Renegades

Starred review from October 9, 2017
The night that Nova’s parents and infant sister were murdered, the Renegades—superheroes who protect her city—never came to save the day. Ten years later, the time has come for 16-year-old Nova to infiltrate the Renegades and exact her revenge: her power to induce sleep has been honed by the Anarchists, the so-called villains of her world. In a vividly dark and fully imagined universe where special abilities are feared unless they can be strictly controlled and labeled, Meyer (the Lunar Chronicles) celebrates and subverts popular superhero tropes while mining the gray area between malevolence and virtue. Third-person narration builds suspense as it shifts between Nova and Adrian, a Renegade with his own secrets; the worldbuilding details and many combat sequences will captivate devotees of superhero comics. Beyond the capes and masks is a strikingly grounded story of star-crossed would-be lovers, deception, and the recognition that most of humanity exists between the extremes of good and evil. A twist ending casts doubt on a key aspect of the story’s history and leaves the door open for future exploration. Ages 12–up. Agent: Jill Grinberg, Jill Grinberg Literary Management.