Stronger

Gr 6–9—Gethin Rao is a 12-year-old choir boy who suffers a sudden inexplicable transformation during church service one Sunday, becoming a blue-skinned giant who is almost impervious. Twenty-seven years into the future, he is a prisoner known as "Brawn," made to mine platinum with others like him in a secure domed facility in an unknown location. His size hasn't changed, so he is still very strong but he is no longer super powered. The novel switches back and forth between these two time periods. In the earlier storyline, he is captured more than once and spends much of his time fleeing and hiding. Whenever he tries to return to civilization, he is attacked, both by police and foes with superhuman abilities. At the mine, Brawn struggles to survive under constant harsh treatment by the overseer, who has no qualms about killing other prisoners to punish him. Readers never learn how Brawn ends up in the prison and the possibility of escape for him only appears in the conclusion. Eventually the kindhearted monster is recruited by two powerful groups and must make a choice between them. Like a single graphic novel from a superhero universe, Stronger can be appreciated by itself but it is certainly part of a larger whole; there are links to other books in the series that may take place before, after, or at the same time as this one. Carroll fans or hero comics readers will snap this up but others may wish to start with the two earlier volumes.—Eric Norton, McMillan Memorial Library, Wisconsin Rapids, WI.