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A review by jenpaul13
We Could Be Heroes by Mike Chen
4.0
Lost memories and extraordinary abilities draw two unlikely allies together for the sake of their city in Mike Chen’s We Could Be Heroes.
To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website: http://makinggoodstories.wordpress.com/.
Waking up in empty apartments, no memories of who they are, and a few clues about their identity, Jamie and Zoe find that they have extraordinary abilities; ones that they use to their advantage. Jamie has the ability to read and erase other people’s memories, which comes in quite handy to make some fast money while robbing banks. Zoe has abilities of speed, strength, and hovering, which is near to flying, and uses them in her job as a fast food deliverer, and when the mood strikes to be a vigilante. During a chance meeting at a memory-loss support group, Jamie and Zoe realize who the other is, at least their publicly known personas, and come to understand that they might just be able to help one another with their goals: Jamie’s to have enough money to escape to a quiet island life and Zoe’s to know who she really once was. While digging in, they uncover a threat with greater impact than merely fracturing their budding friendship, but one that could plunge their city into chaos, and they must decide if they can trust each other enough to help thwart the threat.
A superhero story that explores the moral gray areas between what would be considered good or evil, this book was entertaining and easy to read. The characters were decently developed, had distinct personalities that offered some humor to counter treading into heavier identity or representation topics, and offered a refreshing platonic relationship dynamic instead of unnecessary romantic tension. There were questions raised, particularly around the abilities that some people had, that were somewhat addressed, through could have benefited from further detailing while still being veiled to maintain the mystery of the ending reveal; there was another city plagued by actions of the extraordinaries that was repeatedly mentioned in passing, assuming general knowledge, without developing out the relevance, which was frustrating because I was curious about it and if addressed in greater detail it might also have fleshed out the backstory, plot, and motivations of the villain to a more satisfactory degree.
Overall, I’d give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars.
And, because I just can’t help myself with certain phrases, every time I looked at this cover I was reminded of two things: this song or this song (and specifically in this order), which immediately got stuck in my head; so sorry, not sorry if I’ve just done that to you.
To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website: http://makinggoodstories.wordpress.com/.
Waking up in empty apartments, no memories of who they are, and a few clues about their identity, Jamie and Zoe find that they have extraordinary abilities; ones that they use to their advantage. Jamie has the ability to read and erase other people’s memories, which comes in quite handy to make some fast money while robbing banks. Zoe has abilities of speed, strength, and hovering, which is near to flying, and uses them in her job as a fast food deliverer, and when the mood strikes to be a vigilante. During a chance meeting at a memory-loss support group, Jamie and Zoe realize who the other is, at least their publicly known personas, and come to understand that they might just be able to help one another with their goals: Jamie’s to have enough money to escape to a quiet island life and Zoe’s to know who she really once was. While digging in, they uncover a threat with greater impact than merely fracturing their budding friendship, but one that could plunge their city into chaos, and they must decide if they can trust each other enough to help thwart the threat.
A superhero story that explores the moral gray areas between what would be considered good or evil, this book was entertaining and easy to read. The characters were decently developed, had distinct personalities that offered some humor to counter treading into heavier identity or representation topics, and offered a refreshing platonic relationship dynamic instead of unnecessary romantic tension. There were questions raised, particularly around the abilities that some people had, that were somewhat addressed, through could have benefited from further detailing while still being veiled to maintain the mystery of the ending reveal; there was another city plagued by actions of the extraordinaries that was repeatedly mentioned in passing, assuming general knowledge, without developing out the relevance, which was frustrating because I was curious about it and if addressed in greater detail it might also have fleshed out the backstory, plot, and motivations of the villain to a more satisfactory degree.
Overall, I’d give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars.
And, because I just can’t help myself with certain phrases, every time I looked at this cover I was reminded of two things: this song or this song (and specifically in this order), which immediately got stuck in my head; so sorry, not sorry if I’ve just done that to you.