Moore, Peter. V is For VillainMay 20th 2014 by Disney-Hyperion
Brad's only superpower is intelligence, which pales in comparison to the abilities of his older brother, Blake. Blake is so gifted that he is a member of the Justice Force, just like the boys' father, who was killed before Brad was born. When Brad gets demoted at the superhero academy he is in and sent to the alternate program, things get interesting. He meets Layla, who is also the sibling of a superhero, as well as Javier, Boots and Peanut. It turns out that they all have some powers, just not powers that the government wants in a Justice Force member. For Brad, it turns out that his gift is actually telepathy, which is illegal. Disturbed by the glee with which his brother kills Phaetons, mutant villains, Brad is receptive to Kayla's plan to put together a group, called the Hellions, which will hurt the Justice Force financially or in other nonlethal ways. Through his activity with this group, however, he learns some big secrets not only about the Justice League and the government which encourages it, but about his own family and himself.
Strengths: Like this author's Red Moon Rising, this will be a great book for readers who like action and adventure, as well as those readers who can handle some ambiguity about good and evil. Good world building. I really liked Brad (A super villain named Brad. Snerk.), and the lurking evil behind the justice league was interesting. I know that Mr. Moore would have liked a sequel to Red Moon Rising, and this is set up for one as well, but quite honestly, I would LOVE to see more stand alone books. It's depressing when I get in a huge order of books and most of them are sequels. Book 6? I may just stop by most series at book 5.
Weaknesses: Cover is good, but title is awfully generic. While Brad's motivation for wanting to go against the Justice Force is made clear, and it's also clear that the Force isn't all it's cracked up to be, I found myself getting a little confused about whether Brad was good or evil when he got back at one powered kid who had hurt him badly. Brad isn't really a villain, but that one act seemed uncharacteristic.
Pair this with Anderson's Sidekicked and Minion, Kraatz's Cloak Society, Cody's Powerless (there's a third book coming out soon), and all of David Carroll's Quantum Prophecy books.
I picked this up and just need to set some time aside to read it. I'm a fan of superhero books. I've read Sidekicked, Cloak Society, and The Awakening. I've also read and enjoyed SuperHuman, Sidekicks (graphic novel), and Sidekicks by Ferraiolo, as well as Geeks Girls and Secret Identities! All great fun. And like you, so sick of series. And only purchase addtl book in series when requested or I know for sure there will be interest!
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