A high-flying YA anthology featuring 13 short stories that turn superhero tropes on their head and offer fresh perspectives on modern mythsTriumph. Tragedy. The empyreal. The infernal. Even the mundane, filtered through the fantastical. Superheroes are, appropriately enough, a sort of super-genre, encompassing all other story types.
This YA anthology features 13 short stories that creatively turn superhero tropes on their head, while still paying homage to the genre that has found fans for more than eight decades. And there will be no mistake—superheroes don’t have to just be generic handsome white dudes. Everyone in the world, no matter their race, sexual preference, pronouns, or level of ability, has dreamed of flying.
Contributors include six New York Times bestselling authors, seven multiple award winners, a founder of We Need Diverse Books, and at least one author with millions of books in print in the U.S. alone. The collection is edited by New York Times bestselling author Barry Lyga, and it also features illustrations from Colleen Doran—New York Times bestselling cartoonist, and artist of the legendary Stan Lee’s memoir. The full list of contributors Barry Lyga, Paul Levitz, Sarah MacLean, Lamar Giles, Elizabeth Eulberg, Danielle Paige, Varian Johnson, Joseph Bruchac, Morgan Baden, Matthew Phillion, Anna-Marie McLemore, Sterling Gates, and Axie Oh.
Barry Lyga is a recovering comic book geek. According to Kirkus, he's also a "YA rebel-author." Somehow, the two just don't seem to go together to him.
When he was a kid, everyone told him that comic books were garbage and would rot his brain, but he had the last laugh. Raised on a steady diet of comics, he worked in the comic book industry for ten years, but now writes full-time because, well, wouldn't you?
The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy & Goth Girl is his first novel. Unsoul'd is his latest. There are a whole bunch in between, featuring everything from the aftermath of child abuse to pre-teens with superpowers to serial killers. He clearly does not know how to stick to one subject.
his young adult superhero anthology has the mission of creating characters across a spectrum of diversity and not being derived from previous properties. There’s thirteen stories ranging acrpss multiple subgenres, comedic, science fiction, fantasy… Let’s see how they did!
“Love to Hate” by Lamar Giles starts us off with Ty Revell, a hot young basketball prospect. He’s the star of his high school team, and being scouted by multiple colleges–or maybe he’ll just turn pro! But Ty has a secret; he’s got preternatural abilities, stronger and faster than a normal human, and able to read auras to detect people’s emotions and predict how they’ll move. He’s been deliberately playing at less than his full capacity, as preternatural abilities are banned in high school and most professional sports.
But then there’s an attempted shooting at one of his games, and Ty is forced to blow his cover to save a life. Now instead of being the GOAT, he’s the goat, and everyone hates him. His team won’t be in the championship, his parents were counting on that sweet under the table money, and even the person he saved is ungrateful! A mysterious girl offers Ty a do-over, but will that be enough to salvage his future?
“Fire That Lasts” by Sarah MacLean takes place in a dystopian future where strong emotions are outlawed due to them supposedly having caused disaster in the past. Ember discovers that she has the ability to draw strong emotions out of people with her touch, which gets her targeted by the government. The turnaround comes when she learns she’s misunderstood how her powers work.
“Ordinary Kid” by Joseph Bruchac is about Leonard Skye, a Native American boy at a mostly white school in a dying town. A crow spirit has attached itself to him, and now he has seemingly mystical powers, such as telekinesis and an ability to go unseen. So far, he’s just used his powers on bullies, but there are worse people in this town. Content note: racism, bullying, human trafficking.
“Fly, Lions, Fly” by Morgan Baden features Cece, an aspirant to the Pinewood Lions cheer team. She has made the tryouts, but now comes the hard work of getting accepted. Meanwhile, superheroes and supervillains have supposedly gone away, but there are strange things happening in the city that the adults don’t want to think about too hard. Should the Lions really be Cece’s top priority?
“My Life as a Houseplant” by Matthew Phillion stars Jamie, a grocery store worker who is nearly killed by a meteorite that crashes into his place of employment. When Jamie starts sprouting leaves that night, his friend Ash suggests going back to the now-closed store to investigate. Sure enough, Jamie isn’t the only being to have been affected by the meteorite’s strange influence. A bit silly.
“Aubrey Vs. the Ninth Circle of Hell (aka Prom)” by Elizabeth Eulberg takes place at an exclusive school for the kids of the rich and famous–and a couple of scholarship students. Aubrey is one of the former, though she knows and trades verbal jabs with one of the latter. She is, however, adopted, and her virulently anti-superhuman father has been using her orphan status for propaganda for years. But now, it seems, he’s had just about enough of her–and he’s not too picky about collateral damage. Prom Night is about to reach Carrie levels of unforgettableness.
“Something Borrowed, or the Costume” by Danielle Paige is about Maggie Means, a superhero suit designer in the city of Alcon. She’s trying on the suit she designed for Gamine Girl (they’re roughly the same size, and it’s important to make sure all the accessories work) when the lab she works in explodes. Surviving thanks to the armored suit, Mags heads to the secret headquarters of Heartstopper, a hero she has a good relationship with. She discovers that someone’s been tampering with superhero costumes, knocking most of them out of the game. Heartstopper’s costume is down too, but his power isn’t actually “super”, just hard training. Can he and Mags save the day?
“The Knight’s Gambit” by Varian Johnson is a less pleasant origin story. Raymond is the son of Knight Justice, the city’s only superhero. Powers run in their family, and in theory, Raymond should have inherited them, but he hasn’t manifested them. His father believes that getting Raymond sufficiently angry will do the trick, as it has since Knight Justice’s grandfather reacted to those government experiments. So he’s been resorting to emotional and physical abuse. Raymond’s knife wound still hurts. However, since the city relies on Knight Justice to save it, the police and media have been covering up for his misdeeds.
Knight Justice is determined to make one final push, but he may end up regretting it. Content note: mental and physical abuse, premarital sex.
“The Night I Caught a Bullet” by Sterling Gates. Casey and Nessa Dodson are still mourning their father’s death when a legacy arrives for them. Silver bracelets with curious hourglass-like symbols engraved on them. The “lawyer” insists they will know what to do when the time comes. But will the sisters use the bracelets’ power for good or ill?
“Mecha Girl” by Axie Oh takes place in another school for the kids of the rich and famous, this time in the future. Aurelia Eun-kyung is the sister of a missing scientist, rumored to have turned traitor. This does little for Aurelia’s popularity, but it turns out her sister left behind a suit of power armor that might help.
“Queeroes and Villains” by Anna-Maria McLemore follows a Latina girl (name never actually said) who is a lesbian in a near-future world where LGBTQ+ people are still not fully accepted. Her parents have gotten her into a trial for a medication that’s supposed to make her “straight” or at least able to pass. It turns out some of the side effects are a little extreme, and she’s never ever going to pass as normal now. Despite the title, there’s not really any villains in this story.
“Power Baby Blue Grows Up” by Barry Lyga is about Tyler, who used to be part of a quartet of superpowered babies. He’s still got the binky that gives him superhuman abilities, but it looks kind of ridiculous on an almost grown man. Plus his parents exploited him and stole the endorsement money, and he’s still dealing with the trauma from certain events during his youthful career. Maybe it’s time to move on, but how can he? Mostly depressing.
“Bumped!” by Paul Levitz is actually the first prose story sale for the venerable superhero author. Another dystopian future has most of the population going blind from pollution. The rich can afford new eyes and other improvements, but most people are barely scraping by. Garrett discovers that the one place that will employ a teenager is the military, and it comes with “bumps” to make him a better soldier. But Garrett’s basic sense of decency may be his biggest asset.
The illustrations by Colleen Doran, creator of A Distant Soil, are clear and appropriate for the characters, perhaps a bit staid.
They’re all serviceable stories. Some may even get sequels someday, or an entire novel devoted to them. Maggie Means is the one I’d most like to see more adventures of.
Recommended primarily to superhero-loving teens, both those who’d like to see “someone like me” in the hero role, and those who’d like to see “someone who’s different.”
I came across Generation Wonder because of @fatedmatespod and listened to their interview with Barry Lyga (who edited and compiled the anthology). This is not my normal genre of choice, but wow it was incredibly thought provoking and engaging! I definitely had my favorites of the short stories included, but most were well written and dynamic. I will say, personally, the last 2 were my least favorites. The most thought provoking one was Fire that Lasts -- I'm still thinking about the ramifications of a society like the one in the story.
1. Love to Hate by Lamar Giles 5/5 - about a super who lives with normies and tries to hide his abilities to be able to play sports (think Dash from the Incredibles), saves a life at a game and the butterfly effect from that choice…he meets up with a girl who can rewind time to try to "correct" it, but ends up making the same life-saving choice 2. Fire That Lasts by Sarah MacLean 5/5 - story about a society that doesn't allow any strong emotions (positive or negative) and the way that is controlled beginning in puberty… 3. Ordinary Kid by Joseph Bruchac (Native American POV) 4/5 - about genetic super powers 4. Fly, Lions, Fly by Morgan Baden 4/5 - superhero cheer squad 5. "My Life as a Houseplant" by Matthew Phillion (nonbinary representation) 4/5 - meteor induced super powers 6. Aubrey vs. the Ninth Circle of Hell (aka Prom) by Elizabeth Eulberg 5/5 - superheroes have fallen out of favor due to bad publicity, girl discovers who's behind the bad press at the same time she finds she's a super 7. Something Borrowed, or The Costume by Danielle Page 5/5 - superhero costume designer saves the day from the villains 8. The Knight's Gambit by Varian Johnson 4/5 - father tries to induce superpowers with strong emotional reactions 9. The Night I Caught a Bullet by Sterling Glass (CW: student shooting) 4/5 - inherited bracelets give superpowers that save the day 10. Mecha Girl by Axie Oh 3/5 11. Queeroes and Villains by Anna-Marie McLemore 3/5 - pharmaceuticals designed to turn people straight instead give superpowers 12. Power Baby Blue Grows Up by Barry Lyga 2/5 13. Bumped! By Paul Levitz 1/5
This collection of short stories is a 3.5 for me. With an introduction from noted author Barry Lyga, a self-professed fan of superheroes--and to some YA readers, he's something of a superhero or a legend in his own rights--the 13 stories by authors, most of whom are known for other types of storytelling, are intended to push boundaries and the stereotypes associated with this sort of story. Overall, they succeed at this task as readers will find that superheroes need not be limited to cisgender white guys in tights and capes; instead, they'll meet individuals with superpowers that allow them to excel on the basketball court, fly high as cheerleaders, deal with a chance encounter with a meteor and its unintended consequences, and learn to harness special powers passed on by a parent, among other plots. While some of this material might seem a bit familiar or reminiscent of other stories featuring superheroes, the characters, heroes all in different ways, are fresh and new as are the voices represented here. As many educators and readers realize, representation is important, and this collection has something for just about everyone, encouraging its audience to embrace their own powers and dream of how they too might go about saving the world or at the very least a small corner of it. This was a great idea for a collection and well worth the read although some stories were more engaging than others as is always the case with literature written by several creators.
This anthology has 13 stories of heroes and villains. As always with anthologies there were stories I loved and others who well were duds.
- “Love to Hate” by Lamar Giles 3/5 - “Fire that Lasts” by Sarah MacLean 4/5 - “Ordinary Kid” by Joseph Bruchac 2/5 - “Fly, Lions, Fly” by Morgan Baden 5/5 - “My Life as a Houseplant” by Matthew Phillion 3/5 - “Aubrey vs. the Ninth Circle of Hell (aka Prom)” by Elizabeth Eulberg 5/5 - “Something Borrowed, or the Costume” by Danielle Paige 5/5 - “The Knight’s Gambit” by Varian Johnson 3/5 - “The Night I Caught a Bullet” by Sterling Gates 4/5 - “Mecha Girl” by Axie Oh 3/5 - “Queeroes and Villains” by Anna-Marie McLemore 3/5 - “Power Baby Blue Grows Up” by Barry Lyga 1/5 - “Bumped!” by Paul Levitz 1/5
The book is subtitled "The New Age of Heroes" so we get thirteen origin stories and I wish there was a bit more variety as we met these new heroes at different stages of their careers.
All are imaginative and entertaining, a little heavy on female empowerment. The cadre of writers was mostly new to me, which is surprising given their pedigrees. The exception is Paul Levitz, an old friend, making his prose debut to close out the novel.
Colleen Doran provides the cover and interior illustrations which are all welcome and excellent.
For young adult readers and beyond, these are welcome additions to the superhero pantheon, many of whom I would happily read their continued adventures.
Uneven but overall enjoyable. The goal with this anthology was to shoot for diversity and it delivers: gay heroes, black heroes, Native American and women. The high points include "Love to Hate" (will a guy use a do-over for selfish gain?), "Aubrey vs. the Ninth Circle of Hell" and "Power Baby Blue Grows Up" (kid hero as an analogy for child star — I've seen it done before, but this was goofy fun). Some of the other stories, not so much. As most of the stories are either origins or the moment at which the protagonists finally own their superpowers there's less variety in the structure than I'd have liked. But the good stuff is worth the reading.
This is a really cool collection of stories. I loved the diversity of the characters and how this effected their superhero journeys. It's such an interesting change and having a mix of more lighthearted and serious stories reflecting on this was so well done. I also enjoyed how many stories delved into the negative consequences of super powers particularly for characters so young. All around this was a well curated collection and a great book.
This was a very in the middle enjoyable and quick read for me. The stories were very hit or miss. The ones I enjoyed were Aubrey vs. the Ninth Circle of Hell, Something Borrowed, or The Costume and Fire That Lasts. While stories like Bumped! I wasn’t that into. As a whole I did find this to be an enjoyable Superhero anthology read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I read the Sarah Maclean story Fire that Lasts. I didn’t lie it.it seemed unfinished with a strong start, bare bones middle and an ending that is abrupt and vague