Stronger

Starred review from April 15, 2012
The third in the Super Human series continues to deliver a high-octane blend of concept and action. Gethin Rao never expected a Sunday choir performance to drastically alter his life. In a brilliant flash, he changes into a 12-year-old bright-blue giant whose skin is nearly bulletproof and who can crush cars and helicopters with his bare hands. Gethin becomes Brawn and collaborates with others who have been given extraordinary abilities, but he grows to distrust their leader. When faced with a pivotal choice, Brawn follows his conscience, betraying the superheroes and branding himself an outlaw. Examining the lifespan of a single superhuman and tracing his passage from idealist to relativist, Carroll creates an utterly compelling narrative that ends all too soon. Experiencing an authentic emotional journey over years spent running and suffering, Brawn touches all the chords. Carroll introduces flaws at the right moments, making his giant blue man feel more real than many other protagonists in teen novels today. The moral absolutism of the first in the series (Super Human, 2010) makes a momentary reappearance, but in the most fitting of ways. Readers beguiled with the Super Human trilogy can plunge immediately into the Quantum Prophecy trilogy, to which this has been a prequel. They will be glad they don't have to wait. (Science fiction. 12 & up)

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June 1, 2012

Gr 6-9-Gethin Rao is a 12-year-old choir boy who suffers a sudden inexplicable transformation during church service one Sunday, becoming a blue-skinned giant who is almost impervious. Twenty-seven years into the future, he is a prisoner known as "Brawn," made to mine platinum with others like him in a secure domed facility in an unknown location. His size hasn't changed, so he is still very strong but he is no longer super powered. The novel switches back and forth between these two time periods. In the earlier storyline, he is captured more than once and spends much of his time fleeing and hiding. Whenever he tries to return to civilization, he is attacked, both by police and foes with superhuman abilities. At the mine, Brawn struggles to survive under constant harsh treatment by the overseer, who has no qualms about killing other prisoners to punish him. Readers never learn how Brawn ends up in the prison and the possibility of escape for him only appears in the conclusion. Eventually the kindhearted monster is recruited by two powerful groups and must make a choice between them. Like a single graphic novel from a superhero universe, Stronger can be appreciated by itself but it is certainly part of a larger whole; there are links to other books in the series that may take place before, after, or at the same time as this one. Carroll fans or hero comics readers will snap this up but others may wish to start with the two earlier volumes.-Eric Norton, McMillan Memorial Library, Wisconsin Rapids, WI.

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2012
Grades 6-9 Gethin Rao wants to understand how he changed from a 12-year-old boy into a giant, blue, hairless monster known as Brawn. When evil-genius Casey Duvall leads him to believe he can be made human again, Brawn helps Casey escape captivitya decision that haunts him years later. This follow up to Super Human (2010) is rooted in Carroll's earlier Quantum Prophecy novels but focuses on Brawn's individual story and is told from his point of view. The plot jumps back and forth through time between prison and the events that put him there, which may make it a little confusing for readers not paying attention to the occasional chapter subtitles. What elevates this title is that it illustrates how strength is not only a physical attribute but also a piece of mental and moral toughness. A thoughtful narrative about individual choices and their consequences connects with plenty of wham-bang action sequences for an engaging superhero adventure.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)