Book Discussion: Renegades by Marissa Meyer

Superheroes. I think that word alone can cause 90% of potential readers to make up their minds about what the story should be like. Let me leave some advice here: If you plan on reading Renegades, drop whatever expectation you might have. A typical comic-book-turned-novel this is not.

Here’s the synopsis:

Secret Identities. Extraordinary Powers. She wants vengeance. He wants justice.

The Renegades are a syndicate of prodigies—humans with extraordinary abilities—who emerged from the ruins of a crumbled society and established peace and order where chaos reigned. As champions of justice, they remain a symbol of hope and courage to everyone…except the villains they once overthrew.

Nova has a reason to hate the Renegades, and she is on a mission for vengeance. As she gets closer to her target, she meets Adrian, a Renegade boy who believes in justice—and in Nova. But Nova’s allegiance is to a villain who has the power to end them both.

And here’s the cover.

(I love this cover)

To be honest, I wasn’t entirely certain what I was getting into when I picked up this book. Perhaps for the reason I stated above, the word ‘superhero” is never mentioned in the synopsis. Make no mistake, this is a superhero story. Costumes, capes, the whole nine yards. I meant it when I said that Renegades is not simply a comic book that was adapted into novel format, but it’s not a superhero story that pretends to be something else either. What I mean by that is it deals more with the effects of superpowers being an everyday reality than it does with good fighting evil.

Speaking of good vs. evil, Marissa Meyer develops an interesting conflict by writing from the perspectives of both main characters, Nova and Adrian, whom are representative of two opposing sides, and each with very different agendas. By offering insight into both of these characters lives, the reader is allowed to learn about the different circumstances that have led each to think the way they do, and to sympathize with both Nova and Adrian, even though their views clash. It makes for a wonderfully complex conflict. What happens when both sides are right?

A common complaint about renegades is that Meyer takes too long to get the story going. I did not find this to be true. I enjoy learning about the characters, and I think that Meyer establishes hers well in an appropriate amount of time.

Overall, I was pleased with Renegades, and I’ll be eagerly awaiting book 2 to find out what happens next. I think fans of the superhero genre as well as those who are new to it will find something they can enjoy here. As always, feel free to join the discussion in the comments.