Heather’s Bookshelf: The Adventures of Dogg Girl & Sidekick
Author: Jennifer deBie
Released: 8/26/20
Genre: Fantasy Fiction
“She wanted Johnnie to quit staring at her. She wanted to be told she was a child, to be cared for. To lay her burdens on someone else. Someone stronger than her.”
“Adventures of Dogg Girl & Sidekick” introduces Kary Dogg, a seemingly normal college student. She tutors and enjoys kickboxing in her spare time. But a random encounter with a superhero leads her down a path that she could never have predicted for herself.
The story takes place in a world with superheroes and “norms”- people without powers. Kary’s never really been interested in the superheroes of the world, believing that they only addressed the problems of the world in neighborhoods that didn’t look like hers. But when a young superhero sidekick befriends Kary, she soon realizes that there are real people behind the masks. She also realizes that being a superhero may not be all it’s cracked up to be.
Kary’s friendship with Aspect blossoms into a funny and awkward relationship of trust and reliance. She is introduced to a whole group of superheroes including Aspect’s partner, Adamant, and his betrothed, Mynx. While Kary and Mynx do not get a long (leading to some complicated situations), Adamant comes to trust and rely on her as an unofficial part of the team. A connection between Kary’s kickboxing family and her new-found superhero family comes to light and it may be more than she can handle.
Trigger Warning: Violence, sexual situations, adult language
Overall, I really enjoyed this story. It’s a nice little interesting twist on an oversaturated market of superhero stories. The book reminded me of “The Boys” in its portrayal of flawed superheroes controlled by powerful overlords. The author was able to highlight the characters in a way that makes them each interesting and different. I especially liked that the title character and main protagonist was a “norm” with the ancillary characters surrounding her being “supers”. Her back story was weaved into the overall story arc well and her kickboxing background helped to highlight both her strengths and vulnerabilities. I will say that there were parts of the kickboxing scenes that seemed to run on a little long and a little repetitively by the end of the story. Kary’s complex relationships with both her brother, Seth, and Aspect made her character believable. The adventures kept me turning the page and the ending made me want to read more of Kary’s adventures.
I received a copy of this story in exchange of a fair and honest review.
OVERALL REVIEW:
Superheroes, kickboxing, and snark = a winning (although sometimes redundant) combination
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