Relentless

May 1, 2016
With occasional timeouts to lock lips, underdog villains heroically turn the tables on a villainous hero in this sequel and (likely) closer to Powerless (2015).Lest any hint of complexity intrude, areas of Colorado and one site in New Mexico stand in for the whole world, and, except for megalomaniac leader Rex Malone, the heroes are faceless thugs whose sole role is, a la Imperial Storm Troopers, to shoot wildly and die. Both heroes and villains are conveniently endowed with single superpowers and nicely labeled with natural neck tattoos. The action begins as former "ordinary" Kenna rescues her villain boyfriend, Draven, with help from a mixed bag of villains and renegade heroes, and climaxes when the white teen takes on Malone in another "secret hero lab" (the first having been destroyed in the opener). It's filled in between with inconclusive ambushes and firefights, along with lip-swelling smooches and labored teen banter. Meanwhile, as further evidence that the whole scenario is phoned-in, Malone utilizes a form of mind control that only seems to work when it suits the plot, and Kenna develops a "serum" (more accurately a chemical compound) that magically confers immunity to superpowered but not regular attacks.Even the snogging doesn't generate much heat in this cliche-ridden climax. (Romantic thriller. 12-15)

COPYRIGHT(2016) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

July 1, 2016

Gr 9 Up-Kenna lives in a world of dichotomies-people are either labeled "Heroes," like her own mother and BFF, or "Villains," like the man who killed her father. However, Kenna is an odd girl out, as she is neither-she is just plain old boring normal. In the first entry, Kenna, attempting an experiment to change her lot in life, is saved from a dangerous break-in at her lab by a Villain, which causes her to realize that the world might not be so clearly defined as she thought it once was. In Relentless, Kenna is on the run from the government after having unearthed secrets about superpowered people while her boyfriend is in jail awaiting execution and her mother is held captive. However, there are even more secrets to be exposed that will tie all Heroes and Villains together. To survive long enough to expose them, Kenna must rely on her greatest power-her unwillingness to back down from a fight. Give to young adults looking for an action-packed title to read between their wait for the next installments in the various popular comic book movie franchises.

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.