The characters are cartoon archetypes, and not the fun ones. Why did I ever say they were three-dimensional? I hate Aveda Jupiter, but I especially loathe Bea - that little shit needs therapy, if not a smack right across the face, or several thousand. I hate that her teenage alcoholism and bunking school are played for laughs. I even stated in my old review: Little sister Bea is the only main character in the entire book who is a teenager, and her behaviour seems to be dialled up to over eleven on the angst and whine chart in order to make the adults look better in comparison. Everyone seems like ripped off versions of the characters from 'Buffy', and that is not a compliment. It's not funny, it's frustrating.
Oh hell, there is so much vindictiveness and "bitchiness" and "cattiness" to the whole book. For its female friendships (the toxic, abusive one between Evie and Aveda aside) and relationships, there is still plenty of girl-on-girl hate as well. Nearly every female character is cartoonishly awful; the only one I consistently liked is Lucy, who has her own problems of being a textbook example of the female version of the
On the subject of internalised misogyny in a book abundant with female players, I've noticed this before on my first read, and I'm going to repeat it here in my new review: what happened to Magnificent Mercedes? It seemed she would become important early in the book, like she'd be a rival for Aveda Jupiter. However she disappears from the narrative altogether by the time the second act climax comes along. And what about Rose? Is she even anyone's friend?
On the positive side, the book is mostly not boring. That is, when the characters manage to take time away from whining, yelling, screaming and bitching at each other (keep in mind, all of them except for Bea are supposed to be adults), as well as being inconsistent with each other. The sex scenes are nice and steamy, even though the hate-to-love relationship between Evie and Nate annoys me. The importance of Asian rep in any superhero media also cannot be overstated. It can be colourful, superhero, demon-fighting fun, but the toxic drama pouring over everything is unpleasant to read about.
So it's another rereading dud for me. Getting older and gaining new perspectives and experiences is a good thing. I've read better since 'Heroine Complex', too. Oh well, I'm glad I read it, either way.
Final Score: 3/5
P.S: In the very first chapter, in the fight with the demon cupcakes: why didn't the demons also imprint on the porcelain unicorns that were everywhere in the café? Now THAT would have made the fight scene extra awesome. Such a cool opportunity, totally missed.
P.P.S: Oh, how could I forget: This book contains casual mentions of using love tokens on people, and "enspelling" someone into having sex. That's rape, but it is never called that. These instances are not commented on further. Like, WTF? This is a 2016 "feminist" publication. I'm sorry, but the author really should have known better.
Original Review:
So gosh darn awesome! Superheroines! Female relationships! Diversity! Action! Sex! Swearing! Killer cupcakes! Demons and zombies!
What more can I add? I love superheroes, and 'Heroine Complex' is a great example of how far the genre can go if someone just tried to see its potential to do better, and someone else gave the ever-reaching possibilities a chance to succeed. I would call it new and exciting, but the whole thing should have been obvious years ago:
Superheroines, who are Asian to boot, and one other female who is a lesbian, kicking arse, and growing and struggling to fully recognise and use their abilities as heroes. More potently, they are struggling to keep their friendship with each other alive after working together for so long.
The thoughts, feelings, backstories and relationships of Aveda Jupiter (the obsessive, bad-tempered superheroine in the spotlight and "the daughter of San Francisco"), Evie Tanaka (the "normal", relatable and fantastically-developed narrator, and Aveda's lifelong best friend/assistant), Lucy (the lesbian, princess-and-socialite type, military and swordfighting trainer), Bea Tanaka (Evie's over-the-top teenage sister), and a load of others, are explored. All the multitude of female characters are three-dimensional, well-rounded, kickass in their own individual way, and, yes, complex! Never mind whether they're perfect and likeable -they are just themselves. Only one of the girls, Bea, isn't an adult - now there's a refresher!
I haven't read a superhero novel that came so close to a scale of love I felt since 'Hero' by Perry Moore, which my teenage self had discovered.
Lord knows that Sarah Kuhn knows what she's doing with 'Heroine Complex'. She uses the concept of a superhero parody featuring female heroes to the best advantage it could take. She knows that representation matters, and how women in general are sadly treated by the public and by social media - women who dare enter the spotlight are likely entering a hornet's nest full of entitled, insecure, immature and poison-mouthed people who've been catered to by the patriarchy their whole lives. The commentary clearly present in this book is excellent.
There are many others things 'Heroine Complex' gets right: From the first page the reader is put right into the action, mayhem and humour. Despite all the pop culture references (this is a 2016 publication), it doesn't seem dated. This is a colourful, cartoony, contemporary world full of unforgettable characters - not just "Team Aveda" in their big, cosy HQ - and lots of sex and swearing, as previously stated, so I can't call it YA. It is one of the funniest novels I've ever read - the references were used for good, relevant effect. The action is also very well-written.
The things that make me give 'Heroine Complex' four stars instead of five and thereby elevating it to true 'Hero' status are: Typically the love interest for Evie, HQ scientist Nate Jones, is hot. Even though I like him - he is a three-dimensional character with a nerdy, awkward, Clark Kent/Egon Spengler front going on. The romance isn't bad in general, and doesn't detract from the female friendship theme, but a lot more focus on Lucy and her relationships is sorely needed (why does she have to be the only queer person, anyway? It feels like tokenism in a story that's really successful with racial diversity).
Everyone - as part of "Team Aveda" - is kickass and they possess their own extreme personality traits... leading to often frustrating interactions in scenes with them just talking, arguing (understandable, but still annoying) and angsting. Sometimes such big, contrasting personalities filling multiple scenes together can get overwhelming, and I never, ever thought I'd use that description for a book. The social extremities in everyone can lead to them all becoming a pain in the arse on occasion, even though the intelligent Evie does acknowledge when someone is being annoying and childish. Little sister Bea is the only main character in the entire book who is a teenager, and her behaviour seems to be dialled up to over eleven on the angst and whine chart in order to make the adults look better in comparison. She develops and seems to give teenagers a positive representation later on, but at the end she swings right back into being a spoiled, selfish, idiotic brat. Part of the parody? Maybe, but it's still less fun to read about.
Don't get me wrong - the characterization is the best part of 'Heroine Complex'. But once in a while a writer can afford to put realism aside in a supernatural, comedic superhero story.
And what happened to Magnificent Mercedes? It seemed she would become important early in the book, like she'd be a rival for Aveda Jupiter. However she disappears from the narrative altogether by the time the second act climax comes along.
I enjoyed the hell out of 'Heroine Complex'. It pays homage to so many comic book superhero teams, movies and TV shows, while managing to shine on by itself - in its own beautiful light. A wild, marvellous, emotional, candy-coloured light.
Bravo, Sarah Kuhn, bravo.
Final Score: 4/5
Original Review:
So gosh darn awesome! Superheroines! Female relationships! Diversity! Action! Sex! Swearing! Killer cupcakes! Demons and zombies!
What more can I add? I love superheroes, and 'Heroine Complex' is a great example of how far the genre can go if someone just tried to see its potential to do better, and someone else gave the ever-reaching possibilities a chance to succeed. I would call it new and exciting, but the whole thing should have been obvious years ago:
Superheroines, who are Asian to boot, and one other female who is a lesbian, kicking arse, and growing and struggling to fully recognise and use their abilities as heroes. More potently, they are struggling to keep their friendship with each other alive after working together for so long.
The thoughts, feelings, backstories and relationships of Aveda Jupiter (the obsessive, bad-tempered superheroine in the spotlight and "the daughter of San Francisco"), Evie Tanaka (the "normal", relatable and fantastically-developed narrator, and Aveda's lifelong best friend/assistant), Lucy (the lesbian, princess-and-socialite type, military and swordfighting trainer), Bea Tanaka (Evie's over-the-top teenage sister), and a load of others, are explored. All the multitude of female characters are three-dimensional, well-rounded, kickass in their own individual way, and, yes, complex! Never mind whether they're perfect and likeable -they are just themselves. Only one of the girls, Bea, isn't an adult - now there's a refresher!
I haven't read a superhero novel that came so close to a scale of love I felt since 'Hero' by Perry Moore, which my teenage self had discovered.
Lord knows that Sarah Kuhn knows what she's doing with 'Heroine Complex'. She uses the concept of a superhero parody featuring female heroes to the best advantage it could take. She knows that representation matters, and how women in general are sadly treated by the public and by social media - women who dare enter the spotlight are likely entering a hornet's nest full of entitled, insecure, immature and poison-mouthed people who've been catered to by the patriarchy their whole lives. The commentary clearly present in this book is excellent.
There are many others things 'Heroine Complex' gets right: From the first page the reader is put right into the action, mayhem and humour. Despite all the pop culture references (this is a 2016 publication), it doesn't seem dated. This is a colourful, cartoony, contemporary world full of unforgettable characters - not just "Team Aveda" in their big, cosy HQ - and lots of sex and swearing, as previously stated, so I can't call it YA. It is one of the funniest novels I've ever read - the references were used for good, relevant effect. The action is also very well-written.
The things that make me give 'Heroine Complex' four stars instead of five and thereby elevating it to true 'Hero' status are: Typically the love interest for Evie, HQ scientist Nate Jones, is hot. Even though I like him - he is a three-dimensional character with a nerdy, awkward, Clark Kent/Egon Spengler front going on. The romance isn't bad in general, and doesn't detract from the female friendship theme, but a lot more focus on Lucy and her relationships is sorely needed (why does she have to be the only queer person, anyway? It feels like tokenism in a story that's really successful with racial diversity).
Everyone - as part of "Team Aveda" - is kickass and they possess their own extreme personality traits... leading to often frustrating interactions in scenes with them just talking, arguing (understandable, but still annoying) and angsting. Sometimes such big, contrasting personalities filling multiple scenes together can get overwhelming, and I never, ever thought I'd use that description for a book. The social extremities in everyone can lead to them all becoming a pain in the arse on occasion, even though the intelligent Evie does acknowledge when someone is being annoying and childish. Little sister Bea is the only main character in the entire book who is a teenager, and her behaviour seems to be dialled up to over eleven on the angst and whine chart in order to make the adults look better in comparison. She develops and seems to give teenagers a positive representation later on, but at the end she swings right back into being a spoiled, selfish, idiotic brat. Part of the parody? Maybe, but it's still less fun to read about.
Don't get me wrong - the characterization is the best part of 'Heroine Complex'. But once in a while a writer can afford to put realism aside in a supernatural, comedic superhero story.
And what happened to Magnificent Mercedes? It seemed she would become important early in the book, like she'd be a rival for Aveda Jupiter. However she disappears from the narrative altogether by the time the second act climax comes along.
I enjoyed the hell out of 'Heroine Complex'. It pays homage to so many comic book superhero teams, movies and TV shows, while managing to shine on by itself - in its own beautiful light. A wild, marvellous, emotional, candy-coloured light.
Bravo, Sarah Kuhn, bravo.
Final Score: 4/5
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