A review by haia_929
Fallout by Gwenda Bond
4.0
This is a trimmed down version of my review, to view the full review visit The Book Ramble.
Lois Lane has been moving from army base to mary base all her life, never making roots or friends. There's one exception, her best friend, who she only knows by his screen name - "SmallvillleGuy". All her life she's been making trouble knowing she can escape it in her next move, but when the Lanes settle in Metropolis permanently Lois decides on a new plan for her life - she's going to be good, make friends, and not cause problems for her family. Everything goes wrong when she sees a girl getting bullied and her sense of justice completely takes over. With a job at the Daily Scoop, the Daily Planet's teen branch, she plans to uncover the truth behinds the bullying because something about it feels strange.
This book was so much fun, and a really interesting look into Lois as a character beyond her relationship with Superman. I thought the mystery was exciting and interesting, and while the writing wasn't amazing, I think Bond really made something amazing out of Lane, giving her much more depth than I've ever really gotten from her before.
Lois is a really strong protagonist. She has an incredible sense of right, and the way she fights for not just herself and her friends, but for anyone who has been wronged is amazing. She really embodies the ideals of Superman but she doesn't need to be an alien or a superhero to protect those ideals she's just an ordinary teenager who wants to do right. I liked how Bond really highlighted how these characteristics of her personality make her into the journalist that she would become as an adult.
The mystery of this book is both grounded in reality through the bullying and cyberbullying, but also draws on the sci-fi aspects of the comic book world that set the DC Universe apart from us. The bullying was realistic and heartbreaking to watch Anavi suffering through. The background of it - mind control and advanced technology beyond our own - made it that much more interesting to read about and delve into. It was really gripping and complex and I loved it.
There's a pretty strong cast of characters in this. Lois's coworkers at the Daily Scoop are really all pretty great. Of course the stand out is SmallvilleGuy, who we never really get to see or learn what his real name is but of course you can read into that. The pair meet on a chatroom about alien encounters - the alien Lois encountered? Totally Superman. Which was a really cute nod to their future.
Overall I thought the book was really fun. I thought Lois was well written and well developed. There was some trouble with the writing being a little repetitive and bland sometimes but in general it was quite good. All in all this book was definitely worth a read if you're a comic book fan.
Lois Lane has been moving from army base to mary base all her life, never making roots or friends. There's one exception, her best friend, who she only knows by his screen name - "SmallvillleGuy". All her life she's been making trouble knowing she can escape it in her next move, but when the Lanes settle in Metropolis permanently Lois decides on a new plan for her life - she's going to be good, make friends, and not cause problems for her family. Everything goes wrong when she sees a girl getting bullied and her sense of justice completely takes over. With a job at the Daily Scoop, the Daily Planet's teen branch, she plans to uncover the truth behinds the bullying because something about it feels strange.
This book was so much fun, and a really interesting look into Lois as a character beyond her relationship with Superman. I thought the mystery was exciting and interesting, and while the writing wasn't amazing, I think Bond really made something amazing out of Lane, giving her much more depth than I've ever really gotten from her before.
Lois is a really strong protagonist. She has an incredible sense of right, and the way she fights for not just herself and her friends, but for anyone who has been wronged is amazing. She really embodies the ideals of Superman but she doesn't need to be an alien or a superhero to protect those ideals she's just an ordinary teenager who wants to do right. I liked how Bond really highlighted how these characteristics of her personality make her into the journalist that she would become as an adult.
The mystery of this book is both grounded in reality through the bullying and cyberbullying, but also draws on the sci-fi aspects of the comic book world that set the DC Universe apart from us. The bullying was realistic and heartbreaking to watch Anavi suffering through. The background of it - mind control and advanced technology beyond our own - made it that much more interesting to read about and delve into. It was really gripping and complex and I loved it.
There's a pretty strong cast of characters in this. Lois's coworkers at the Daily Scoop are really all pretty great. Of course the stand out is SmallvilleGuy, who we never really get to see or learn what his real name is but of course you can read into that. The pair meet on a chatroom about alien encounters - the alien Lois encountered? Totally Superman. Which was a really cute nod to their future.
Overall I thought the book was really fun. I thought Lois was well written and well developed. There was some trouble with the writing being a little repetitive and bland sometimes but in general it was quite good. All in all this book was definitely worth a read if you're a comic book fan.