Many YA novels make do with a couple of decent twists, but Dreadnaught: Nemesis possesses the structure of a quality thriller.
That Danielle cannot reveal her own involvement in the episode reveals the grim truth that superpowers are of little use if you cannot face your most intimate challenges. Faced with a child whose gender identity is now happily aligned, the man’s first response is to try and find a ‘cure’.ĭanielle’s rescue of her father from a dangerous back-alley confrontation of his own making is less ironic than very sad. Although motivated by love, the father’s furious, resentful personality has twisted him into a bully. Worst of all is Danielle’s self-loathing father, a man not just determined to prevent his child making the same mistakes he did, but any mistakes at all. Then there is Graywytch, who uses magic instead of science and whose feminism excludes transgender women. Each has a relatable reason for what they do, even though from Danielle’s point of view their actions are catastrophic. First, there is the enigmatic Utopia, a fembot on some weird mission of her own. Despite this wondrous transformation, Danielle faces two pressing issues: what will the kids at school think and, more importantly, what will Dad say?Īny story is only as good as its antagonists, and this novel has three. Danny’s instinctive first act is to become Danielle: a beautiful girl with enhanced strength and the ability to fly. Danny learns that ‘Dreadnaught’ is a role passed from person to person when, unable to move and with no one else in the vicinity, the hero passes the mantle on to the boy.Īt once, Danny engages with the fundamental structure of the universe, which the novel presents as a lattice of energy behind all things that can be manipulated by someone with the right power. It implies such events are commonplace, until one of the combatants crashes down beside him.ĭreadnaught is dying, and Danny notices how the old superhero was exhausted even before being shot with a mysterious weapon. The novel’s trademark laconic humour then engages in Danny’s weary response to a superhero punch-up nearby. We meet angry 15-year-old Danny putting nail varnish on in a carpark behind a mall, because that is the only way he can express femininity without being beaten to death.
It’s a long time since I was a boy, but that line rang beautifully true. There is a great line early in the book about how if you’re no good at being a boy, it’s beaten into you until you either comply or have the good grace to kill yourself. Dreadnought: Nemesis is one of my favourite young adult novels.
0 kommentar(er)
