Hero

I started reading this book in fits over the years and never got past the first chapter. I don't really know why. It wasn't badly written, that first chapter, but it never grabbed me. So I turned to the audiobook, finally, and sat down with some knitting and my headphones.

I was completely hooked - so hooked that I turned the audiobook off, put down my knitting, and dug the hardcover out from the recesses of my bookshelf. As lovely as the narrator was, I could read much faster to myself.

As a comic book fan, this book is full of superheroes that I recognized, though given new names or had parts of their backstories farmed out to more than one superhero. (Also, very very obvious that Perry Moore was a DC Comics guy. Not complaining, I'm a show more DC gal myself.)

I really liked the plot, the mystery, and Thom's merry band of misfit heroes. I loved Ruth, and hope I have her sass when I reach "wise old broad" status. I liked that this was a coming-of-age story disguised as a superhero book.

I did NOT like (view spoiler) it was still a huge cop-out and sloppy plotting.

So I really liked most of the book. But it loses a star for the unappealing start for me, and the one very major plot point. show less

Thom Creed's father is a disgraced superhero. There's a lot Thom can't talk to his father about--like how he's developing superpowers, that the superhero League wants him to join them, and especially not that he's gay.

I read the whole book in one day. 428 pages, only breaking for food and the water closet. It was just that good. It's *sob* *pause* *gasp* over and over the whole way.

Thom is a totally relatable character that I loved to cheer on, especially speaking as a teenager. He makes mistakes, and he doesn't always have a very realistic image of himself, but he never gives up. He goes after what he wants, and he doesn't mind working for it. The other characters mostly made me want to tackle them and hug them to death, but even the show more characters I didn't like were fascinating. Most of the established heroes are thinly veiled versions of DC heroes--Uberman, Warrior Woman-- but they became archetypes to work from and ideas to explore, rather than the parodies I was worried about.

The plot was intricate, 428 pages is long for a YA novel, but it was easy to follow, one event flowing naturally into the next. Perry Moore slammed right to the heart of what superheroes mean, both the fantastic and the terrible but mostly the amazing.

I highly recommend this book to anyone. YA, otherwise, superhero fan, otherwise, GLBT, otherwise, whatever. I hear there's a TV series in the works and I can't wait... I'm sure I'll be mentioning this book in other reviews, but as yet I don't have anything I can recommend that wouldn't fall flat after reading this. Maybe go read the classic graphic novels. show less

An action-packed superhero adventure told with humor and a very believable and likable gay hero. Parts of the story were bogged down with backstory, but Moore's writing is fast and fun and I tore through the climax. Plus, I was so thrilled the book was not focused on prejudice, but rather on teenage life, family, love, and what it means to be a hero. I wish there were more books out there like this, not just for gay teens, but for all readers.

Back in the day, Thom's father was one of the most well-known American superheroes; everyone knew his name, and boy, did they cheer it when he came to save the day. But that was all a long time ago. Now, it's more about pretending neither of them saw the angry looks of hatred whenever someone realises just who Thom's father is. The mere mention of the s-word is more or less forbidden in their house – Thom has never felt the urge to try say it out loud.

Which is why things feel very complicated when he starts to realise that he has superpowers of his own; incredibly healing abilities which are put to the test when he runs away from home (the shared laptop freezes on pornographic picture of Thom's favourite superhero) and ends up on a show more bus hijacked by a bunch of villains. Together with a mysterious masked hero, he attempts to save the other passengers until help comes. A brave and heartfelt act that grants him an invitation to try out for the superhero squad. Even if he's hesitant, it's hard to not show up at the try outs. '

Soon, Thom finds himself tangled up into a complete mess; trying to hide his secret superhero-hood from his father whilst figuring out how break the news of his sexuality to his father, let alone new buddies. Has there ever been a gay superhero? Could there ever be one? Would they accept him as a hero if his secret came out?

To top it all off, someone seems to be killing superheroes here and there – and for every day, Thom's mess just seems larger and larger, but most importantly, dangerous and possibly fatal. Is he really made of the right stuff for this job?

It's hard to not pick up a book about a gay superhero as it's a mix rarely encountered, so naturally, I was quite excited for this one. I'm still not entirely sure what my general opinion of it is. I felt like I was both pleased and disappointed.

I guess I mostly feel disappointed because it kept rubbing me the wrong way without any proper, concrete argument as to why. I wasn't a total fan of the writing, I often felt restless and lost – like I just wanted the book to be over with. I also had a hard time completely connecting with the main character, Thom, as he felt quite a lot like cisgay male filled to the brim with sexism he considers to be accepting as he's not into women that way. I did momentarily like him and sometimes I did relate to him quite a lot but it was hard to properly like him as a character.

I had kind of hoped for a book where the gay character was allowed to be gay without literally everyone throwing a fit about it – but I quite did like the way the homophobes were portrayed in this book. It was sad and infuriating but also raw and realistic. In those moments, I could truly relate to Thom with his anger, fear and insecurity.

Although, the best part was undoubtedly every scene with Ruth. She was a true blessing to the book and it definitely hadn't been as good and enjoyable without her. show less

In a world where superheroes are real, Thom dreams about joining The League, a band of A-list good guys who protect the citizens of their fair city. He also dreams about one of the most famous (and dreamiest) superheroes, Uberman. Thom's keeping a lot of secrets, not the least of which is that he's got superpowers and has been invited to try out for The League. He knows his dad would flip if he found out. His dad used to be a hero, one of the greats. But then he was maimed in a catastrophic accident during a rescue mission that went terribly awry. Now Thom's dad is a pariah and blamed for hundreds of deaths. He's sworn off the hero stuff for good and Thom knows that there's no way he'd let him join The League.

Throw in a zany cast of show more outcast potential superheroes, a dark stranger following Thom everywhere he goes, and a disappearing mom and you've got Hero. The book has issues to spare... family issues, abandonment, sexuality, and characters facing death every other day... Through it all, Thom is learning to trust who he is, to show who he is, and to see beyond the faces that everyone else shows the world.

I really enjoyed this novel. It had a lot going on and it's a book you can really sink your teeth into. I loved the superhero world that Moore created. I loved that Thom was gay, but the book was about more than that. show less

I love this book, but perhaps that's because its protagonist is gay, and when this book was first published over a decade ago, gay superheroes were incredibly rare. But I also think the book stands on its own merits....while Moore does borrow from the well known superhero archetypes for the background characters in the book, his main characters are clearly unique and fascinating. Its an exciting book that has both an adventure storyline while also spending a lot of time in character development. I would have loved to have seen more stories in this universe and more stories were planned....a sequel and tv series at the very least. Sadly, the author died before he could see these plans to fruition, a tragedy for much more important show more reasons, but also sad for fans of this book. show less

Thom Creed’s father is a disgraced superhero and they live together in shabby circumstances after the disappearance of Thom’s mother. When Thom realizes that he has superpowers of his own, he doesn’t dare tell his father, so he sneaks behind his father’s back to try out for the League. Meanwhile there are other secrets floating around in the Creed family, secrets to Thom’s parents’ pasts, and Thom’s homosexuality.

There is a lot to like about Hero. Thom is a great narrator, just the right amount of humour, determination, and teenage embarrassment. The scenes where he trips over himself trying to impress the League are hilarious. But where there is humour there is also heartache, and Hero is particularly good at portraying show more the lives of superheroes especially when they fall from fame. Thom’s father is probably the best realized character in the book. Even when he’s being aggressive or homophobic, he tugs at your heartstrings.

There is a lot about this book that made it poignant. Seeing Thom and his father struggle for money and respect felt very real, as did Thom’s situation with his sexuality. Or the stories of Thom’s superhero comrades like Scarlett or Ruth. This isn’t your typical wham-bam adventure. These are real people that the reader can understand.

However, the second half of the book wasn’t as good as the first half. Thom’s romance with a fellow basketball player, while thrilling to start with, was resolved unconvincingly. The plot twist about the bad guy also came too quickly, and I would have liked to have seen more about Thom’s mother and her motives. But even as Hero left me feeling frustrating in some areas, it is still an overwhelmingly excellent novel. show less