This book was described as "The X-Men meets The Hunger Games", and while I got definite X-Men vibes while reading it, the Hunger Games bit eluded me. Either way, the teens in this book were put through hell. Superhumans are a thing in this dystopian world, and because a bunch of them went rogue and tried to basically destroy the world around them and a lot of innocent people died, kids are tested at age 5 or 6 and if they are found to be "Gifted," a dampening collar is put around their necks and they are treated like freaks and outcasts. They are physically and mentally abused at school, and no one but Gifted teachers will defend them. They live in fear of doing anything to get them sent to "The Block," because once a Gifted enters, they never come out again. Tommy is one of these Gifted, and he and his friends end up in a fight for their lives one night that will alter all of their lives forever. They decide to train and be ready so they are never defenseless again.

I liked the friendships these kids had with each other - a real one for all and all for one thing. They all have their strengths and weaknesses based on their individual Gifts, and they use that in their fight. The ending of the book set it up nicely for the second book in the series, which I look forward to reading.

4/5 stars.

I received a free copy of STORM FORGED (Darkest Storm Book 1) by Patrick Dugan in exchange for an honest review. This is a dystopian future tale with superhumans. Superhumans wrecked the world. There were not enough superheroes to mitigate the damage done by the supervillains. Eventually, there was a backlash where rebel forces of normal humans overthrew the government and conquered the superhumans. The superhumans are now all in prison. Children are tested in kindergarten. If they are superhuman, the government collars them with a power-inhibitor and sends them to prison schools. At those schools, the collared children are treated as punching bags; the victims can’t fight back because they have no rights. Any resistance will result in the child being sent to actual prison to serve a life sentence. The corrupt government commits atrocities and blames it on the superhumans; after all, what brings a community closer together than a common fear and a mutual hate? Tommy Ward was collared in kindergarten and has been a punching bag for bullies his whole life, but when the target shifts to his friends and family, Tommy can’t stop himself from finally fighting back.

I’m a fan of superhero novels, and I enjoyed this one. It was a good story; a solid start to the series. The only negative comment I have is that the bad guys/villians/nemeses were all bad; they were a single flat note-all bad, all rage, all resentment, all evil, all unreasonable, all the time. If you like the superhero genre, try this one, you might like it.

#StormForged #NetGalley

This book works like a mixture of two of my favorite young adult novels. Readers of all ages will enjoy this vivid book and I would gladly share it with students.