Anna has grown up in a family of superheroes. Her dad is a powerful telepath, her grandparents are infamous, and her mother is the city's most prestigious businesswoman. With all that legacy to live up to, Anna chooses not to tell them about her own power, tracking. Instead, her and her friends who have more defensive powers put on masks and try to take on the city's bad guys. Celia, Anna's mother, spends her time when she isn't doing business keeping tabs on all possible heroes, but thinks Anna is just a normal girl. When a powerful villain arises, mother and daughter will find they have a lot more to learn about each other than they know.
DREAMS OF THE GOLDEN AGE by Carrie Vaughn is the perfect action-filled novel for fans of superheroes. It's complete with family legacies, masked heroes, terrifying villains, and a nail-biting climax. The mother-daughter dynamic is so refreshing, and it's wonderful seeing their relationship grows. This is the second book in a series, and I think their relationship might stand out even more after reading the first, as well as getting some good background on Celia, but there's enough history in DREAMS OF THE GOLDEN AGE to read it alone.
Though I did highly enjoy all those aspects of the book and do think it would be a great read for some, I did have some trouble connecting with the story. The premise is so interesting, but it was hard for me to feel like I was really in the story. I definitely think Anna could be relatable to plenty of readers, but for me, I didn't find any big connection that made me invested in her story.
Overall, I can easily see that the author, Carrie Vaughn is full of talent, but DREAMS OF THE GOLDEN AGE just wasn't the book for me. I would still recommend it to YA readers looking for lots of action and superhero battles.
Like every teen, Anna has secrets. Unlike every teen, Anna
has a telepath for a father and Commerce City's most
powerful businessperson for a mother. She's also the
granddaughter of the city's two most famous superheroes, the
former leaders of the legendary Olympiad, and the company
car drops her off at the gate of her exclusive high school
every morning. Privacy is one luxury she doesn't have.
Hiding her burgeoning superpowers from her parents is hard
enough; how's she supposed to keep them from finding out
that her friends have powers, too? Or that she and the
others are meeting late at night, honing their skills and
dreaming of becoming Commerce City's next great team of
masked vigilantes?
Like every mother, Celia worries about her daughter. Unlike
every mother, Celia has the means to send Anna to the best
schools and keep a close watch on her, every second of every
day. At least Celia doesn't have to worry about Anna
becoming a target for every gang with masks and an agenda,
like Celia was at Anna's age.
As far as Celia knows, Anna isn't anything other than a
normal teen. Still, just in case, Celia has secretly awarded
scholarships at Anna's private high school to the
descendants of the city's other superpowered humans. Maybe,
just maybe, these teens could one day fill the gap left by
the dissolution of The Olympiad....
Dreams of the Golden Age is the stunning sequel to Carrie
Vaughn's groundbreaking superhero novel, After the Golden
Age
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