The She-hulk Diaries

by Marta Acosta

Saying there are two sides to Jennifer Walters's personality is an understatement. When she hasn't morphed into a 650-pound, crime-fighting, hard-partying superhero, she's a single lawyer trying to get her act together. Hilarious and action-packed, The She-Hulk Diaries tells her story, as she juggles looking for Mr. Right and climbing the corporate ladder by day with battling villains and saving the world by night. Maybe she'll finally take on a case that will define her career. Maybe she won't meet one Mr. Right, but two, and she'll have to choose. Maybe bad guys will stop trying to destroy the planet so she can read her Perez Hilton in peace.

• ISBN10: 1401311016
• ISBN13: 9781401311018
• Publish Date: 26 September 2013 (first published 18 June 2013)
• Publish Status: Transferred
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Hyperion
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 330
• Language: English

Reviews

[Leah]

When I was offered the chance to review The She-Hulk Diaries, it only took me a few seconds to decide, because who doesn’t want to read a Chick Lit book with added superheroes? It’s a no-brainer! Basically Marvel have come up with the idea to publish two (so far) Chick Lit novels about their superheroes. First up in Jennifer Walters/She-Hulk and the second is Anna Marie/Rogue. It’s genius, really. I can’t say I’m massively into superheroes, but I watch some and it is something I enjoy so to mix Chick Lit with superheroes is just fascinating and I can’t believe it hasn’t been done sooner.

The She-Hulk Diaries follows Jennifer Walters throughout a year of her life as she juggles being a high-powered lawyer with being She-Hulk. There’s a heck of a lot going on in the novel as Jennifer juggles being two very opposing (but still the same) people and I did find a lot of information pertaining to the case Jennifer was working on to go mostly over my head, but for the most part I enjoyed the novel and I really, really loved She-Hulk. If I were to be any superhero I would definitely debate becoming She-Hulk as I really liked her spunky devil-may-care attitude.

I definitely think Marvel’s idea is the right one, the novel didn’t blow me away, sure, but I could see where it was coming from and I definitely liked getting to know a bit more about the superhero world. I wish I had more time to read comic books, but for now these crossover novels will have to do! I suppose it’s just a matter of time to see if they’re popular enough to continue, I think they could be. I think it’s very much an untapped market, it just depends how many Chick Lit fans love an added dose of superheroes, but who doesn’t love a superhero? A good idea, and I definitely liked Jennifer (and She-Hulk even more) but it didn’t blow me away as spectacularly as I’d have liked, which was a shame.

[inlibrisveritas]

I received this in exchange for an honest review.

With the completion of Rogue Touch I immediately jumped right into The She-Hulk Diaries, because one kick-ass super-heroine is just not enough. Two isn’t really enough either but since these are the only two out right now, I suppose I’ll have to make due.

The She-Hulk Diaries surprised me by focusing on Jennifer Walters instead of putting all the attention on her green counterpart. Jennifer is a talented attorney and thanks to a transfusion (from her cousin Bruce aka Hulk) now has the ability to shift into a very large and very lively green woman with the ability to crush almost everything. I really loved that Jennifer is really down to earth and pretty geeky at times, she’s not necessarily shy but compared to She-Hulk (affectionately called Shulky) she really does seem that way. I also really liked She-Hulk’s personality overall and I liked that Jennifer feels kind of at odds with it. It really is a co-existent battle of personalities and this book explores how Jennifer copes with the alter ego while trying to live a normal life, and it even delves into self-acceptance and discovery.

The romance is one part comedy, one part frustration and one part swoon inducing. Jennifer has a rather goofy outlook on her dating life and it’s one of her Valentine’s Day resolutions to find a potential husband. Even though the hunt for a male kind of bothered me Jennifer is a goofball and I couldn’t help but enjoy watching her develop (in some cases destroy) relationships with some of these guys. The frustration comes in when she goes into default lawyer mode and starts acting like relationships are business meetings, I get why she does it but I just want to shake her back into reality. There are also times where you can really see how much Jennifer self-depreciates herself and it’s kind of heartbreaking that she’s willing to change for someone, especially since Shulky would probably break someone before trying to mold herself into someone else. It’s great to see that development happen.

We do get a taste of the other characters from the Marvel universe, though most of them are more of side mentions or telephone calls but it’s nice to have that connection anyway. There is also a dose of superhero mystery/crime to figure out and it’s great to see She Hulk in action in a few scenes. Jennifer’s best friend Dahlia is a loon and at first a bit put off with her tunnel vision (she focuses on men quite a bit) she really becomes kind of endearing after while. The biggest issue I had with this was the thin line between casually funny and immature that wavered ever so slightly. I’ll be very happy if I never see the words OMG!amazing ever again. The phrase fits the personality of those saying it but it just grated me nerves whenever I saw it. Another personal irritation is original music lyrics because I don’t know the tune it goes to, so I just feel awkward reading it like a poem. I have nothing against the songs themselves, but it’s something that has always bothered me (I don’t even like Tolkien’s songs in the Lord of the Rings). There is also a scene about 80% in that kind of threw me for a loop because it was so random, and even though I chuckled at a few names involved it just didn’t really seem necessary..considering She-Hulk weighs like 650 pounds.

Overall I’m pleased with the book and I think it’s great that Marvel has partnered with a publisher in order to bring their kick ass women to a new audience. She-Hulk Diaries is a fun, quirky, and adventurous book that I think would make for a perfect summer time read. Now to wait patiently to see what else Hyperion and Marvel have up their sleeves.