This is a refreshingly original novel. Fast-paced, full of action, and genuine mystery and twists. The characters are vivid and their powers are well-defined and fun. Looking forward to the next one. ( )

At first glance, Failstate might seem like another "typical coming-of-age boy with superpowers" novel, but I found this novel surprisingly well done, with a refreshingly interesting host of characters.

My favorite, of course, was Failstate himself. Definitely not your run-of-the-mill teenager! His powers are unique, for one thing, not something boring like super-strength or the ability to fly. Secondly, as a curse of Robin's powers his face is hideously deformed (think Darth Vader when you take off the mask) and so he has to keep a mask on whenever he wants to use his powers. This also makes him someone not eager to hold the spotlight, yet he wants to do good regardless. He has your standard sibling rivalry with Ben, his older brother, but while many novels would just make Ben an easy bad guy, his novel actually makes a point of showing that characters can grow and change, both Ben and Failstate himself.

The idea of superheros winning a reality TV show (like American Idol) in order to get their hero license is a funny idea that I enjoyed. Unfortunately, the TV show only plays a part really in the first part of the novel. The rest of the novel is spent dealing with the bad guy. Now, I must admit it is around the antagonists that I start to have one of my few gripes around the novel. The bad guys in this story truly are cliche, and the "twist" at the end was really not that impressive and the bad guy's motives for what they did just did not seem very plausible. I sort of had the feeling that maybe the author was purposely making fun of the villains at times (like, oh those zany super-villains are up to no good again!) but it would have been nice to have a villains that made just a little more sense.

There are a few points in the novel that I felt could have some better explanation, but fortunately the story ends with much room for growth. It's clear that the author intends to write more in the series, and I am definitely looking forward to seeing Failstate again. ( )