Generation Wonder: The New Age of Heroes

This ambitious anthology, to which editor Lyga (Time Will Tell) also contributes, features 13 authors, including Paul Levitz, Axie Oh, Danielle Paige, and more, who deliver original tales inspired by classic comics, embracing myriad genres. In Lamar Giles’s “Love to Hate,” Black basketball superstar Ty’s life turns tumultuous when he reveals his powers while saving a woman’s life. Indigenous teen Leonard Skye confronts racism and bullying, serving as his fellow Sokokis’ secret protector, in Joseph Bruchac’s “Ordinary Kid.” Through “Queeroes and Villains,” Anne-Marie McLemore presents a scenario in which a medication “designed to make me not be una lesbiana” instead grants an unnamed Latinx teen superpowers. And Lyga’s “Power Baby Blue Grows Up” tackles child stardom, maturity, and privilege via a former toddler superhero. Each story opens with cartoonist Doran’s graphic b&w illustrations. The assemblage’s intention to reinvent superheroes—which Lyga states was born of frustration at publishers’ “same old ideas dressed up in diversity chic”—feels uninspired in today’s hero-rich media climate, and the narratives sometimes depict familiar heroic fare. Still, these stories feature a wide spectrum of intersectional diversity, providing varied representation. Ages 13–up. Agent: Kathleen Anderson, Anderson Literary. (June)