In Hero, author Perry Moore demonstrates a superpower of his own: he can turn prose into lead. And then there's a complete lack of exploring themes that lend itself to the story - how about some musing on the parallels between an in-the-closet teen and a superhero with a secret identity?ΔΆ.5 stars is probably a more accurate rating, since I enjoyed it and it was a quick read, but the problems made me wince so many times and I was completely frustrated that a great opportunity had been squandered. There's a minor mystery involving murdered superheroes that never seems to be resolved, and then there's a surprise final villain that suffers from a lack of any foreshadowing that would make it believable. The main character's super power is healing, and yet he doesn't heal people close to him when the plot requires that they have an injury or ailment. There are countless contradictions within the text - I'd started off trying to remember some to mention as examples and quickly gave up. The pacing is inconsistent months will go by without much mention and yet events will be mentioned as if they just happened yesterday. Everything is just a little too melodramatic, a little too overwritten, and a little too loud. The writing reminded me of problems I've had with some other YA novels. Almost every review I've read for this book applauds the subject matter (a gay teen superhero) but laments the sloppy writing.
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