Book Review: Runaways- An Original Novel

So I finished Runaways by Christopher Golden yesterday! It took me 3 days to read, and even though I love superhero stories, I've got a few things I want to say about this book.

Runaways is a book written by Marvel Press. It’s based off the comic book series of the same name written by Rainbow Rowell and some other writers. They’ve also made a TV show about it. So, I bought this book because 1) I'm total trash for superhero stories, and 2) The Runaways hype, both for the TV show and the comic books made it too hard to resist. The characters are Nico Minoru, a witch, Karolina Dean, an alien with the ability to absorb and use solar energy, Molly Hayes, a mutant with super strength, Gertrude “Gert” Yorkes, daughter of time travelers with a psychic connection to a dinosaur named Old Lace, and Chase Stein, the son of two tech geniuses. I love anything Marvel puts out there, but I'm not going to lie, I was a little disappointed by how this book turned out.

The whole story read like a piece of fanfiction, which is kinda cool because fanfiction should really be an established genre, but it was one of those fanfiction stories where it was good, but at the same time, you're still wondering why you're reading it. The way it’s formatted makes it seem like there’s another book before it. Golden reveals a lot (too much if you ask me) of exposition regarding the character’s and their past. It was detailed to the point where I was Googling the book to make sure it wasn’t a part of a series and I had accidentally skipped a book. It’s not, and I hate that the thought consumed me as I was reading this book.

I think I was expecting more from this book, and it sort of fell flat. I found the characters to be unlikeable to me, especially Gert. I think the three characters I actually liked were Nico, Karolina, and Molly. They seemed very authentic to me and honestly, I would have rather read a book about the three of them. Forget about Chase and his stupid Fistigons and Gert and her psychic connection to her dinosaur. On that note, I don't even ship them and I ship a lot of couples.

The whole plot takes place within a span of two or three days, and it's 348 pages. A lot of it was fillers in between the main plot and I did not like that at all. I think I read more about the characters sucking face then doing some actual fighting and that kind of pissed me off. When I read a superhero book, I expect to be dazzled by the fight scenes, the plot, and the complications that come with being a superhero. The pacing sucked and the POV was all over the place. There weren’t designated chapters for each character, and it was all over the place. One minute you would read a blurb about Karolina and her family and then the next, Nico was being angsty.

I've got mixed feelings about this book. I did enjoy reading in certain viewpoints and I liked the representation of Karolina’s sexuality. I predicted some aspects of the ending, but I was still taken aback by the plot twist. Well, calling it a plot twist would be a false statement, because like I said, I did predict it, but it still shocked me, so I guess I could call it a plot bend? But overall, I'd give this book 2.5 stars. Maybe 3. I want to un-haul this book, but at the same time, I also don't because there's a really pretty comic book at the end. I had such high hopes for this book, and I don’t recommend it, which is rare because I’m not a picky reader.

I’m sorry for not posting as often as I used to. I got a new job and I’ve been taking care of my son. A lot has happened and it’s unbelievable. But thank you to all my readers who have been patient with me. Please feel free to subscribe to the newsletter and follow me on social media. I’ll try my hardest to post more often. Thanks for reading!