“I see a world that is terrified of me. Terrified of someone who would reject manhood. Terrified of a girl who knows who she is and what she’s capable of. They are small, and they are weak, and they will not hurt me ever again.

My name is Danielle Tozer. I am a girl. No one is strong enough to take that from me anymore.”

Let’s all take a moment to appreciate that quote, because damn, is it ever powerful.

- - -

Meet Danny! She is transgender, a lesbian, and as of late… a superhero?

One night, while Danny is on one of her top-secret missions across town (to buy nail polish and paint her toenails), she stumbles upon the world’s greatest superhero: Dreadnought. Then he dies, and suddenly all of his superpowers are being transferred over to her. As if that wasn’t exciting enough, this transference of power somehow turns Danny into a girl, physically! Now she looks exactly the way she’s always felt on the inside.

This sounds like it will be super empowering and uplifting, right? Wrong. Her dad is an ignorant, homophobic dick who is a living example of why hypermasculinity is so damaging during childhood (or adulthood, for that matter). Her supposed “best friend” is an insensitive pervert who acts as if she owes him a date (disgusting). And her spineless mother has done a terrible job of showing Danny what it means to be a woman–to be strong. Basically, Danny can only count on herself. Here she is, in this new body (that she’s always wanted), and now the whole world can see on the outside who she really is. She is a girl. She is strong. And she won’t let anyone take that away from her.

Throw in some quirky side characters (who also have superpowers), some underdeveloped villains, and a fictional town that hasn’t really been fleshed out yet, and you’ve got yourself a mediocre superhero novel with the potential for something more. There are good capes, and bad capes, and gray capes. But sometimes it’s hard to tell who’s on the side of Good or Evil. A lot of them are in between… especially the so-called superheroes.

In any case, I don’t think you need to know much else about the plot or characters. This was an interesting read. It is very comicbook-esque, if you’re into that sort of thing. Danny offered some great representation, but I am not transgender, so I can’t say for certain if this representation was completely accurate. If it counts for anything, her character did seem very authentic and brought up some very important issues. Namely, how people can be completely uneducated assholes when it comes to understanding anyone who isn’t straight and heterosexual. I almost wish that there was more of a focus on the emotional issues and character development rather than the action scenes and bad guys, but I guess that would defeat the whole point of this being a novel about superheroes, right? I don’t know. Danny was already a superhero in my eyes long before she became Dreadnought. I can’t imagine what it would be like to live in a family like hers.

Overall, this book has a very interesting premise but I feel like a lot of the potential was wasted on cheesy fight scenes! On the other hand, I’m happy to hear that there will be a sequel. I’d really like to see Danny grow from a strong girl into a strong woman!

*Review will my posted on http://www.laylabetweenthelines.com (01/24/17)

Note: I received this book from Netgalley & the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Dreadnought is a superhero story unlike any other. It tells the story of Danny Tozer, who is hiding the fact that she's transgender from the world. In her world, superheroes and supervillains are real and very much a part of society. When one of those superheroes dies right in front of Danny, her secret is out. Dreadnought, the superhero, passes his powers on to Danny and her body suddenly matches what she knows she's always been: she's officially a girl. Now, she not only has to deal with her new superpowers, but also has to deal with how her family and friends perceive her change, and her unwillingness to change back.

I enjoyed this book. It was a little slow for me at times, but I love superheroes, so this was right up my alley. It's also a great coming of age and transition story all wrapped up into one. The characters are extremely real and believable, even though some of the people Danny considers to be closest to her say some truly terrible things to her after her transition (all the trigger warnings for strong discriminatory language). As she comes to terms with this welcome change to her body, she also has to deal with her verbally abusive father, timid mother, and a best friend who now pretty much sucks. She also develops new relationships with people who didn't know her before the change, including reigning superheroes and a graycape (someone with powers who makes morally questionable choices) named Calamity, who's also a very likable and fun character.

As a cis woman, I can't speak with certainty as to the authenticity of Danny's transition process. While realistic transitions obviously don't happen so quickly, Danny's journey post-transition felt authentic to me. The emotions she goes through were well-written, and people in her life had some pretty egregious reactions (again lots of trigger warnings for transphobia, homophobia, and emotional abuse). Danny herself isn't perfect either, but she feels real. I also think it's amazing the way the author integrates a superhero origin story with a coming out/transition story. This representation is really needed in YA and I really hope it helps promote positive images and thoughts for both trans and cis teens.

Dreadnought is a fun story, too. The battle scenes are really well written and easy to picture in your head. There were uneven moments, and some of it dragged a bit, but overall, I really enjoyed it. I would've liked more exploration of side characters, including the Legion, but ultimately this is Danny's story, and I recognize that. If you're looking for a fun, diverse read, this book was a wonderful one and I recommend it. You can get Dreadnought on January 24.

Errata:
"With Dreadnought's dead" Makes no sense. 'With Dreadnought's death', or 'With Dreadnought being dead' makes more sense.
Camouflage misspelled at start of chapter 14
Bicep on p115 needs to be biceps!
I wouldn't keep let mom bribe me p115 makes no sense. 'I wouldn't keep letting mom bribe me', maybe?

I'm not a fan of series in general because they tend to be bloated, repetitive, and derivative. I like my novels fresh, not warmed over from the previous volume in the series! Once in a while though, a series comes along that's worth reading, and though it's premature to say so after only one volume, this series, Nemesis, of which Dreadnought is volume one, might be one I can finally stomach! Note that this was an advance review copy for which I thank the author and the publisher.

Let me address some issues I had with it first. The story was in first person. I have no idea why authors are so addicted to this, but usually it sounds awful, self-obsessed, and totally unrealistic. Once in a while an author can carry it off, and in this case it wasn't bad until it got to about 80% of the way through when the big action finale began, and then it really showed what a poor choice this voice was. No one narrates like that when experiencing horrors or trying to figure out how to set wrongs right in emergency situations.

Yes, I would agree that the actions and thoughts of Dreadnought in some ways showed how new she was to this job, but in other ways it was steadfastly undermined that by how analytical and detailed she was in relating what was happening. Even accounting for the inexperience, for me it was almost completely lacking in credibility. It wasn't god-awfully bad, but the scenes needed to be tightened considerably. There was way too much fluff and filler, and with the first person voice it simply didn't feel realistic. Overall, the finale was not bad in terms of being a finale. It was just poorly executed, I thought.

It may seem strange to make this point with someone like Trump in office, but the extremes depicted in the novel, in terms of how people despised Danny, the mtf transgender girl who became the super hero Dreadnought, were too polarized. It’s like there was no one on the fence - they were either totally supportive or psychotically antagonistic and to me, this lacked credibility. I know there are many people hostile to the LGBTQIA community, and for the next four years, we're going to see them crawling out of the woodwork, emerging from the shadows, and slithering out from under rocks, I'm sorry to say, because they've been invited to do so by one of the most bigoted and insensitive public figures I've ever seen, and unfortunately, because of the complacency of registered voters, he's now in a position of way too much power for four years.

As far as this story is concerned, more nuance would have served it better. Danny's high-school friend, her dad, and the Graywych character at the super hero building came off more like caricatures than actual people, and this robbed them of their power, although Graywych's perspective was an interesting one, I grant. Instead of being threatening though, they were more like "representative' cardboard cut-outs, or placeholder set up to mark a particular perspective without making the perspective feel real.

That said, I really liked this story overall, and I loved how it brought the character into being with a history and a legacy already in place because of the way the mantle is passed on from one Dreadnought to another. Like Danny needed any more pressure! Danny is a girl, Danielle, as she'd like to be, born in a boy's body, Daniel as he was known.

She has felt trapped for seven or eight years, and is desperately counting the days until she's eighteen, and can get a job to save up for the surgery which will make her outward appearance match her inner self, or at least as close as modern medical science can render it. She did not ask for super powers, but once she gets them, and realizes that part of this transference grants some wishes to the recipient we quickly discover (like it was any surprise!) what her dearest wish was, and this is what she got.

Some reviewers, I've noticed have had issues with how 'beautiful' and 'curvaceous' she became, and I’d have an issue with it if that was all she became, but there was more to it and it’s wrong to focus on one aspect to the exclusion of others which turn out to be more important.

That said I would have preferred it if it had been toned-down, or if it was only Danny who considered she was 'beautiful'. This is for two reasons: one, because I'm tired of female super hero tropes where they're essentially nothing more than pneumatic Barbie doll clichés instead of real people, on the outside, and guys on the inside. Two: I think it would have made for a more powerful story and a more compelling character had Danny been just 'ordinary' looking, but was so thrilled to finally 'be a real girl' that she felt beautiful. But that's just me!

One problem here is that she wasn't really a girl, though, not biologically speaking. This part made little sense to me. She got the proportions and outward appearance of a girl, including a 'healthy cleavage,' but inside she was still XY, with no womb. There was no overt discussion of what her genitalia looked like exactly, just the hint that it was entirely female, so what I didn't get was why? Why did she have this limitation? If the mantle could confer femininity on her, why could it not go all the way?

I didn't buy the flim-flam we were given that it was too much for the mantle to confer. Men are really just mutant versions of women when you get right down to it, and there are direct parallels between a male and a female body. What's referred to as a penis in a male is nothing more than a distended clitoris. Men have an X chromosome, so if the changes somehow called for a man to be raised to the power of X to put him on par with a woman, then why couldn't the mantle achieve this? What couldn't the Prostatic utricle become a uterus? Was it because the man-tle was designed by a man?! You could argue that you would lose your transgender character if this had happened but I would disagree with you!

I like the way Danny came into her powers, and I speak not of the initial transference here, but her growth into them over the story, her reluctance to blindly throw in her lot with the Legion, and her willingness to learn everything the mantle could show her, and put it to good use. The other side of this coin is that it made little sense that she didn't stand up to her father earlier, but when you're beaten down so hard for so long, it's very hard to get back to your feet with any strength of conviction, so I was willing to let that go. I felt bad though when Danny's first thought on waking after Calamity's injury was not that of going to see how she was, but a lot of selfish thoughts about how much she was having to put up with herself. That felt like a real betrayal

I adored Calamity. This seems to be my lot on life whether I like the main character (as I did here) or not: I like the 'side-kick' more, although Calamity never was a sidekick, and even had the balls to call Dreadnought her sidekick at one point, which was both beautiful and funny. So enough rambling. Overall I really did like the story despite some issues. It's the first I've read of a series in a long, long time that has really stirred my interest and made me seriously want to come back for more. That's about the biggest compliment I can give it, and from me, it's a heck of a lot!

I’m not that big of a fan of superhero movies or books, it’s not really my thing, so I was a bit apprehensive about this book but I really enjoyed it.

The plot is intense. We follow Danny, a trans girl who transitions after the legendary superhero Dreadnought hands over his superhero powers before he dies. Thus proceeds the hardest/happiest week of her life. The plot started right off the bat. We don’t really have a lot of time to get to know Danny before she transitions since that’s pretty much the opening scene of the book. It took me a bit off guard since I was expecting a much slower build up to what the blurb mentioned and I wasn’t really sure what more things the book was gonna bring. However, I was really pleasantly surprised with all the different elements within the plot. I really liked the balance between the action and everyday life. Danny is dealing with her powers and all that comes with it, specially since they are so legendary. All of those things are overwhelming enough but I liked that the author also showed us Danny in her natural environment before she received the mantle. Going to school, dealing with friends and family, none of that was ignored in favor of the cool superhero powers. Adjusting to school and family strife is just as important to the plot and to Danny’s character as searching for the super villain who murdered Dreadnought. Both parts of her life are presented in the story and both have good and bad things within them. The action scenes are really intense and have a lot of details that while I enjoyed them, it took me awhile to read and make sure that I was wrapping my head around everything that was going on. This book also makes it a point to challenge a lot of different things like misgendering, discrimination and prejudice. Harmful things that hurt people on a daily basis were explored but nothing got a pass which is amazing. It made the character’s story much real and powerful and it definitely drove home the message of acceptance that I believe the author was trying to share. The writing like I mentioned above took me awhile to get used to, it was kind of choppy in ways. Some things were overly described, others weren’t described enough. Because there’s a nice balance between the action and everyday stuff, I wanted the same thing with the writing but I think the shifting gears of fast paced, fighting scenes to chill and emotional ones needs some work. The ending was a bit rushed, I would’ve liked to see more closure or have the last few scenes wrapped up in a different way but it was also left open enough to welcome the sequel which I’m really excited to read! So many things happened in those last few chapters and I can’t wait to see where the series grows from here.

Danny took awhile for me to warm up to. She’s going through so much through this book. Her narrative is like an emotional roller coaster and that really affected my connection with her. It was so up and down and so messy when it came to describing how she felt, that I felt like I couldn’t really understand who she was in the beginning. Her transition is such a big part of the story and I can’t really comment much on how well the representation is done. However, I will say that while the beginning of the story, the first scene being her transition, made it hard for me to get into the story as a whole, it made it much easier to understand Danny as she is, rather than how people around her were used to seeing it. It made her perspective and her anger toward people who refused to see her as she is much easier to connect to and to understand from a cisgender perspective, because I never saw her as anyone but herself. As the story went on however, I got to understand her personality and her goals not only as a person but as now a hero with so much responsibility on her shoulders. That was also something that shifted my thoughts about her, she has so much she needs to do, so many people giving her their opinions and expecting her to follow them as well. I love how her character development and journey had a lot to do with her finding her voice and deciding what she wanted to do and what she wanted to believe in. I can’t wait to read more about her and to see how she moves forward from what the end of the book entailed.

Now I want to talk about the side characters. This is probably where I have the most complaints. There are SO MANY side characters that I felt like I couldn’t really get to know any of them well. Some are there as pure antagonists and once they finish their job, they are gone from page time. And others had more of a positive role in Danny’s life and yet I still felt like they could’ve given me more about them as individuals. Sarah or Calamity, who is a girl that Danny meets in the first scene of the book and with whom she strikes a friendship and a sort of partnership with. I really liked her because she had a very spunky attitude. She’s really self-confident and has very strong opinions and isn’t afraid to make them known. However, she’s also very reckless and both of them as a team get into situations that are very dangerous for them. One of the things that bothered me about Sarah’s characterization is that apparently she’s supposed to be Latinx. Danny says that she looks to be Latina in one sentence in the book when she first meets her and that’s never brought up again. It’s such a small detail that I actually thought Sarah was black for the majority of the book, specially because of a specific conversation she has with Danny. I really wanted this to be much clearer than it is in the text. If she’s really Latinx, her name would likely be spelled like mine is (Hi, if you didn’t know I’m Latinx and my name is Sara, without an H). I’m nitpicking and I know it, but another review mentioned her being Latinx and it’s so unclear in the text that I can’t help but complain about it. Nothing makes me more excited than seeing Latinx representation… as long as that’s really what it is. Doc is another character that Danny gets close to and I really liked her presence and support of Danny. I really wanted to see more of her and I want to learn more about her now, specially because of some reveals toward the end that I never saw coming at all. She’s really kind and open and just so nice to Danny and understanding and just cool.

Overall, I liked this book but I feel like it had the potential to blow me away and just fell a little short. The plot of the book is really intense and powerful though some areas are more fast paced than others. The writing style can feel choppy and disjointed at times and it took me awhile to get into the rhythm of the book. However, I really enjoyed Danny and the majority of the side characters and I can’t wait to see where the series goes from here.

In a world where the skies are filled with superheroes and supervillains, 15-year-old Danny's dreams come true when the famous Dreadnought perishes in her arms and passes his powers on to her - powers that include super-strength, flight, and an outer body that matches the girl Danny's always been inside.

And, well... I loved it! Danny is going to steal the hearts of so many readers. This is such a beautiful ownvoices work and it shows from the very first chapter when we meet Danny sneakily buying nail polish. She tells us:

"Painting my toes is the one way I can take control. The one way I can fight back. The one way I can give voice to this idea inside me that gets heavier every year:
I'm not supposed to be a boy."

The author gets the balance absolutely perfect between light, quirky superhero novel, and a darker, thought-provoking, coming-of-age story. The flying, world-saving and GIRL POWER make this a wonderful, heart-warming read. The other members of the former Dreadnought's group - "Legion Pacifica" - think Danny is too young to take on the villains and save the world, but that just gets added to the long list of mistakes people make about her.

However, as noted above, there are some darker aspects of Dreadnought. The author doesn't shy away from portraying the reality of transphobia and how difficult it is to grow up with a father who wants to make you a "real man". Many trans slurs are thrown around, and Graywytch (another of the Legion Pacifica members) deliberately misgenders Danny.

Additionally, Danny must now deal with the lingering eyes of certain men and boys, other forms of sexism, and the assumption that she now wants to start dating the boys at her school - which is incorrect because Danny is, in fact, gay. It's fantastic to see, despite all of this, that Danny comes out on top again and again. She's allowed to be weak and scared and unsure, but in the end, she knows who she is and who she's always been. She calls out the boys on their sexism:

“I don’t like boys, any boys. If I did like boys, I wouldn’t like boys who talk to me like you just did.”

Though a superhero story, Dreadnought is first and foremost about its characters. Its women, I should say. A diverse array of women drive the novel - from the white, gay and trans Danny, to the Latina Calamity, to Doc Impossible who is coded as non-white (Her dark hair is pulled back in a braid) to Utopia who is - wait for it - a cyborg villain.

The character dynamics - particularly between Danny and Calamity - shine throughout. Reading this the weekend of the Women's March made me feel quite emotional. This message of female solidarity is so important; and add to it a much-needed, complex, trans superheroine and you have one hell of a powerful book. I can't wait for more.

I just wanted to say that this is my personal option, i am not trying to be hurtful or hateful towards anyone especially not the author, but I also want to share my honest opinion.


1.5 stars

Have any of you ever read a book you really, really, REALLY wanted it like but then you read it and it just.... fell completely short?

Because that is sadly what this book is for me!

I was really excited about this book -as many others are or were!- a superhero book featuring a transgender character? Fantastic!

I was hoping for a great middle of emotional things with having to deal with a body strand formation into the real peronlaity of the main character but also lots of action and superheroing because who doesn't love that?
I was so excited to have a book handeling the topic of transgender transformation that is NOT a contemporary!

And then i read the book.


And guys.... it's just not really any of what I wanted it to be.

The only real positive thing I can say about it? It's not a contemporary book.

I feel bad that i can not honestly say more positive things about this book but to me everything else just did not work in this book!

So let the rambles begin!

- the main character Danny
She has a very, ver childish voice, in my option, I didn't really get any real actual characteristics from her other then "transgender, lesbian" which I am sorry, no! We do not build a transgendered book around the fact that it is a transgender book! I want actual characteristics! I want a real person! I don't want a paper cut out always just repeating the same few sentences and feeling over and over! I want real emotions, I want real develtomlment! I want to get ta feel for what makes a persona Superhero! And how a fifteen year old deals with not only suddenly having Completely new body and hormones and explanations to deal with but also having to deal with suddenly having to step up into a hero role!

But we don't get any of that, we don't even get a real reaction other then the first reaction of being happy to have her body now match her feelings.
I am sorry, and maybe I am wrong because I am not transfer so I don't know how it feels, but I would imagine that it would be strange to suddenly have a different gender a specific your body! You have different needs, different feeling from your body, you move differently and hold yourself differently! I mean it's menationed of her clothes doesn't fit right anymore when she notices she is no longer in a boys body, but tat is basically it As far as actually talking about issues a person might experience having a new body from one second to the next!

And I am not talking a out not believing that Danny wanted a female body, that is not even anywhere in the eh same universe of wha to mean but let's be honest and just say that if you get what's you always wanted It still takes a little while to get used to having it! And we aren't not even talking about something as radical as a complete body swap!
So that didn't work for me, because there was just too little of realistic reaction! Even just from Danny, it even mentioning the people around her who basically just accept without any real prove or explanation that Danny now has a girls body instead of a boys!
I would hope that my own parents would want more then, I am me! I swear, mom, dad! When tries a stranger in my room!


Moving on from the whole body change!


Danny felt very underdeveloped to me, she had emotions but mostly it was all just barely skimming the surface of ... well anything really.


Let's just say that I really wanted to like Danny, I tried my best to overlook a lot with her but in the end it didn't work, she was just too.... underdeveloped and unfinished feeling, and just because she is a transgender character is not enough for me personally to justify not having anything memorable at all!


- the writing

It felt very young.
Let's just say it that way.
There was a lot of moments where I thought that the book was supposed to be a middle grade kind of book, targeted towards maybe ten year olds, Since it was that kind of over simplified writing style and word choices.

But then something completely stupid happened in the way of the father making a horrendous slur against his own kid and that really did NOT feel middle grade!

So I have no idea What age group the author was targeting for beduseln for a ya book it is a bit of an over easy and simple feelings book but for a middle grade it is a bit too racist!

Needles to say the writing was not my favorite and I didn't enjoy it!


-the overall plot

Mhm... yeah.... it was supposed to be a superhero plot, right?
Anyone notice that that kind of got shoved to the side right after the beginning and dragged out just a couple of times at very continent moments?

Mostly the plot was that Danny was not at all supported in her home for being transgender and having to deal with very negative reactions to it.

I did not really appreacite that the dad was being made the villain since that's is just not.... why did we need superpowers (other than to turn Danny's body female!) if we just focus on the homophobic dad?!?!

I wanted action! I wanted powers! I wanted either a kackling crazy villain or the guy/girl that's turns out to be misunderstood all along and Danny helps them become good.... or something! I wanted actual superheroing going on!

I am not saying that the homophobia isn't realistic or didn't fit into the story! But it was too heavy for what the book is supposed to be about in my option.

And while is support having subplots and talking about issues a transgender person can have, an der even having a phobic parent or family member in general since sadly that is what many people hVe to deal with if and when they come out, I didn't like that it took over and that Danny didn't even t her dad that much or in a real way that would have made sense for that to take over the book.

So yeah... that's didn't work from me as well.


All in All?

I am sorry but while I love that this is a transgender book written by an #ownvoices author, this didn't work for me.
It lacked good writing, actual characteristics and a focused plot in my option.
I wanted to love this.
But I can't, I just can't!, love a book simply because it is an #ownvoices transgender book.

Dreadnought is an #OwnVoices book featuring a trans girl whose dreams come true when she takes on the mantle of a superhero at the moment of his death. Things don't go easily for Danny, but nonetheless, she navigates being finally seen as a girl (in school, with her parents, with her best friend) and suddenly having superpowers. It's a whole new world for her in both ways and I love the way the story makes you feel that. At the start, she hides in an alley to paint her toenails; at the end, well... spoilers. But suffice it to say that she's pretty comfortable in her skin and her identity.

It's not always the easiest read, because it's not pure wish fulfilment. Though Danny's transformation is outwardly perfect, she wouldn't be able to have children, for example. And the other superheroes around her aren't the people you'd hope they would be. Scarlet Witch -- sorry, I mean, Graywytch is a trans-exclusionary feminist, while Carapace is a douche who can't get her pronouns right and even a queer member of the team puts his foot in it. Doctor Impossible and Valkyrja are pretty awesome, though, and a young superhero called Calamity who doesn't fall in line with the Avengers (sorry, the Legion) also befriends her.

All in all, the plot is pretty pacey and fun, and it's not all about Danny's transformation. It's also about responsibility and handling any big life change, about figuring out where you belong in the world. Danny's family aren't great at it, and nor is her best friend, and there's generally plenty of transphobic stuff that might be quite hard to read. But ultimately, I found it more fun than it was upsetting -- and anyway, upsetting isn't necessarily a bad thing, just something the vulnerable might want to know going in.

Review goes up on my blog 19/02/2017.

Diversity!

Often, diverse books are contemporaries, as if a gay/trans/etc. character cannot star in a fantasy or sic-fi plot because their plot revolves around being gay/trans/etc.

I like diverse contemporaries, but I'm glad we got a ski-fi book too, because this book was great!

I thought the subject of Danny being trans was well written and well handled, though I have no first-hand experience with such things, so take my words with a grain of salt.

Danny had a unique, refreshing voice, and I loved her. Loved the way she got her powers and why. I loved the side characters (even the ones I hated, they added to the story), the villain was amazing, and Sarah's backstory was my favorite thing (Danny and Sarah would also make the cutest couple).

The plot was well paced, you're grabbed from the beginning and I didn't get bored once. (I read this in about 2 days).

If you like superhero stories, or if you're looking for a diverse read, I highly recommend picking this one up!

From the start. This book is up my alley. The Author did a terrific job on how she put the main character. I was literally laughing out loud. For one, I think we've all been "there". Even if we choose not to admit it. We can certainly give a muted nod. Bravo April Daniels. Read more on my blog http://redrosesinpinkshoes.blogspot.com/

Dreadnought is a book that has had building hype in the book community for being a young adult super-hero book with a transgender protagonist. Both of these were huge incentives for me as a reader because I’m a huge fan of super-hero media and I’ve not read many #ownvoices transgender-cantered stories and that is something I really want to change.

What can I say about this book? It blew me away!

While reading, I was constantly feeling so many different emotions that it was almost hard to keep up. Danny has always know she’s a girl, but a chance encounter with a dying Dreadnought changes her world, giving her the body to match her identity, along with some pretty fabulous super powers to boot. What follows is her explorations of not only having these super-abilities, but having to deal with the fall-out of her family learning about the change (and not well, there were many times when I felt so much rage for how Danny is treated). There were a lot of different reactions to Danny’s revelation from many characters - both positive and negative - and the way Danny ultimately struggles with and accepts the various reactions was, at times a bit confronting to read, but Daniels wrote these scenes so beautifully.

Danny lives in a world were metahumans with special abilities or super powers is common place. There’s a little back story into the evolution of this world, mainly focused on the Dreadnought mantel, which is passed on after the death of the previous title holder. We are simply thrust into this world where superheroes are the norm, and that was refreshing. Yes, it would have been wonderful to have this aspect fleshed out in more detail, but I felt the main focus was on Danny’s journey and that was necessary. (Also, being the first book in a series, there’s plenty of time to delve into the backstories of all the wonderful characters.)

If you like action books, this is fabulous. If you like books that deal with diversity head-on, focusing on the positives and negatives (without sugar coating either) this is for you.

Dreadnought is a book that will send your emotions spinning in so many directions. You’ll laugh and cry and rage and cheer for Danny as she discovers exactly who she is. I gave Dreadnought 4.5 out of 5 stars.

I’m so glad I read this and I can’t wait to get a physical copy to add to my shelves.

What a fantastic book! Not only did it align with all of my interests (superheroes, interesting world-building, LGBT main characters), but was also fantastically written. I loved all of the characters, major and minor, especially the main character, Danielle. Danny is one of the best heroes I've read lately. She's determined, brave, so strong, but is still fighting to overcome internalized self-hatred and stand up against those who can't accept her. I absolutely can't wait for the sequel!

trigger warnings for: transphobia, lesbophobia/homophobia, rape mentions, multiple secondary character deaths, amputation, physical violence, emotional abuse

An #ownvoices novel with a teen trans lesbian superhero protagonist!! Sign me up.

Honestly it was the protagonist that completely drew me to this book, and I have come out the other side adoring Danny.

Dreadnought follows Danny Tozer, a 15 year old transgirl who witnesses the death of Dreadnought, the strongest superhero in her city, and inherits his powers as a result. The story then follows her immediate transition (being given Dreadnought's powers gives her her ideal body), her navigating what it means to be a superhero, and subsequent investigation and battle with the novel's Big Bad.

Dreadnought definitely felt like a decent premise for a comic (and I got the feeling that April Daniels might have a little bit of a preference for Marvel), but it also totally works as a book. I LOVE that trans superheroes are coming to the forefront as central characters, with Alters (again those comic leanings) last September, and now with Dreadnought.

Another one of the strong points of Dreadnought, that I wish we saw more of, was the relationship between Danny/Dreadnought and Sarah/Calamity. I loved that they learned things from each other and that Danny finally had someone in her life who she could trust and be safe with, even if she usually seemed to be in the most danger she'd ever faced with Calamity. Their friendship (though I really wouldn't mind if it developed into more) was definitely one of the most enjoyable parts of the story for me.

I think the world building was good, as were the two ending battles. The idea of Danny being able to see a lattice as part of her powers was interesting to me because I haven't read anything like that before, and I'd love to see Danny exploring her powers a bit more in the future.

One of the reasons why I didn't give this book five stars, is the sheer amount of transphobia and homophobia that Danny experiences. It really really made me uncomfortable, but I know that this is probably realistic. Danny receives it from almost everyone she encounters in the book.
Honestly most of the men in this book are absolute garbage which ended up making me feel tired and distressed on Danny's behalf.

I also think some parts of the story weren't given enough time, like Danny's interactions with the Legion (I thought they'd play a bigger part), Danny discovering and developing her powers, Utopia's motivations, and some of the secondary characters. Some of these may be addressed later but I'm not entirely sure.

The difference between the majority of the female (I'm including Doc Impossible in this) characters and the majority of the male characters really highlighted how strong the female characters were, and I loved it, but I would've liked it better if Danny had some support from some male characters too, or just more support from the ones who did support her.

Whilst Dreadnought isn't perfect, it is mostly a fun read and I am really looking forward to the sequel which is out this July.

Read this book for Danny (and Sarah).
Read this book for on page trans and lesbian rep, with those words being used multiple times.
Read this book for the ending.

Danny Tozer hasn't told anyone that she is a girl on the inside, regardless of what she may look like on the outside. When the most powerful superhero of all, Dreadnought, is mortally wounded in battle he bestows Danny with the mantle, transferring all his powers to her.

The mantle promptly transforms Danny into her most perfect form and suddenly her outside appearance matches the way she has always felt on the inside.

While Danny is thrilled to have been given such an enormous gift, her parents do not understand what has happened to their "son" and her father vows to find a way to fix her situation regardless of her wishes.

I shouldn't be surprised that this superhero book has done a better job of exploring personal identity, and perception of identity by others, than most other books I have read. Superheroes have been long used as an exploration of not just the nature of power, justice, and truth, but of identity as well.

It's hard to explain how it is that this book about superheroes manages to feel so emotionally real. Superpowers may help you catch a punch, but they can't do much against the words directed toward you by people that are supposed to love and support you. Superpowers do have their limits and they can't solve all of your problems for you. Danny's powers may have changed the way she looks, but it can't control how people react to her new physical appearance.

I don't mean to make it sound like this superhero book isn't packed full of the type of action and heroics that you would expect when reading a superhero origin story. It has lots of flying, punching, metal twisting, airplane saving, bad guy chasing fun that makes the genre of superheroes so entertaining to read.

Actual rating: 3.5

"Dreadnought" is the first superhero book I've read with a lesbian, trans girl as a main character, and it's own voices, meaning that it's been written by a trans woman. Also, there's another important character who is a latina girl, and they both work together to save the world. So yes, this book is relevant.

On the other hand, it's important to say that Danny, the main character, has to deal with plenty of abuse and transphobia, which might be triggering for some of you, especially since lots of transphobic and homophobic slurs are used throughout the book. However, it's great to see that there are people who support her, too, and how Danny stands for who she is and what she wants despite all the difficulties. Actually, her character development is amazing.

Another important aspect to take in consideration is that the book faces social pressure on women's bodies. I feel like sometimes it's difficult to realise if Danny is criticising or promoting some stereotypes, but I think the author's intention is good.

And what about the plot itself? In my opinion, it is a bit confusing and it would have been better if the worldbuilding was richer, because it feels like pieces of information are missing. Furthermore, the story is slow-paced at the beginning, but the second half of the book is really action-packed.

I had heard really good things about this book so was a bit nervous going in to it that I wouldn’t like it. But oh my god, this was amazing! I feel like there was so much in this story to appeal to everyone from really great LGBT issues, women’s issues and on top of all of that, a superhero story. I found Danny’s transformation from girl with a boy’s body to girl with a girl’s body really, really interesting from how she looked slightly unrealistically beautiful because Danny had always looked at the photoshopped images of girls in advertisements and TV to how she was suddenly a lot more self conscious of her body from the way she held her books to her chest to cover her breasts, to suddenly not feeling like she should eat the second piece of pizza because that’s not what a girl would do (except me, I would totally eat that second slice plus a third and fourth).

Danny has to deal with a lot of homophobia after coming out but also a lot of sexism such as how her friend David suddenly feels he has the right to look at her and date her because she’s physically female and throws back a lot of terrible abuse after being rejected. I thought this was all told in a really, really great way and so many issues were brought to light i a really subtly but powerful way,

Asides from the LGBT aspect of the story, the story itself is just a really great superhero story that really made me want to see it in TV or movie form. We have a team of supercool heroes, as well as a cool lair and laboratory and all sorts of gadgets and suits. I enjoyed how the superhero story played out, almost Kickass style with Calamity and Danny and the fight scenes were so great, I was on the edge of my seat reading them. (view spoiler)

I 100% recommend this book and I’m so glad this was my first 5-star read for 2017 because it was so good. I’m just sad i have to wait ages now for the next instalment. I think this is a book I will be buying in physical form so I can make all my friends and sibling read it!

Omg guys, this book. I have no idea how to explain how good this book is, but I'll try.

Before I start, I should mention the book includes transphobia, homophobia, and physical abuse.

I knew I would like this book because who doesn't want to read about a trans superhero?What I never realized though, that Danny would become my smol child. I love Danny so much and I need more of her now.

The worldbuilding is sort of confusing, but I think I figured it out. Cape is another word for hero and there are 3 types, white, grey, and black. White capes are purely good, grey capes do what they need to to keep people safe, and black capes are villains. Metahumans, like in the DC universe, are powered people.

The beginning and the final fight scene were sort of confusing too, but overall the book was amazing. Everything felt like a really good fanfic and I can't wait to read the next book.

Review: Dreadnought
Dreadnought (Nemesis #1) by April Daniels

* Read via NetGalley for review
* Will be published on January 24, 2017

My Favorite Quotes/Lines:

“So all those great responsibilities that come with great power, those are really only yours if you want them to be.”

“Your trusting nature in these cynical times is a balm to my wounded soul.”

“I turn over on to my back and give them the finger as I pull for altitude.”


5 out of 5 gnomes

So so good. I absolutely adore reading great books about superheroes and this is one hundred percent a great new take on superheroes. This sounds spoilery but it’s in the description of the book: Danny, a transgender girl takes on the mantle of a traditionally male superhero. When she acquires her powers her whole body changes to the one she’s always dreamed of.

A transgender point of view plus superpowers equals a rather epic origin story for this new superhero. The whole world is set up well and feels lived in. There’s the whitecapes, graycapes, blackcapes, some mad science type goodness and a whole lot of in between. You know who the good capes should be but there’s a lot of questions too.

There are a lot of issues for Danny to overcome because of her to put it nicely, not so understanding parents and other people. That plus suddenly having a new body and superpowers equals lots of understandable problems.

My favorite character besides Danny is Calamity. She is an intriguing character. How she got her powers is pretty darn crazy/sad. Her character/personality makes you want to know more about her ASAP. I love her understanding/friendship with Danny oh and the old timey way she talks when in character. I also kind of ship her and Danny too, there’s definitely some chemistry there.

There are plenty of surprises in this story. That plus the really great ending make for a superhero read that you should check out ASAP.

Dreadnought is powerful and explosive. It's about identity and power, about good and evil, about safety and danger. It's about hope and fear, about sacrifice and strength, about making the difficult decisions that we think come easily and naturally for those we call heroes.

Danny is kind and caring, but afraid of what should be the safest place in her life: her home. Her father constantly berates her and criticizes her, refusing to listen to Danny's point of view. Refusing to understand that Danny is a girl, that Danny is transgender. After Danny's transition, after Dreadnought gave her his powers and her body changed, the excitement and the joy in her voice is unmistakable. She's finally in a body that she wants to be in. She looks and sounds the way she wants to. Danny is finally happy, but it doesn't last. Her father is still furious, derisive and emotionally abusive towards her. And while the local superheroes are happy that Dreadnought's powers are still available, some aren't so interested in a lesbian transgender superhero.

I found the superhero aspect to be interesting. There's this new trend of superhero stories where authors look at the grey areas of being a protector and saving cities. The moral aspects, the financial aspects. The human aspects. For all their powers, they're still people. They still have loved ones, hopes and dreams, personal lives. Seeing the other side of superheroes lives, the 'home from work' side, is great. But I also appreciated the awesome fight scenes.

The start of Danny's story as a superhero certainly has some highs and some lows. There were times when I was so happy for Danny, going shopping for girls' clothes, flying around New Port City. Hanging out with an actual girl friend. And the times when Danny was beaten down and depressed, all the times her father would hurl insult after insult at her, I was so upset during those moments. I would definitely recommend this to those who enjoyed Heroine Complex or Superior, to those looking for some powerful diverse YA.

This book is phenomenal. It's a breath of fresh air. It's superhero fantasy mixed with queer YA. Danny is a closeted trans girl who gets caught up in a superhero fight. The altercation somehow gives her superpowers and transforms her into what she's always wanted to be: a physical female. Now she has to figure out how to explain the change to her friends and family all while keeping the powers a secret.

There's tons of transphobia/xenophobia/general biogtry in the book that Danny encounters (and sometimes battles). She is a lesbian trans woman, so she faces a fair share of harassment/disrespect, (mostly from friends and family) but for the most part, she shuts it all down hard.

I loved the growth of Danny throughout the book. She is thrown into the fire (literally at one point) and comes out stronger for it. And she had her new best friend (Calamity) and "gay aunt character" (Doc Impossible) to help her along the way.

I was moved quite a lot by this book because a lot of it hit close to home. I'm a pansexual trans woman. I have a mostly supportive family, so I'm not in the same boat as Danny there, but a lot of her fears were my fears. A lot of her thoughts were my thoughts.

REPRESENTATION MATTERS.

This book shows that trans people are capable of saving the world just like cis people. As are gay people. Cishets are fine and good, but have been on the main stage for far too long. Give us queer folk a chance to save the world now! We got this!

The story is okay but I had to force myself to keep reading when I was at 50%. The narrative failed to keep me interested and the protagonist is such a wuss that I almost find it unfair that someone with such a weak personality should be given superpowers - Calamity would have made a better protagonist in my opinion. Aa for the whole issue about Danny being transgender that story prop is an ideal tool to give the novel a fresh narrative. I was also strongly reminded of Perry Moore's character in Hero.