Friday, 22 January 2021

We Could be Heroes by Mike Chen


Jamie woke up in an empty apartment with no memory and only a few clues to his identity, but with the ability to read and erase other people’s memories—a power he uses to hold up banks to buy coffee, cat food and books.

Zoe is also searching for her past, and using her abilities of speed and strength…to deliver fast food. And she’ll occasionally put on a cool suit and beat up bad guys, if she feels like it.

When the archrivals meet in a memory-loss support group, they realize the only way to reveal their hidden pasts might be through each other. As they uncover an ongoing threat, suddenly much more is at stake than their fragile friendship. With countless people at risk, Zoe and Jamie will have to recognize that sometimes being a hero starts with trusting someone else—and yourself. 




Hmm. What to say about this book? It's a great, fun read, but I'm confused about the intended audience.

The main characters - at least one of them, the other is unclear - is an adult, old enough at least two years before the main part of the movie to be married and have gone through the process for adopting a child. He acts like a teenager. So does the other main character, but we don't know how old she actually is. The writing style is clear and direct, quite teen friendly, and there's no content that couldn't be easily read by teens.

I did enjoy the story. Bits of it are still confusing to me - why did Jamie assume that Zoe's family had abandoned her, instead of being forced to give her up? Is this the least amount of on screen violence ina  superhero novel ever? (Not a downside, just a note.) What happened to Normal at the end? How many other Extraordinaries are there out there, given that we know of at least one hidden one?

Overall, though, this is a fun, action packed read that I really enjoyed.


We Could Be Heroes publishes on January 26th, 2021.

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