Dreadnought: Nemesis - Book One (Nemesis, #1)

by April Daniels

An action-packed series-starter perfect for fans of The Heroine Complex and Not Your Sidekick.


“I didn’t know how much I needed this brave, thrilling book until it rocked my world. Dreadnought is the superhero adventure we all need right now.”—Charlie Jane Anders, author of All the Birds in the Sky


Danny Tozer has a problem: she just inherited the powers of Dreadnought, the world’s greatest superhero. Until Dreadnought fell out of the sky and died right in front of her, Danny was trying to keep people from finding out she’s transgender. But before he expired, Dreadnought passed his mantle to her, and those secondhand superpowers transformed Danny’s body into what she’s always thought it should be. Now there’s no hiding that she’s a girl.

It should be the happiest time of her life, but Danny’s first weeks finally living in a body that fits her are more difficult and complicated than she could have imagined. Between her father’s dangerous obsession with “curing” her girlhood, her best friend suddenly acting like he’s entitled to date her, and her fellow superheroes arguing over her place in their ranks, Danny feels like she’s in over her head.

She doesn’t have time to adjust. Dreadnought’s murderer—a cyborg named Utopia—still haunts the streets of New Port City, threatening destruction. If Danny can’t sort through the confusion of coming out, master her powers, and stop Utopia in time, humanity faces extinction.

• ISBN10: 1682300684
• ISBN13: 9781682300688
• Publish Date: 9 February 2017 (first published 24 January 2016)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Diversion Books
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 280
• Language: English

Reviews

[Leigha]

A transgender woman learns to be a superhero in this young adult novel.

I learned an important lesson reading this book. While I enjoy watching superheroes on film, I don't necessarily enjoy reading about them. I find the genre boring. However, I actually really did enjoy this novel despite my feelings for the genre. It's a character-driven story full of action, adventure, and heart.

Danny Tozer is a likeable heroine learning to control the powers she inherits from Superman Dreadnaught. The secondary characters all play an important role in either aiding or hindering Danny's transition into a superhero. Subsequently, these characters also provide support or opposition to her transformation as a female. The book explores the myriad attitudes and prejudices transgender people must experience after their transition - love, fear, revolution, acceptance, etc. It does verge toward melodramatic angst, but then again it's about a fifteen year old transgender superhero. Par the course, if you will.

I loved the world-building. The history and lore of Danny's world is realistically developed. The author naturally explains everything through Danny's perspective without overwhelming the reader with backstory.

The book did not feature any romance. Danny spends the book deciding upon her identity, both as a person and as a superhero. However, I could see future novels exploring romance (hopefully between her and a certain cowgirl hero).

tl;dr A quick, fun read full of memorable characters and excellent world-building.

[layawaydragon]

I LOVED THIS!! I will come back with a review shortly, I swear. Just wanted to update GR because my reading stats for the challenge is horridly behind and out of date.

[Angie]

I received an ARC through NetGalley.

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!

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.

[lovelybookshelf]

I've never, ever been into superhero comics, books, movies, or TV shows, but I was SO into this coming-of-age novel, which features a 15-year-old lesbian trans girl protagonist. Dreadnought is an exciting story with a healthy dose of humor. However, it also thoughtfully tackles some very serious issues, most notably, toxic/abusive family dynamics that too many trans kids have to deal with once they decide to transition. We need more books like this! This is the kind of story that creates empathetic readers: Yes, it's entertaining and funny, but it's also heartwrenching, thoughtful, and empowering.