Saturday, August 6, 2016

Summer Reading 2016: Teen Titans: Earth One, Vol. 2

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The Teen Titans story in volume 1 starts with the teenagers involved seeming to be just ordinary kids, but then things begin to change and strange powers and abilities begin to reveal themselves. There is a mix of genders and racial backgrounds, a variety of abilities - mental and superhuman, and a range of personality types. This first book gives you just enough background to set up the story line for the ongoing series. You might even say that the plot centered around growing pains, with the manifestation of their powers forcing them to leave the nest and face the world. 

Now in Volume 2 the kids (Tara, Vic, Tempest, and Gar), are hiding out in a housing development that is under construction, while Raven and Starfire are on a Native American Reservation with Raven's grandfather. Dr. Caulder sends his Titans after the kids and Colonel Wilson (with his son's psyche inside his head) to New Mexico to retrieve the young women. When everyone arrives back at StarLabs, there are some revelations and shifting of alliances. A new meta-human, Blackfire is also introduced to readers.

This section of the story shows us a few things. That the group works better together than on their own. That Caulder has schemes inside schemes and has been brainwashing his little Titans into being kids who will do whatever Daddy wants. That Wilson's son Joseph is totally nuts (which we already knew). That eating to many marshmallows will make you sick. But I think it's the mind games Caulder has played on the Titans that really catch the attention. Making them believe that the other kids are somehow corrupt agents of the US military, or that they were developed in a different way than the Titans keeps them on his side until they learn the truth. Then you have all sorts of teenage angst busting loose with feelings of betrayal.

There are a lot of possibilities for where the story will go from here. It could concentrate on Joseph, Blackfire, and Caulder trying to regroup and find a way to regain control of all the Titans. It might focus on the Titans forming a solid team and learning to work together. Perhaps it will draw on Starfire's past and have aliens coming to Earth to find her. Most likely it will be some combination of all those, with a few surprises thrown in to keep things interesting. We'll just have to wait and see.

I read an e-book provided by the publisher through NetGalley.

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