 |
Why do we love stories about superheroes? Is it the action? The triumph of good over evil? The fantasy of having special powers or superb athleticism? Maybe it is simply the desire to be heroes ourselves. Whatever the reasons, what would it be like to suddenly, without any warning, become a superhero? How would the elevation to that status change us and would that change really be a welcome one?
Chase Jackson is no one special. He's a backup quarterback for his high school football team, a boy with only a few friends, and a motherless son scrambling for money to pay for physical therapy for his father. Then one day he and his best friend, Katie, are mugged. After discovering where Katie's stolen phone is through its location tracker, he decides to secretly take it back from the thieves. Dressed in a form-fitting outfit complete with a half-face ski mask and a red bandanna, he retrieves the phone from the thieves' stash only to become involved in another mugging where he rescues a young actress while at the same time experiencing an uncanny surge in strength and agility. Seemingly overnight, Chase's life changes dramatically as a media storm erupts over "The Outlaw" persona he has unwittingly created. He finds himself thrust into the role of the school's new star quarterback, and his personal life suddenly has three potential love interests. But possibly even more jolting than all of these situations is the fact that there might be others out there who share his newfound abilities.
Janney deftly combines teenage angst, romantic turbulence, and identity issues into a suspenseful tale that is part superhero story and part sports saga. The result is an extremely well-written and engaging beginning to a series that will keep its readers' attention from page one.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review