can give voice to this idea inside me that gets heavier every year:
I'm not supposed to be a boy."

The author gets the balance absolutely perfect between light, quirky superhero novel, and a darker, thought-provoking, coming-of-age story. The flying, world-saving and GIRL POWER make this a wonderful, heart-warming read. The other members of the former Dreadnought's group - "Legion Pacifica" - think Danny is too young to take on the villains and save the world, but that just gets added to the long list of mistakes people make about her.

However, as noted above, there are some darker aspects of Dreadnought. The author doesn't shy away from portraying the reality of transphobia and how difficult it is to grow up with a father who wants to make you a "real man". Many trans slurs are thrown around, and Graywytch (another of the Legion Pacifica members) deliberately misgenders Danny.

Additionally, Danny must now deal with the lingering eyes of certain men and boys, other forms of sexism, and the assumption that she now wants to start dating the boys at her school - which is incorrect because Danny is, in fact, gay. It's fantastic to see, despite all of this, that Danny comes out on top again and again. She's allowed to be weak and scared and unsure, but in the end, she knows who she is and who she's always been. She calls out the boys on their sexism:

“I don’t like boys, any boys. If I did like boys, I wouldn’t like boys who talk to me like you just did.”

Though a superhero story, Dreadnought is first and foremost about its characters. Its women, I should say. A diverse array of women drive the novel - from the white, gay and trans Danny, to the Latina Calamity, to Doc Impossible who is coded as non-white (Her dark hair is pulled back in a braid) to Utopia who is - wait for it - a cyborg villain.

The character dynamics - particularly between Danny and Calamity - shine throughout. Reading this the weekend of the Women's March made me feel quite emotional. This message of female solidarity is so important; and add to it a much-needed, complex, trans superheroine and you have one hell of a powerful book. I can't wait for more.

I just wanted to say that this is my personal option, i am not trying to be hurtful or hateful towards anyone especially not the author, but I also want to share my honest opinion.


1.5 stars

Have any of you ever read a book you really, really, REALLY wanted it like but then you read it and it just.... fell completely short?

Because that is sadly what this book is for me!

I was really excited about this book -as many others are or were!- a superhero book featuring a transgender character? Fantastic!

I was hoping for a great middle of emotional things with having to deal with a body strand formation into the real peronlaity of the main character but also lots of action and superheroing because who doesn't love that?
I was so excited to have a book handeling the topic of transgender transformation that is NOT a contemporary!

And then i read the book.


And guys.... it's just not really any of what I wanted it to be.

The only real positive thing I can say about it? It's not a contemporary book.

I feel bad that i can not honestly say more positive things about this book but to me everything else just did not work in this book!

So let the rambles begin!

- the main character Danny
She has a very, ver childish voice, in my option, I didn't really get any real actual characteristics from her other then "transgender, lesbian" which I am sorry, no! We do not build a transgendered book around the fact that it is a transgender book! I want actual characteristics! I want a real person! I don't want a paper cut out always just repeating the same few sentences and feeling over and over! I want real emotions, I want real develtomlment! I want to get ta feel for what makes a persona Superhero! And how a fifteen year old deals with not only suddenly having Completely new body and hormones and explanations to deal with but also having to deal with suddenly having to step up into a hero role!

But we don't get any of that, we don't even get a real reaction other then the first reaction of being happy to have her body now match her feelings.
I am sorry, and maybe I am wrong because I am not transfer so I don't know how it feels, but I would imagine that it would be strange to suddenly have a different gender a specific your body! You have different needs, different feeling from your body, you move differently and hold yourself differently! I mean it's menationed of her clothes doesn't fit right anymore when she notices she is no longer in a boys body, but tat is basically it As far as actually talking about issues a person might experience having a new body from one second to the next!

And I am not talking a out not believing that Danny wanted a female body, that is not even anywhere in the eh same universe of wha to mean but let's be honest and just say that if you get what's you always wanted It still takes a little while to get used to having it! And we aren't not even talking about something as radical as a complete body swap!
So that didn't work for me, because there was just too little of realistic reaction! Even just from Danny, it even mentioning the people around her who basically just accept without any real prove or explanation that Danny now has a girls body instead of a boys!
I would hope that my own parents would want more then, I am me! I swear, mom, dad! When tries a stranger in my room!


Moving on from the whole body change!


Danny felt very underdeveloped to me, she had emotions but mostly it was all just barely skimming the surface of ... well anything really.


Let's just say that I really wanted to like Danny, I tried my best to overlook a lot with her but in the end it didn't work, she was just too.... underdeveloped and unfinished feeling, and just because she is a transgender character is not enough for me personally to justify not having anything memorable at all!


- the writing

It felt very young.
Let's just say it that way.
There was a lot of moments where I thought that the book was supposed to be a middle grade kind of book, targeted towards maybe ten year olds, Since it was that kind of over simplified writing style and word choices.

But then something completely stupid happened in the way of the father making a horrendous slur against his own kid and that really did NOT feel middle grade!

So I have no idea What age group the author was targeting for beduseln for a ya book it is a bit of an over easy and simple feelings book but for a middle grade it is a bit too racist!

Needles to say the writing was not my favorite and I didn't enjoy it!


-the overall plot

Mhm... yeah.... it was supposed to be a superhero plot, right?
Anyone notice that that kind of got shoved to the side right after the beginning and dragged out just a couple of times at very continent moments?

Mostly the plot was that Danny was not at all supported in her home for being transgender and having to deal with very negative reactions to it.

I did not really appreacite that the dad was being made the villain since that's is just not.... why did we need superpowers (other than to turn Danny's body female!) if we just focus on the homophobic dad?!?!

I wanted action! I wanted powers! I wanted either a kackling crazy villain or the guy/girl that's turns out to be misunderstood all along and Danny helps them become good.... or something! I wanted actual superheroing going on!

I am not saying that the homophobia isn't realistic or didn't fit into the story! But it was too heavy for what the book is supposed to be about in my option.

And while is support having subplots and talking about issues a transgender person can have, an der even having a phobic parent or family member in general since sadly that is what many people hVe to deal with if and when they come out, I didn't like that it took over and that Danny didn't even t her dad that much or in a real way that would have made sense for that to take over the book.

So yeah... that's didn't work from me as well.


All in All?

I am sorry but while I love that this is a transgender book written by an #ownvoices author, this didn't work for me.
It lacked good writing, actual characteristics and a focused plot in my option.
I wanted to love this.
But I can't, I just can't!, love a book simply because it is an #ownvoices transgender book.

Dreadnought is an #OwnVoices book featuring a trans girl whose dreams come true when she takes on the mantle of a superhero at the moment of his death. Things don't go easily for Danny, but nonetheless, she navigates being finally seen as a girl (in school, with her parents, with her best friend) and suddenly having superpowers. It's a whole new world for her in both ways and I love the way the story makes you feel that. At the start, she hides in an alley to paint her toenails; at the end, well... spoilers. But suffice it to say that she's pretty comfortable in her skin and her identity.

It's not always the easiest read, because it's not pure wish fulfilment. Though Danny's transformation is outwardly perfect, she wouldn't be able to have children, for example. And the other superheroes around her aren't the people you'd hope they would be. Scarlet Witch -- sorry, I mean, Graywytch is a trans-exclusionary feminist, while Carapace is a douche who can't get her pronouns right and even a queer member of the team puts his foot in it. Doctor Impossible and Valkyrja are pretty awesome, though, and a young superhero called Calamity who doesn't fall in line with the Avengers (sorry, the Legion) also befriends her.

All in all, the plot is pretty pacey and fun, and it's not all about Danny's transformation. It's also about responsibility and handling any big life change, about figuring out where you belong in the world. Danny's family aren't great at it, and nor is her best friend, and there's generally plenty of transphobic stuff that might be quite hard to read. But ultimately, I found it more fun than it was upsetting -- and anyway, upsetting isn't necessarily a bad thing, just something the vulnerable might want to know going in.

Review goes up on my blog 19/02/2017.

Diversity!

Often, diverse books are contemporaries, as if a gay/trans/etc. character cannot star in a fantasy or sic-fi plot because their plot revolves around being gay/trans/etc.

I like diverse contemporaries, but I'm glad we got a ski-fi book too, because this book was great!

I thought the subject of Danny being trans was well written and well handled, though I have no first-hand experience with such things, so take my words with a grain of salt.

Danny had a unique, refreshing voice, and I loved her. Loved the way she got her powers and why. I loved the side characters (even the ones I hated, they added to the story), the villain was amazing, and Sarah's backstory was my favorite thing (Danny and Sarah would also make the cutest couple).

The plot was well paced, you're grabbed from the beginning and I didn't get bored once. (I read this in about 2 days).

If you like superhero stories, or if you're looking for a diverse read, I highly recommend picking this one up!

From the start. This book is up my alley. The Author did a terrific job on how she put the main character. I was literally laughing out loud. For one, I think we've all been "there". Even if we choose not to admit it. We can certainly give a muted nod. Bravo April Daniels. Read more on my blog http://redrosesinpinkshoes.blogspot.com/

Dreadnought is a book that has had building hype in the book community for being a young adult super-hero book with a transgender protagonist. Both of these were huge incentives for me as a reader because I’m a huge fan of super-hero media and I’ve not read many #ownvoices transgender-cantered stories and that is something I really want to change.

What can I say about this book? It blew me away!

While reading, I was constantly feeling so many different emotions that it was almost hard to keep up. Danny has always know she’s a girl, but a chance encounter with a dying Dreadnought changes her world, giving her the body to match her identity, along with some pretty fabulous super powers to boot. What follows is her explorations of not only having these super-abilities, but having to deal with the fall-out of her family learning about the change (and not well, there were many times when I felt so much rage for how Danny is treated). There were a lot of different reactions to Danny’s revelation from many characters - both positive and negative - and the way Danny ultimately struggles with and accepts the various reactions was, at times a bit confronting to read, but Daniels wrote these scenes so beautifully.

Danny lives in a world were metahumans with special abilities or super powers is common place. There’s a little back story into the evolution of this world, mainly focused on the Dreadnought mantel, which is passed on after the death of the previous title holder. We are simply thrust into this world where superheroes are the norm, and that was refreshing. Yes, it would have been wonderful to have this aspect fleshed out in more detail, but I felt the main focus was on Danny’s journey and that was necessary. (Also, being the first book in a series, there’s plenty of time to delve into the backstories of all the wonderful characters.)

If you like action books, this is fabulous. If you like books that deal with diversity head-on, focusing on the positives and negatives (without sugar coating either) this is for you.

Dreadnought is a book that will send your emotions spinning in so many directions. You’ll laugh and cry and rage and cheer for Danny as she discovers exactly who she is. I gave Dreadnought 4.5 out of 5 stars.

I’m so glad I read this and I can’t wait to get a physical copy to add to my shelves.

What a fantastic book! Not only did it align with all of my interests (superheroes, interesting world-building, LGBT main characters), but was also fantastically written. I loved all of the characters, major and minor, especially the main character, Danielle. Danny is one of the best heroes I've read lately. She's determined, brave, so strong, but is still fighting to overcome internalized self-hatred and stand up against those who can't accept her. I absolutely can't wait for the sequel!

April Daniels definitely picks up the mantle Perry Moore left with Hero.