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!

trigger warnings for: transphobia, lesbophobia/homophobia, rape mentions, multiple secondary character deaths, amputation, physical violence, emotional abuse

An #ownvoices novel with a teen trans lesbian superhero protagonist!! Sign me up.

Honestly it was the protagonist that completely drew me to this book, and I have come out the other side adoring Danny.

Dreadnought follows Danny Tozer, a 15 year old transgirl who witnesses the death of Dreadnought, the strongest superhero in her city, and inherits his powers as a result. The story then follows her immediate transition (being given Dreadnought's powers gives her her ideal body), her navigating what it means to be a superhero, and subsequent investigation and battle with the novel's Big Bad.

Dreadnought definitely felt like a decent premise for a comic (and I got the feeling that April Daniels might have a little bit of a preference for Marvel), but it also totally works as a book. I LOVE that trans superheroes are coming to the forefront as central characters, with Alters (again those comic leanings) last September, and now with Dreadnought.

Another one of the strong points of Dreadnought, that I wish we saw more of, was the relationship between Danny/Dreadnought and Sarah/Calamity. I loved that they learned things from each other and that Danny finally had someone in her life who she could trust and be safe with, even if she usually seemed to be in the most danger she'd ever faced with Calamity. Their friendship (though I really wouldn't mind if it developed into more) was definitely one of the most enjoyable parts of the story for me.

I think the world building was good, as were the two ending battles. The idea of Danny being able to see a lattice as part of her powers was interesting to me because I haven't read anything like that before, and I'd love to see Danny exploring her powers a bit more in the future.

One of the reasons why I didn't give this book five stars, is the sheer amount of transphobia and homophobia that Danny experiences. It really really made me uncomfortable, but I know that this is probably realistic. Danny receives it from almost everyone she encounters in the book.
Honestly most of the men in this book are absolute garbage which ended up making me feel tired and distressed on Danny's behalf.

I also think some parts of the story weren't given enough time, like Danny's interactions with the Legion (I thought they'd play a bigger part), Danny discovering and developing her powers, Utopia's motivations, and some of the secondary characters. Some of these may be addressed later but I'm not entirely sure.

The difference between the majority of the female (I'm including Doc Impossible in this) characters and the majority of the male characters really highlighted how strong the female characters were, and I loved it, but I would've liked it better if Danny had some support from some male characters too, or just more support from the ones who did support her.

Whilst Dreadnought isn't perfect, it is mostly a fun read and I am really looking forward to the sequel which is out this July.

Read this book for Danny (and Sarah).
Read this book for on page trans and lesbian rep, with those words being used multiple times.
Read this book for the ending.

Danny Tozer hasn't told anyone that she is a girl on the inside, regardless of what she may look like on the outside. When the most powerful superhero of all, Dreadnought, is mortally wounded in battle he bestows Danny with the mantle, transferring all his powers to her.

The mantle promptly transforms Danny into her most perfect form and suddenly her outside appearance matches the way she has always felt on the inside.

While Danny is thrilled to have been given such an enormous gift, her parents do not understand what has happened to their "son" and her father vows to find a way to fix her situation regardless of her wishes.

I shouldn't be surprised that this superhero book has done a better job of exploring personal identity, and perception of identity by others, than most other books I have read. Superheroes have been long used as an exploration of not just the nature of power, justice, and truth, but of identity as well.

It's hard to explain how it is that this book about superheroes manages to feel so emotionally real. Superpowers may help you catch a punch, but they can't do much against the words directed toward you by people that are supposed to love and support you. Superpowers do have their limits and they can't solve all of your problems for you. Danny's powers may have changed the way she looks, but it can't control how people react to her new physical appearance.

I don't mean to make it sound like this superhero book isn't packed full of the type of action and heroics that you would expect when reading a superhero origin story. It has lots of flying, punching, metal twisting, airplane saving, bad guy chasing fun that makes the genre of superheroes so entertaining to read.

I had heard really good things about this book so was a bit nervous going in to it that I wouldn’t like it. But oh my god, this was amazing! I feel like there was so much in this story to appeal to everyone from really great LGBT issues, women’s issues and on top of all of that, a superhero story. I found Danny’s transformation from girl with a boy’s body to girl with a girl’s body really, really interesting from how she looked slightly unrealistically beautiful because Danny had always looked at the photoshopped images of girls in advertisements and TV to how she was suddenly a lot more self conscious of her body from the way she held her books to her chest to cover her breasts, to suddenly not feeling like she should eat the second piece of pizza because that’s not what a girl would do (except me, I would totally eat that second slice plus a third and fourth).

Danny has to deal with a lot of homophobia after coming out but also a lot of sexism such as how her friend David suddenly feels he has the right to look at her and date her because she’s physically female and throws back a lot of terrible abuse after being rejected. I thought this was all told in a really, really great way and so many issues were brought to light i a really subtly but powerful way,

Asides from the LGBT aspect of the story, the story itself is just a really great superhero story that really made me want to see it in TV or movie form. We have a team of supercool heroes, as well as a cool lair and laboratory and all sorts of gadgets and suits. I enjoyed how the superhero story played out, almost Kickass style with Calamity and Danny and the fight scenes were so great, I was on the edge of my seat reading them. (view spoiler)

I 100% recommend this book and I’m so glad this was my first 5-star read for 2017 because it was so good. I’m just sad i have to wait ages now for the next instalment. I think this is a book I will be buying in physical form so I can make all my friends and sibling read it!

Omg guys, this book. I have no idea how to explain how good this book is, but I'll try.

Before I start, I should mention the book includes transphobia, homophobia, and physical abuse.

I knew I would like this book because who doesn't want to read about a trans superhero?What I never realized though, that Danny would become my smol child. I love Danny so much and I need more of her now.

The worldbuilding is sort of confusing, but I think I figured it out. Cape is another word for hero and there are 3 types, white, grey, and black. White capes are purely good, grey capes do what they need to to keep people safe, and black capes are villains. Metahumans, like in the DC universe, are powered people.

The beginning and the final fight scene were sort of confusing too, but overall the book was amazing. Everything felt like a really good fanfic and I can't wait to read the next book.

Review: Dreadnought
Dreadnought (Nemesis #1) by April Daniels

* Read via NetGalley for review
* Will be published on January 24, 2017

My Favorite Quotes/Lines:

“So all those great responsibilities that come with great power, those are really only yours if you want them to be.”

“Your trusting nature in these cynical times is a balm to my wounded soul.”

“I turn over on to my back and give them the finger as I pull for altitude.”


5 out of 5 gnomes

So so good. I absolutely adore reading great books about superheroes and this is one hundred percent a great new take on superheroes. This sounds spoilery but it’s in the description of the book: Danny, a transgender girl takes on the mantle of a traditionally male superhero. When she acquires her powers her whole body changes to the one she’s always dreamed of.

A transgender point of view plus superpowers equals a rather epic origin story for this new superhero. The whole world is set up well and feels lived in. There’s the whitecapes, graycapes, blackcapes, some mad science type goodness and a whole lot of in between. You know who the good capes should be but there’s a lot of questions too.

There are a lot of issues for Danny to overcome because of her to put it nicely, not so understanding parents and other people. That plus suddenly having a new body and superpowers equals lots of understandable problems.

My favorite character besides Danny is Calamity. She is an intriguing character. How she got her powers is pretty darn crazy/sad. Her character/personality makes you want to know more about her ASAP. I love her understanding/friendship with Danny oh and the old timey way she talks when in character. I also kind of ship her and Danny too, there’s definitely some chemistry there.

There are plenty of surprises in this story. That plus the really great ending make for a superhero read that you should check out ASAP.

Dreadnought is powerful and explosive. It's about identity and power, about good and evil, about safety and danger. It's about hope and fear, about sacrifice and strength, about making the difficult decisions that we think come easily and naturally for those we call heroes.

Danny is kind and caring, but afraid of what should be the safest place in her life: her home. Her father constantly berates her and criticizes her, refusing to listen to Danny's point of view. Refusing to understand that Danny is a girl, that Danny is transgender. After Danny's transition, after Dreadnought gave her his powers and her body changed, the excitement and the joy in her voice is unmistakable. She's finally in a body that she wants to be in. She looks and sounds the way she wants to. Danny is finally happy, but it doesn't last. Her father is still furious, derisive and emotionally abusive towards her. And while the local superheroes are happy that Dreadnought's powers are still available, some aren't so interested in a lesbian transgender superhero.

I found the superhero aspect to be interesting. There's this new trend of superhero stories where authors look at the grey areas of being a protector and saving cities. The moral aspects, the financial aspects. The human aspects. For all their powers, they're still people. They still have loved ones, hopes and dreams, personal lives. Seeing the other side of superheroes lives, the 'home from work' side, is great. But I also appreciated the awesome fight scenes.

The start of Danny's story as a superhero certainly has some highs and some lows. There were times when I was so happy for Danny, going shopping for girls' clothes, flying around New Port City. Hanging out with an actual girl friend. And the times when Danny was beaten down and depressed, all the times her father would hurl insult after insult at her, I was so upset during those moments. I would definitely recommend this to those who enjoyed Heroine Complex or Superior, to those looking for some powerful diverse YA.

This book is phenomenal. It's a breath of fresh air. It's superhero fantasy mixed with queer YA. Danny is a closeted trans girl who gets caught up in a superhero fight. The altercation somehow gives her superpowers and transforms her into what she's always wanted to be: a physical female. Now she has to figure out how to explain the change to her friends and family all while keeping the powers a secret.

There's tons of transphobia/xenophobia/general biogtry in the book that Danny encounters (and sometimes battles). She is a lesbian trans woman, so she faces a fair share of harassment/disrespect, (mostly from friends and family) but for the most part, she shuts it all down hard.

I loved the growth of Danny throughout the book. She is thrown into the fire (literally at one point) and comes out stronger for it. And she had her new best friend (Calamity) and "gay aunt character" (Doc Impossible) to help her along the way.

I was moved quite a lot by this book because a lot of it hit close to home. I'm a pansexual trans woman. I have a mostly supportive family, so I'm not in the same boat as Danny there, but a lot of her fears were my fears. A lot of her thoughts were my thoughts.

REPRESENTATION MATTERS.

This book shows that trans people are capable of saving the world just like cis people. As are gay people. Cishets are fine and good, but have been on the main stage for far too long. Give us queer folk a chance to save the world now! We got this!

The story is okay but I had to force myself to keep reading when I was at 50%. The narrative failed to keep me interested and the protagonist is such a wuss that I almost find it unfair that someone with such a weak personality should be given superpowers - Calamity would have made a better protagonist in my opinion. Aa for the whole issue about Danny being transgender that story prop is an ideal tool to give the novel a fresh narrative. I was also strongly reminded of Perry Moore's character in Hero.

Thank you for the opportunity to review this title. My review is now live on my blog and Goodreads, and I'll shortly be linking to it on social media. The full transcript is below:

Dreadnought is both a delightful and thought-provoking story. It has plenty of action and fun, but it also has a more serious side, looking at the hatred and discrimination Danny faces as a transwoman.

In essence it's a superhero narrative and a coming-out story rolled into one. I thought the pacing was fine, but I would have liked to have seen a little less info dumping, with more of the world building worked into the action. That's a minor complaint though as, on the whole, the story captivated me and kept me turning the pages. I guess now we'll have to wait and see what the world has in store for Danny in book two.

I don't give five stars out lightly, but this book deserved them. At one and the same time a fine superhero tale and a startlingly powerful portrait of what it's like to be transgender, it weaves the two together seamlessly, and delivers both exciting plot and deep characterisation.

Danny has never felt like a boy, and so when the dying superhero Dreadnought passes his mantle on to the nearest bystander - Danny - the power transforms the teenager into Danielle.

She now has the basic Superman, or rather Supergirl, power set: flight, strength, invulnerability (slightly more limited than the Kryptonians). No heat vision, X-ray vision or freeze breath, though. Most of the possible variants on superpowers have already been rung over the past 80 years or so, and there's nothing startlingly new on that front here - there's even a passing mention of a billionaire with a utility belt and no powers - but that's fine. It's the personal journey of the superhero that we're concerned with here.

There certainly are a few familiar tropes: rescuing an airliner, for example. And when it comes to the transgender experience, there are some notes that anyone who's aware of what that community has to deal with will also find very familiar (because they really do happen all the time): the verbally and emotionally abusive, rejecting father; the "friend" who says terrible things; the radical feminist who refuses to accept a trans woman as a woman, who sees only a man invading women's space yet again. But all of these are dealt with in a way that I found emotionally true and deep. Seeing Danny simultaneously being a selfless, powerful, courageous superhero and thinking of herself as a selfish, powerless coward because of years of abuse was heartwrenching.

I can't give a higher recommendation than this: when I got to the end, if there had been a sequel available I would have bought it immediately. This book sets out to be a compelling superhero adventure and also an exploration of what it's like to be trans, and for my money succeeded admirably in both.

Speaking of money, I received (only) a review copy via NetGalley in exchange for my review.

*I received this book from NetGalley and Diversion Publishing in return for a fair review. Thank you so much!* SPOLIERS*
4.5/5 stars
Finishing the last page of Dreadnought, it is really hard for me to pick what part of the book I want to write about first. There were times where I was literally reading faster than my brain could comprehend because I wanted to get to the next part faster!
If you love superhero’s, comic books or even the Incredibles, then you will love this book. 15 year old Danny goes through more than any teenager should and in one short book she becomes a superhero, transgendered, makes an incredible best friend and possibly saves the world!
The main character, Danny, starts out the book by being a female trapped in a male’s body. Within the first chapter Danny has an encounter with a superhero and is transferred his powers as he dies. Part of the powers or “perk” of becoming Dreadnought is that you become who you’ve always wanted to be and for Danny that was a girl.
As she goes through her transition, literally and physically, Danny has to overcome personal hurdles in her life such as her very horrible disapproving father, her door-mat of a mother and her homophobic best friend. She has a lot of internal conflict as well throughout the entire book, even during the final battle scenes. Her self-doubt and self-hate resonated with me as a reader being part of the LGBTQ community and a fellow female struggling with who I am or want to be. The story is written in own voice in a very strong and confident narrator fashion which I think keeps pushing the book forward and gave me a lot of the momentum to want to read the book quickly. I enjoyed Danny’s character, her responsibility to her new powers and her strong sense of right and wrong.
While I did really enjoy this book, I felt that it fell flat for me on a few parts. One, the whole appeal of the transgender superhero. I was so excited to see this aspect, to have her change views or be a very strong and confident out and proud. However, I felt like the story only gave us hints of it or just started to scratch the surface of it. The book only had two dimensions to it, Danny’s new life and then the Legion life or caping. I wanted to know so much more and am really hopeful that there will be a second book coming out to continue her story. I am also not sure if the details on her transgender transition were kept vaguer due to being considered a middle grade novel, but none of these aspects stopped me from reading the book and loving it.
Other characters in the book were ok except for Doctor Impossible and Calamity. Doctor Impossible reminded me so much of Edna Mole from the Impossibles that it is how I pictured her during the book and I loved it. Calamity is a strong counter partner for Dreadnought and pushed the bar where Danny was afraid to. The other characters were kind of meh for me. I didn’t see their introduction as more than mere back story and I feel like we could have had less of them and been ok.
The last small issue I had with the book is that it was a bit “info dumpy” at times. There were a few pages that I had to re-read, but part of that could have been due to me trying to read too quickly.

Post goes live 3 Feb

Dreadnought was so much fun! Danny is the newest superhero after she witnesses Dreadnought die and he passes on his mantle to her. But her immediate reaction is that she finally has the body that she wants! A girl body! Danny is transgender, but has been keeping it to herself, because there's no way that her parents would understand or accept her. Now, she looks the way she's always wanted to look and everyone will see her the way she wants to be seen. And, oh yeah, she has amazing superpowers but no one can know about those.

I adored Danny! She's a very different type of heroine that I'm use to. She doesn't do this "woe is me, and I can't do this" moaning and groaning when faced with a problem. But she's also not the overly confident heroine who can do anything and everything and always come out on top. She knows for sure who she is and that is wonderful! She's not going to let anyone take that away from her. She also wants to help people and does her best with her new, untried powers. She messes up, gets hurt, doesn't mind asking for help, and generally felt believable. And she never gives up. She might not be sure how a situation will turn out, but she goes for it! No more hiding!

The pacing of Deadnought was a bit uneven though. It's almost as if it's in two parts, but I enjoyed both of them immensely. The first half or so is mostly about Danny coming into her new body. She's so excited about it! Her father is not, and he says some very cruel things to her. Yes, Danny is hurt by it, but she presses on. She goes to school with her head held high and she smiles. Her supposed best friend takes her new body as his chance to finally have a girlfriend, but Danny puts him in his place and I applaud her for that! Plus, she's gay. Danny even stands up to the rest of the superheros when they don't all accept her the way she is! You go, girl!

Then the second half of Dreadnought is where all of the action is. Danny teams up with Calamity, a kind of vigilante, to stop the supervillain who killed the previous Dreadnought. Maybe having two teenage girls go after an unknown enemy isn't the best idea, but they're smart and figure things out. That's not to say that things go smooth, because they definitely do not! But it was all very fun and exciting and heartstopping! The villain is very interesting.

Overall, I really enjoyed Dreadnought. The world-building is pretty good, and I adored our heroine and Calamity. I especially loved that ending and cannot wait for more!

Trans teens who feel they have to hide it–for any reason–have it tough, both in our present, and in the world author April Daniels builds for us. Danny Tozer has been hiding it for some time; her parents think she’s a boy, but she’s not. Her one guilty pleasure is painted toenails, and one fine afternoon she’s painting her toenails in a hidey-hole near the mall, when a superhero battle happens nearby. One of the finest heroes of his time, Dreadnought, is slain, and falls to the ground near Danny, and his mantle passes to her. She wakes soon after, stunned to find herself with the body she’s always dreamed of living in.

What follows is a fun, engaging adventure story, complete with all the bells and whistles: a suitably nasty villain, a newfound sidekick friend, a well-organized “cape” community taken aback by this upstart youngster, and a little bit of almost-comic treatment of our heroine’s parents, who simply cannot accept that their child has been suddenly placed in a young woman’s body, and could possibly be happy about it. She has to sneak away from them to spend time exploring her new powers and body, and spends time being heroic with her new sidekick Calamity, who turns out to be a classmate of hers from high school. Soon, they are hot on the trail of the previous Dreadnought’s killer, and discover that her nefarious grand plan must be stopped!

Escape Rating: A-. Underneath the rollicking adventure, of course, is a coming-into-your-own story for our young heroine, now calling herself Danielle. She has to cope with parents who blindly cannot accept what is right in front of their faces, insisting that they want to help her set things “right,” to become the man she’s supposed to be. If her abusive father’s rantings weren’t such a one-note song, it would be almost comic. But there’s a very un-funny part to this, too. For many trans youth, this kind of treatment is an unfortunate reality, and transkids in our universe don’t have superhero work to fall back on!

Danielle also has to cope with the Legion Pacifica, the organization of superheroes in New Port City. They must come to grips with the loss of their friend, who was a great hero, and at the same time, help this newcomer who holds his mantle understand her powers, and learn to use them for good. One member is simply unaccepting of Danielle’s transgender status, and insists on calling her by her old name and pronouns. Again, here we have a case of art imitating life, as transpeople in our universe have to deal with the same thing just about all the time.

Author April Daniels gives us a peek into the life of a trans youth that rings completely true, so I was unsurprised to discover that she is herself a transwoman. This authenticity is something I find too-often missing in fiction about transgender people, so Daniels’ work is a refreshing, beautiful change. She handles Danielle’s gender transition, and her coming into herself as a lesbian, with a straightforward, simple style without being lurid in any way. The story is completely appropriate for any YA reader, and I would give it a strong recommendation for any LGBTQ youth in your own life, as it shows a teen who is more like them, dealing with some of the same struggles they are–while still giving us a just-plain-fun power-up fantasy.

One down note for me was the treatment of Danielle’s struggle with her parents. I would have liked to see some closure to that. At the end of the book, there’s still something left hanging there–she’s not reconciled to them, nor have they completely shut her out. Perhaps that story will be completed in the upcoming sequel, which I’m looking forward to seeing!