So, Hero by Perry Moore. It's not a bad novel. In fact, it's a very cute story, with several resonating themes and ideas. To be honest, it is a nice bildungsroman, telling the story of a teenage superhero.
Thom Creed, the son of a disgraced superhero, is struggling with himself as well as society's problems with his general existence. He is gay and struggles with this fact, preferring to leave this aspect of his identity in the closet, along with his budding superpowers and the fact that he got kicked off the basketball team by his homophobic coach. Unfortunately, he is nearly discovered masturbating to nude photoshopped pictures of a male superhero and leaves undeniable proof of his sexuality behind on his shared computer. (The porn, you guys. Mind out of gutter, pls). Then he leaves, terrified of his father's reaction to the gay porn on the laptop. This, of course, sets the plot for the rest of the novel, as it introduces a continuing figure and puts Thom on the radar of The League (of superheroes, natch). He becomes part of a team, and accidentally not-botches a rescue attempt (he saves everyone, but makes his team look fucking ridiculous, which is hilarious!), while simultaneously hiding everything from his father.
Of course, eventually his father finds out, and everything goes to hell. After this, he continues to superhero (totes a verb now), and is forced to out himself on national television in order to clear an innocent man's name. Thom is then fired from The League, which he refuses and solves a string of violent murders that are apparently being done so one particular superhero can kill the earth and go home via a rocket. He also deals with several issues with his sexuality; his own and his father's acceptance of it, which culminates in a particularly emotional scene at the end of the book, which I will never be over, ever.
Like, I did not expect this book to make me emotional, omfg.
I'm starting with The Bad, because I feel the bad is generally eclipsed by the overall tone of the novel.
The Bad:
- The Plot Holes: Oh man, the plot holes! I still don't understand why Justice (alien superhero) started killing other superheroes, but that seems like something I could have missed. Another: how the hell did everyone know Thom was gay?? As the reader, I gleaned that Thom was pretty cis to begin with; he played sports, he mentions going out with several girls (with hilariously blithe comments), and fits into many of the gender norms. He has his first kiss with a man half-way through the book, so he wasn't caught with anyone, and he never told anyone, since he had no friends because of his father's disgrace, so how the hell did everyone know? I mean, a basketball player made an offensive remark about Thom's sexuality, but that's unfortunately common in heteronormative jock rituals (casual homophobia, is NOT COOL), so it could not have been that. At least, to me it wasn't. Someone weigh in? Explain!
- Creativity: Moore broke several molds in making a gay teenage superhero, but the characters for The League (of superheroes) were thinly disguised alter-egos of popular superheroes in one of the main comic book houses. Usually, I would assume this to be satire, but if it was, I really did not see it, or did not understand the purpose behind it. Although, I did enjoy Justice/Not-Superman as the villain.
- Etcetera: Where the fuck was Thom's mom for half his life? I'm still confused.
The Good:
- The Themes: THE THEMES YAS THE THEMES FUCKING SLAY ME. Typical of a bildungsroman, Thom is growing up and growing into his identity and who he is, and it really depicts that struggle, as a superhero, the son of a disgraced superhero, and a gay man in a homophobic society. Throughout the story, Thom hides from himself in several ways; his powers of healing and his sexuality and he is eventually forced to come to terms with both. Plus, the story also touches on other issues. For example, the radiation that gave Miss Scarlet her powers also gave her mother and herself cancer. Environmental issues, much? It also deals with terms of class, as both Thom and his father had to work to eat; the kid was working like three jobs, tbh. Moore also touches on race, but I'm still debating how I feel about that. Either way, it deals with several important issues in a not-shitty way, so that's great!
- The Story: The story, while somewhat hole-y, is really good! It had me hooked! I finished in a few hours. I honestly felt for Thom (even if he was an asshole at times), as he's confused about everything going on around him. There were points during the story that I was just so emotional! Like, the death of certain character (*cries*), or the truth behind Miss Scarlet's horrible personality.
- The Tone: JFC, the tone. The story was told in Thom's point-of-view and he was just full of snark and witty commentary that had me laughing and laughing and just never stopping the laughter. It was very dry (and kind of mean), so it kind of snuck up on you, but it's totally there!
- The Emotions: GOD FUCKING DAMNIT THOM WTF WHY WOULD CHOOSE TO SAVE THE SHITTY ASS PEOPLE OF WHATEVER AREA OF YOUR CITY YOU WERE IN INSTEAD OF HELPING YOUR DAD HE'S YOUR FATHER THOM IDEC WHAT HE TOLD YOU TO DO, YOU SAVE HIM AND YOU LET THE BUILDING FALL ON THOSE ASSHOLES THAT DON'T EVEN LIKE HIM AND ARE JUDGING YOU WTF. Also: RUTH WHYYYYYY THAT WAS NOT OKAY I CANNOT I WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO MY HEART IS IN PIECES WHY. Along with: GORAN YOU POOR WAR-TORN ORPHAN WHAT EVEN ARE YOU WHAT
The Ugly:
- The superhero names, omfg. Some of them were so bad, but Moore worked with what he had, plus the fact that almost every superhero name under the sun has been taken, so he's not really at fault.
Overall, it is totally an enjoyable read and while it may have been meant to be part of a series, it completely stands alon3. I was really upset when I read about the author passing away several years ago. He was planning a sequel, which we will never get to read, unfortunately.
RIP, Perry Moore, and thanks for giving us Hero.