Scan barcode
booksthatburn's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
*I received a free review copy in exchange for an honest review of this book.
Power Surge blends mundane kinds of trauma, pain, and grief with the heady rush of learning that magic is real and there's more going on than most people know. Erin is sad and brave and wonderful; fighting against darkness and despair.
It fits within the genre of "person who thinks they're ordinary finds out they have powers and also responsibilities", but it feels like it takes seriously the idea that these are otherwise ordinary people who have to deal with some very dark and stressful things, both because they have powers and from things that have nothing to do with their abilities. It has strong themes of unaddressed grief and trauma, and part of the story is how some of those things are examined and addressed.
The narrator is very blunt and matter-of-fact which helps to ground the story when so many strange things are happening. Depending on whether you read the prequel story, Life Minus Me, the early parts of the book can either be a gradual reveal of the truth or feel a bit like a detective story where the reader is waiting for the MC to figure out what we already know to be happening. I read Life Minus Me before this book, and I think I recommend doing it the other way around. I think they can be enjoyed in either order, but it depends on whether you want a quick sketch of the world and then to watch someone else slowly discover it (read Life Minus Me, then Power Surge) or you want to discover a brand new world with the main character, then explore an older story from it with an\ relatively experienced character as a guide (read Power Surge, then Life Minus Me).
The depictions of trauma are handled well in terms of spacing, level of detail, and relative attention paid to each one. Look to the CWs at the end of this review (they can also be found in the front of the book), but the way each event is spaced out and they are balanced in relation to each other meant that, at least for me, I had enough detail to understand Erin's state of mind without being subjected to pages of ideation all at once. This is a book which takes the time to show the lingering effects of various kinds of trauma and that means it sometimes depicts characters not handling trauma well.
Power Surge blends mundane kinds of trauma, pain, and grief with the heady rush of learning that magic is real and there's more going on than most people know. Erin is sad and brave and wonderful; fighting against darkness and despair.
It fits within the genre of "person who thinks they're ordinary finds out they have powers and also responsibilities", but it feels like it takes seriously the idea that these are otherwise ordinary people who have to deal with some very dark and stressful things, both because they have powers and from things that have nothing to do with their abilities. It has strong themes of unaddressed grief and trauma, and part of the story is how some of those things are examined and addressed.
The narrator is very blunt and matter-of-fact which helps to ground the story when so many strange things are happening. Depending on whether you read the prequel story, Life Minus Me, the early parts of the book can either be a gradual reveal of the truth or feel a bit like a detective story where the reader is waiting for the MC to figure out what we already know to be happening. I read Life Minus Me before this book, and I think I recommend doing it the other way around. I think they can be enjoyed in either order, but it depends on whether you want a quick sketch of the world and then to watch someone else slowly discover it (read Life Minus Me, then Power Surge) or you want to discover a brand new world with the main character, then explore an older story from it with an\ relatively experienced character as a guide (read Power Surge, then Life Minus Me).
The depictions of trauma are handled well in terms of spacing, level of detail, and relative attention paid to each one. Look to the CWs at the end of this review (they can also be found in the front of the book), but the way each event is spaced out and they are balanced in relation to each other meant that, at least for me, I had enough detail to understand Erin's state of mind without being subjected to pages of ideation all at once. This is a book which takes the time to show the lingering effects of various kinds of trauma and that means it sometimes depicts characters not handling trauma well.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Violence, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Bullying
Minor: Physical abuse and Sexual assault
CW for violence, discussion of off-page abuse, death of a parent, mentions of off-page sexual assault, brief on-page depictions of attempted sexual assault, self-harm, suicidal ideation, bullying.valereads's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
If you asked me to describe this book in one sentence I would say it is basically a queer YA Dresden Files. Suffice to say I'm a fan.
This book was action-packed and intense. I felt one of the fight scenes was a little confusing but this didn't really detract from the book overall.
I loved the non-binary and other queer representation in this book. I picked it up because I was feeling pretty bad about things related to being trans and really wanted to read some genre fiction with a trans MC and this book was everything I wanted it to be.
All that said there are a couple of issues I feel the need to bring up. The first is the lesser of the two; I really wish we'd seen a bit more of Erin's mum. I understand why she wasn't featured much but I think it would have made the ending more impactful and honestly I'm just very interested in her character. I really hope we get more of her in book 2
I really look forward to seeing how this series progresses especially in regards to Erin's mental health and the character relationships.
In conclusion I have one just one question: When can I read book 2?
Content Warnings: panic attacks, sexual assault/attempted rape, abuse, self-harm, attempted suicide, misgendering/transphobia, fat-shaming, misogyny
This book was action-packed and intense. I felt one of the fight scenes was a little confusing but this didn't really detract from the book overall.
I loved the non-binary and other queer representation in this book. I picked it up because I was feeling pretty bad about things related to being trans and really wanted to read some genre fiction with a trans MC and this book was everything I wanted it to be.
All that said there are a couple of issues I feel the need to bring up. The first is the lesser of the two; I really wish we'd seen a bit more of Erin's mum. I understand why she wasn't featured much but I think it would have made the ending more impactful and honestly I'm just very interested in her character. I really hope we get more of her in book 2
I really look forward to seeing how this series progresses especially in regards to Erin's mental health and the character relationships.
In conclusion I have one just one question: When can I read book 2?
Content Warnings: panic attacks, sexual assault/attempted rape, abuse, self-harm, attempted suicide, misgendering/transphobia, fat-shaming, misogyny
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Violence, Domestic abuse, and Mental illness
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Transphobia, and Toxic relationship
More...