April Daniels

An action-packed series-starter perfect for fans of The Heroine Complex and Not Your Sidekick. "I didn't know how much I needed this brave, thrilling book until it rocked my world. Dreadnought is the superhero adventure we all need right now."--Charlie Jane Anders, author of All the Birds in the Sky Danny Tozer has a problem: she just inherited the powers of Dreadnought, the world's greatest superhero. Until Dreadnought fell out of the sky and died right in front of her, Danny was trying to keep people from finding out she's transgender. But before he expired, Dreadnought passed his mantle to her, and those secondhand superpowers transformed Danny's body into what she's always thought it should be. Now there's no hiding that she's a girl. It should be the happiest time of her life, but Danny's first weeks finally living in a body that fits her are more difficult and complicated than she could have imagined. Between her father's dangerous obsession with "curing" her girlhood, her best friend suddenly acting like he's entitled to date her, and her fellow superheroes arguing over her place in their ranks, Danny feels like she's in over her head. She doesn't have time to adjust. Dreadnought's murderer--a cyborg named Utopia--still haunts the streets of New Port City, threatening destruction. If Danny can't sort through the confusion of coming out, master her powers, and stop Utopia in time, humanity faces extinction.

Dreadnought

kelsey

3✰

my name is danielle tozer. i am a girl. no one is strong enough to take that from me anymore.

the first trans lesbian superhero !! whew i love danny so much she grew so much in these books and sarah is such a great character. they're really cute i'm already shipping them if they don't date i'm gonna be disappointed

but just in case you read there is quite a bit of transphobia

Sarah Sammis

What Danny doesn't expect, is to receive the mantel (and powers) of Dreadnought as he succumbs to his injuries. What she also doesn't expect (and no one else does either) is to find herself transformed into the body she wants.

http://pussreboots.pair.com/blog/2017...

Jamieson

“I see a world that is terrified of me. Terrified of someone who would reject manhood. Terrified of a girl who knows who she is and what she’s capable of. They are small, and they are weak, and they will not hurt me ever again. My name is Danielle Tozer. I am a girl. No one is strong enough to take that from me anymore.”


I cannot and will not shut up about how great this book is y'all!

trigger warnings for: transphobia, homophobia and trans/homophobic slurs

Dreadnought is a superhero story following Danielle Tozer, a transgirl who is given superpowers and her perfect body by the superhero Dreadnought. Danielle must discover her place among the cities existing superheroes, deal with the consequences of her transition - especially from her transphobic family and friends. 




I soon as I heard about this ownvoices trans superhero story I wanted to read it. I was so interested in seeing a transwoman and lesbian girl as the protagonist, and to have a unique take on the superhero genre. This story has heaps of elements I can personally get behind. A diverse narrator, a heroes quest, a big supervillain, SUPERHEROES, f/f relationships and mad science. 

For me, the highlight of Dreadnought was Danny as the main character. Her voice came through so strongly and she definitely had a massive presence in this book. I liked she was definitely a grey character, and that she had flaws and issues just like the rest of us to work through. Danny goes through all this incredible character development, accepting herself and her position in the world, as well as her new powers as Dreadnought and stands up for herself and for the world so strongly and I admire the heck out of her. Some people say she was too angry and I don't understand that for one second, she came from an incredibly tough place, and deals with a sickening amount of transphobia from all sides, and still she does the best thing she can in each situation. 

The side characters were also well written. Calamity was a fun character, and also a black lesbian which I loved! Doc Impossible was a super interesting character who added a nice sympathetic touch to the cast, and I loved her relationship with Danny. I wish the other main superheroes had been more fleshed out, but I am hoping they have a greater presence in book 2. 

This book does contain an incredible amount of homophobia and transphobia, and it can be very hard to get through at times. But I think the important thing is that Danny challenged each thing said against her as a transwoman, and also has support from other characters.


  “You think it’s a uterus that makes a woman? Bullshit. You feel like you’re a girl, you live it, it’s part of you? Then you’re a girl. That’s the end of it, no quibbling. You’re as real a girl as anyone.”


My one issue with this book was writing based. I thought some of the worldbuilding was a little lacking and the book didn't seem quite as action-filled or suspenseful as it should have. Although it was only a short book, it took longer to get through then I thought. Some parts were brilliantly written and I enjoyed the scene as it played out, but some felt a little .. off, like the suspense that should have been there wasn't. However, this was completely balanced out by the great character interactions and character growth so the writing definitely did not write off the book as a whole. 

Overall, Dreadnought is a fresh take on the superhero genre, featuring an incredible strong transwoman as the main character. The character growth Danny goes through is delightful, and the side characters really fleshed out this world. I'm really hoping for more growth in the relationship between Danny and Calamity in the sequel, and for some of the other superheroes to be more fleshed out and present.

Maggie Gordon

Writing this review hurts me. I was extremely excited about Dreadnought as North American literature desperately needs more diversity and trans superhero narratives are quite rare. Unfortunately, it’s just not a very good book. Do I think that people should buy and read Dreadnought anyways? There are so few books with trans protagonists that I can’t in good faith say to avoid the book entirely. On the other hand, given the sheer number of positive reviews out there, I do think that it’s important to address some of the problematic aspects of the story.

Dreadnought is the story of Danny, a young teen who doesn’t feel like the boy everyone presumes she is. She buys nail polish and paints her toes in secret as a way trying to quiet these feelings, but is interrupted one day when Dreadnought, greatest hero of them all, is killed in front of him by the super villain Utopia. As he dies, Dreadnought passes on his powers on to Danny who finds herself suddenly transformed. Danny is finally herself, but also a superhero with some of the greatest powers that the world has ever seen. However, Danny’s life is not made magically perfect. Her family is abusive, her friends abandon her, and she’s trying to learn to deal with her powers mostly on her own with only the guidance of another teen hero named Calamity. As Utopia continues to work towards the fulfillment of her evil plans, Danny has to figure out her place in the world and whether she’s ready to step up as the new Dreadnought!

The Good

Danny is a unique and needed protagonist. It’s not often that trans people get to take center stage in literature, and it’s wonderful to see such a positive, optimistic trans girl get to be a superhero. Sure, Danny has a lot of problems in her life. She’s an abuse victim and that has real effects on her personality and self-esteem. The narrative doesn’t shy away from the terrible things that trans people face in their daily lives, but Danny is a survivor and she never gives up. She is a super hero, through and through. 

The Bad

Dreadnought feels very much like a first novel that didn’t get a lot of attention from a professional editor. It’s got heart, but there are storytelling basics that are terribly handled, resulting in a bit of a frustrating read. 

For example, the characters are flat. So very very flat. Take Danny, our protagonist. We should know a lot about her, yet her life is a giant question mark other than she used to play football. For a character that we spend so much time with, watch deal with horrific abuse, we don’t really get to see anything else. I want Danny to be more than tragedy and superpowers. 

Problematically, none of the other characters are developed that much either. The Legion can be summed up with statements like “that man who is a plant and wants to remain financially solvent”, “the guy who looks like that Fantastic Four dude”, and “Lady Thor”. We just don’t know much about any of the superheroes save for Dr. Impossible, and she only starts to get interesting in the last 20 pages of the book! Calamity gets more development, but she is primarily a vigilante, angry at the world because of unfairness. She has fancy guns and a big motorcycle, and we don’t know much about her aside from the end of book revelations about her family. 

I could contend with flat characters if they were just boring, but a few don’t make any sense. Danny has a long-term friend, David. On the first day that he sees his friend after her transformation, he is enamored with her breasts. He is not, as one might expect, freaked out by how his friend dramatically physically changed overnight. No, because she’s hot, he spends a lot of time looking at her chest. On the second day, he asks her out with a rather horrid speech about how he is ready to settle and Danny is so hot that he can forget about the fact that she is actually a boy. When Danny rightfully rejects him, he storms off screaming slurs.	 

David isn’t a character so much as he is a plot point. Daniels wanted to show readers the various ways in which trans people suffer, and David represents another type of betrayal. At one point, Danny questions her previous friendship with him, wondering how she didn’t see how he was so terrible. Don’t worry, Danny, it’s just terrible character development confusing people. David was never your friend because he’d have to have been a person first. Could a character reasonably ever act like David? Sure! But it would take more than 48 hours. 

The time scale of this book feels off. It’s not that the terrible things that happen to Danny don’t occur in real life, but they are so squished together to get the plot rolling that these important emotional moments feel contrived. All of these incidents start to feel throwaway rather than significant. They happen, we move on, and the lesson is that transphobia is terrible and pervasive. There is little time to unpack any of them so the barrage of abuse feels both pornographic and hyperbolic at the same time. 

The plot is also pretty ho-hum which is unfortunate given the state of the characters. There are white capes who are not as good as they claim, and a super villain who is a narcissist that’s trying to stop something terrible, but going about it in the wrong (evil) way. The powers that be don’t see the trouble coming and the new whippersnapper has to take care of things on her own. It’s a pretty standard superhero plot which isn’t a bad thing. But if your characters are weak, your plot needs to carry the book. Even for teens, growing up in the age of superhero movies means that this book probably isn’t offering anything new in terms of story other than Danny. 

Relatedly, the science aspects of this book are lazy. In one scene, Danny has to stop a plane from crashing that should not have been crashing. She was flying in a cloud layer when a nearby jet sucks a goose into its engine causing it to explode. Right away we have some problems with altitudes and feasibility. It’s not that a goose, clouds, and a jet could never be in the same air space, but it’s not common for bird strikes to occur far beyond airports. Furthermore, while bird strikes often do cause engine failure, in Dreadnought, the large jet immediately begins to crash. Shenanigans. Jets are designed to cope with the loss of an engine, and jets are also designed to glide. One engine exploding would not have pitched the plane into a tail spin. It would have likely been fine even without Danny’s help. I was immediately yanked out of the narrative by the fact that it didn’t make sense. So fail on that scene. 

Similarly, near the end of the book, Calamity and Dreadnought are sent to get some N2 or, as Calamity explains, non-Newtonian liquid. It’s supposedly not easy to get so Calamity suggests that they steal some from a university. Or perhaps they could just go to a pharmacy as shampoo and toothpaste are both non-Newtonian liquids. So is custard. You can even mix cornstarch and water for the same effect. If you’re going to have super amazing tech in your story, don’t just throw in cool words because science vocabulary sounds awesome. Make sure it all actually works or is at least plausible. (Or write clearly because this also could have been solved by stating that N2 was a specific type of non-Newtonian fluid! That was not clear in the narrative. I teach writing and this is something I would hammer my students on. Say what you mean!)

The Ugly

Greywytch. Oh dear lord, Greywytch. Where do I even begin? Greywytch is a member of the Legion. The very first thing she does upon meeting Danielle is to emphasise that Danielle is Daniel. Shortly after, when Danny corrects the Legion on misgendering her, Greywytch states “You were raised to be a man. Your privilege blinds you, and makes you dangerous.” When Danny says that she’s just as much of a girl as Greywytch, the senior superhero responds, “Do you even know how to put in a tampon?”

All of these statements are extraordinarily transphobic. According to April Daniels, they are all based on various things that she’s seen people say/write. It shows because they feel exceptionally out of place in this conversation, and the character of Greywytch doesn’t feel like a character at all.
 
I don’t want to suggest that the Legion wouldn’t do/say transphobic things, but given the focus of the conversation, their concern seems to be that the most important hero with the best powers is now a 15 year old and they aren’t allowed to recruit kids anymore. Greywytch’s immediate nasty commentary to a teenager that the Legion knows has just undergone a massive shock starts to undermine my suspension of disbelief. Do I accept that someone could be that cruel? Sure, the internet exists. I see that level of horridness on a daily basis. Do I believe that such statements would be made so quickly upon meeting this young 15 year old teenager in the context of a business/recruitment meeting? Not really. A few of her colleagues suggest that Greywytch stop being such an asshole, but her EXTRAORDINARILY inappropriate comments are mostly tolerated. Once again, the time scale seems off. Were these characters to interact more, the insidious nature of transphobia could be highlighted. As it stands, the scene feels contrived and constructed to make a certain point. I want stories to be political, but I want stories to tell a good story as well. And the better you tell your story, the more effective your political point will be.

For example, Greywytch is never anything other than a transphobia mouthpiece. That is her entire role in the book. Be needlessly cruel to Danny based on the absolute worst examples of transphobic feminists that the author has dealt with. She never gets to be a character which means that her transphobia is less powerful. It is obvious that she represents a type of person that we’re supposed to despise. If Daniels instead chose to make us empathise with and see her as human? Suddenly the narrative becomes a lot more complex and nuanced. We have to deal with the fact that a person who does good things also does terrible things. What does that mean? How do we respond? Given the fact that Greywytch is nothing more than a political ideology, readers lose out on this important thought exploration. 

Finally, my last issue with Dreadnought, and perhaps the one that bothers me the most, centers on what it says about “being a girl”. The way that Danny is denied the freedom to express herself in certain ways is heartbreaking. But the superhero aspect of this book ends up twisting this conversation into something that makes me uncomfortable. When Danny transforms at the start of the book, it is a magical (or at least hypertech) experience. Her body changes in ways that are generally unavailable in real life. This is pure wish fulfillment. On one hand, wish fulfillment is important and one of the many things that fiction can be good for! But in this case, the wish fulfillment ends up entrenching some extraordinarily problematic ideas of sex and gender for trans and cis women alike. 

Danny’s transformation starts with an exploration of how she is small. More delicate. Her fingers taper. Her shoulders are narrower. Her shoes are boats. Oh, but her hips strain her jeans now. She has nice breasts. As the narrative tells us, she’s essentially a supermodel. There’s a moment where the book tries to be critical of this, but that’s quickly passed over to delight in this new experience of a “female” body. I am a cis gender lady. I have broad shoulders. I am tall. I am large. I have been harassed since I was a child for having a man’s body. Had I read this book when I was a teen, connecting girlhood to an idealised body would have hurt me deeply. I can only imagine that young trans readers would feel the same. There is no magic in the world that will change our bodies to our ideal form. Reading about Danny’s transformation gives you a moment of beautiful imagination, then a horrible crash back to reality. It asks us to dwell on this amazing occurrence that we can never ever have. 

Danny also mentions several times throughout the book that she’s subject to more emotional highs and lows because of estrogen, and that her feelings have been unlocked now that she’s a girl. This was the most offensive part of the book – the idea that being a woman means that you are more emotional. Women have been punished for this stereotype for centuries. We’re hysterical, we’re sensitive, and we’re ruled by our feelings. I can totally understand Danny being affected by the sudden change in hormones because that really does cause bodily chaos for a bit. But women are not uniquely emotional beings, and men are not emotional robots in comparison. Ironically, radical feminists, the ones that Greywytch is meant to represent, have critiqued any gender theory that sees men and women on such a hurtful binary. Women aren’t tiny creatures that hold ourselves in certain, dainty ways. Women aren’t capable of feeling more than men. To suggest such things and not have the narrative provide a counter is something I can’t tolerate from a book that aims to help those who feel marginalised. It teaches both trans and cis kids that there is one way to be a girl and that’s unacceptable. 

Conclusion

Am I being unfair to Dreadnought in that I expect it to be better simply because it offers a different perspective? I remain conflicted. I don’t want to suggest that people banish the book off their shelves or protest libraries to get rid of it. I don’t want to deprive trans youth of a rare book that speaks directly to them. But I also don’t think that means that the book should escape worthy criticism. Without the trans narrative, it would not have been interesting enough for me to take notice of. It is not written particularly well, and it showcases some harmful perspectives that undermine the positivity that it could bring. For me, it was not that Dreadnought wasn’t perfect, but that its flaws were quite deep, impacting and needed to be highlighted. After all, from a critical perspective, the conversations that we have when we fail are often the most valuable ones to have in order to grow. I will be reading the sequel, Sovereign, and I hope that the conversations in that book are more nuanced than they were in Dreadnought.

Ro Grayson

I didn’t know anything about this book when I picked it up but it was surprisingly good! I liked the twists and the characters and their progress a lot!

An action-packed series-starter perfect for fans of The Heroine Complex and Not Your Sidekick. “I didn’t know how much I needed this brave, thrilling book until it rocked my world. Dreadnought is the superhero adventure we all need right now.”—Charlie Jane Anders, author of All the Birds in the Sky Danny Tozer has a problem: she just inherited the powers of Dreadnought, the world’s greatest superhero. Until Dreadnought fell out of the sky and died right in front of her, Danny was trying to keep people from finding out she’s transgender. But before he expired, Dreadnought passed his mantle to her, and those secondhand superpowers transformed Danny’s body into what she’s always thought it should be. Now there’s no hiding that she’s a girl. It should be the happiest time of her life, but Danny’s first weeks finally living in a body that fits her are more difficult and complicated than she could have imagined. Between her father’s dangerous obsession with “curing” her girlhood, her best friend suddenly acting like he’s entitled to date her, and her fellow superheroes arguing over her place in their ranks, Danny feels like she’s in over her head. She doesn’t have time to adjust. Dreadnought’s murderer—a cyborg named Utopia—still haunts the streets of New Port City, threatening destruction. If Danny can’t sort through the confusion of coming out, master her powers, and stop Utopia in time, humanity faces extinction.

Francis Buggey

I love my trans lesbian superhero daughter

Stark Koenig

I have a bone to pick with you, April Daniels. I got this book out of the library, and it was so damned good that not only could I barely put it down, but on the rare occasion when I actually had to, my partner would snatch it up and start reading it. If we weren't so good at sharing our stuff this might have turned into an all out custody dispute! I knew after the first couple of chapters that I would be buying my own copy of this book, but now it looks like I will be buying TWO copies. Thanks a LOT!

Seriously, though, this book was everything I wanted it to be and more. Such a fresh take on a trans coming of age narrative, and also a whole new exciting world of superheroes! I love love love this book!

Kayla

Dreadnought was a fun read that was enjoyable but not without it's flaws. It follows Danny as she unwittingly ends up with superpowers and the transition of her dreams. She aims to get revenge for the murdered hero that granted her his mantle, hunting down the villain responsible. Along the way she grapples with claiming the title of Dreadnought, dealing with her unaccepting and abusive family and learning how to use her powers.

The biggest fault with this book is the characters. Many of them felt very underdeveloped. One of the most egregious was Danny's so-called best friend David. His reaction to her transformation made absolutely zero sense and if the author didn't explicitly tell us they were best friends, it would be impossible to tell.

On the other hand, I do believe how Danny still struggled and felt helpless from the abuse she had been enduring despite having superpowers was very realistic. She could physically overpower her family with ease but was still paralyzed by their words and her thoughts were still affected when she wasn't near them.

I recommend this story to those who like superhero stories and aren't too concerned with a well developed cast. If all you want is a fun superhero story, this book is an easy read. And the more transgender heroes we find in stories, the better. 

Laura Kehoe

Originally posted on Book Unicorn Reviews

Actual rating is 3.5 stars.

As soon as I heard about Dreadnought, I knew I had to get my hands on a copy. I mean, superheroes AND a trans girl as the lead? Sign me the heck up for that. And I'm so incredibly glad I got the chance to read it.

In the world of Dreadnought, superpowers are just a regular fact of life. It's not uncommon to see couriers flying through the air on delivery missions, or a crazy super villain crash through a building. Danny has known about these things her whole life, but it's one thing to read stories about superpowers. Having them yourself is quite another matter. When Danny accidentally witnesses the death of the world-famous superhero, Dreadnought, she suddenly finds herself with powers she never dreamed possible. 

One of my favorite parts of this book is that despite the big battles and crazy superpowers, the main focus is on the characters themselves. They truly drive this story. Especially Danny, who I love so much and just want the absolute best for. But really, there were so many wonderful characters in this book. 

Dreadnought manages a good balance between being a quirky superhero story, while at the same time tackling some pretty heavy and upsetting topics. Danny faces a whole host of discrimination and abuse for being trans. But at the same time, I loved seeing the amount of support Danny found as well with characters who were willing to accept her exactly as she was.

My biggest complaint was the plot itself. I feel like the world building needed a lot of work and I'd like to know more about how exactly this world became how it is. Plus, I found myself getting kind of confused about what exactly was happening in the story sometimes. I also feel like the first half of the book moved really slow. But things definitely picked up during the second half.

Despite my occasional confusion, I still really enjoyed Dreadnought. If you enjoy superhero stories like the Avengers and Ms. Marvel, then you should definitely check this out. I can't wait to read the next book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Diversion Publishing for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.

Archer

Omg guys, this book. I have no idea how to explain how good this book is, but I'll try.

Before I start, I should mention the book includes transphobia, homophobia, and physical abuse.

I knew I would like this book because who doesn't want to read about a trans superhero?What I never realized though, that Danny would become my smol child. I love Danny so much and I need more of her now.

The worldbuilding is sort of confusing, but I think I figured it out. Cape is another word for hero and there are 3 types, white, grey, and black. White capes are purely good, grey capes do what they need to to keep people safe, and black capes are villains. Metahumans, like in the DC universe, are powered people.

The beginning and the final fight scene were sort of confusing too, but overall the book was amazing. Everything felt like a really good fanfic and I can't wait to read the next book.

Also posted on https://bookishlythinking.com/

Katie

THIS WAS SO FUN.

A trans girl gets the body of her dreams and becomes the most powerful superhero in the entire world, all in one moment. What's not to love? The writing is so fun and the book clips along at an incredible pace. I read it all in one day. Danny is such a real character and I just love her so much. Also, the love interest? A+. Fabulous. A new fave.

Warning: This book does not pull its punches when it comes to transphobia, and there are several scenes depicting abuse from Danny's family. While hard to read, this is also a reality for many trans people, and it is a reality that needs to be shown.

I need the next book like right now immediately.

Trigger warnings: (view spoiler)[transmisia & transmisic slurs (central theme), internalised transmisia, queermisia & queermisic slurs, misgendering & deadnaming (intentional & multiple scenes), parental verbal, physical & emotional abuse, physical violence ableism & ableist language/slurs, coming out themes (including outing), sexism, misogyny, suicidal ideation, doxxing, bullying, murder (hide spoiler)]

This book empowering, enlightening, important, and kick ass.


  
    “You think it’s a uterus that makes a woman? Bullshit. You feel like you’re a girl, you live it, it’s part of you? Then you’re a girl. That’s the end of it, no quibbling. You’re as real a girl as anyone.” 

  


Danny was trying to keep from all those around her that she was transgender. Now, she has the mantle of Dreadnought, the most renowned superhero on Earth. Now she has superpowers. Now there is no hiding that she is a girl.

This is a superhero story. There is an insane amount of technology. There are epic battles that involve mecha-men and flying at the speed of sound. There are days that are saved. There are good guys and bad guys. 

But this story is also so much more. Danny is a transwoman and a lesbian. When she sees Dreadnought get murdered by supervillain, Utopia, she receives the mantle, and with it his superpowers. The mantle also gives her the ultimate gift, her perfect body. With this sudden life-changing moment, Danny must now maneuver herself in a world of superheroes, the expectations of being the next Dreadnought, and the consequences of her transition. 


  
    "For no reason at all, they looked at the things that felt right to me, and they took them. Even down to the way I carry my books and cross my legs. They took it. They took everything."
  


Danny as a character was incredible and inspiring. She slowly rises to all the challenges that she faces with a grace and determination that is nothing but admirable. This doesn't happen without flaws, mistakes and outbursts, however. Danny is not a sugar-coated character and the rawness of the transphobic reactions she faces, from family, friends, and strangers, is emotionally difficult but honest in a way that is to be appreciated. 

The side characters are a mix; of gorgeously developed personalities that see and understand the grey, who are open to understanding, supportive, and wildly loyal; to those who struggle to see beyond their own narrow views, are frustratingly naive and colour-blind, and who will remind of people you have come across yourself.

My only disappointment is the lack of world-building. Dropped into a world with superheroes and hypertech, the reader is given a bit of an info-dump at the beginning - a basic gist of superheroes appearing and how Dreadnought's mantle has passed on throughout the generations. There is very little in the way of world development following this and I was left wanting more information on the crossover between the government and the Legion, the infrastructure of the grey capes, and backstories on more of the renowned superheroes other than Dreadnought. I have hopes that these concepts will be further explored in the sequel, Sovereign.

I loved this book and absolutely cannot wait to get my hands on the sequel. Dreadnought gives a raw insight into living as a trans teen, as well as a unique take on the superhero world. Danny is such a strong, inspiring female character that deserves so much more exposure. 


  
    “I see a world that is terrified of me. Terrified of someone who would reject manhood. Terrified of a girl who knows who she is and what she’s capable of. They are small, and they are weak, and they will not hurt me ever again.” 
  


And don't just take my word for it! I tracked down some ownvoices reviews that discuss the book in a way I can't as a cis reviewer. Check out Arthur and Maria @TransBooks, Cheryl @Cheryl's Mewlings, and Avery @The Book Deviant. 


blog •  trigger warning database • more links

Happy reading! ❤

Abi Baker

trigger warnings for: transphobia, lesbophobia/homophobia, rape mentions, multiple secondary character deaths, amputation, physical violence, emotional abuse

An #ownvoices novel with a teen trans lesbian superhero protagonist!! Sign me up.

Honestly it was the protagonist that completely drew me to this book, and I have come out the other side adoring Danny.

Dreadnought follows Danny Tozer, a 15 year old transgirl who witnesses the death of Dreadnought, the strongest superhero in her city, and inherits his powers as a result. The story then follows her immediate transition (being given Dreadnought's powers gives her her ideal body), her navigating what it means to be a superhero, and subsequent investigation and battle with the novel's Big Bad. 

Dreadnought definitely felt like a decent premise for a comic (and I got the feeling that April Daniels might have a little bit of a preference for Marvel), but it also totally works as a book. I LOVE that trans superheroes are coming to the forefront as central characters, with Alters (again those comic leanings) last September, and now with Dreadnought. 

Another one of the strong points of Dreadnought, that I wish we saw more of, was the relationship between Danny/Dreadnought and Sarah/Calamity. I loved that they learned things from each other and that Danny finally had someone in her life who she could trust and be safe with, even if she usually seemed to be in the most danger she'd ever faced with Calamity. Their friendship (though I really wouldn't mind if it developed into more) was definitely one of the most enjoyable parts of the story for me. 

I think the world building was good, as were the two ending battles. The idea of Danny being able to see a lattice as part of her powers was interesting to me because I haven't read anything like that before, and I'd love to see Danny exploring her powers a bit more in the future. 

One of the reasons why I didn't give this book five stars, is the sheer amount of transphobia and homophobia that Danny experiences. It really really made me uncomfortable, but I know that this is probably realistic. Danny receives it from almost everyone she encounters in the book. After coming out to her friend and rejecting him, (view spoiler)[he says he hopes she gets raped, which is frankly disgusting. (hide spoiler)]
Honestly most of the men in this book are absolute garbage, and the ones who aren't as bad as the rest (view spoiler)[end up dying (hide spoiler)], which ended up making me feel tired and distressed on Danny's behalf. 

I also think some parts of the story weren't given enough time, like Danny's interactions with the Legion (I thought they'd play a bigger part), Danny discovering and developing her powers, Utopia's motivations, and some of the secondary characters. Some of these may be addressed later but I'm not entirely sure. 

The difference between the majority of the female (I'm including Doc Impossible in this) characters and the majority of the male characters really highlighted how strong the female characters were, and I loved it, but I would've liked it better if Danny had some support from some male characters too, or just more support from the ones who did support her. 

Whilst Dreadnought isn't perfect, it is mostly a fun read and I am really looking forward to the sequel which is out this July.

Read this book for Danny (and Sarah).
Read this book for on page trans and lesbian rep, with those words being used multiple times.
Read this book for the ending.