Lois Lane: Fallout (Lois Lane #1)

Lois Lane: Fallout (Lois Lane #1): Gwenda Bond 

Lois Lane is starting a new life in Metropolis. An Army brat, Lois has lived all over—and seen all kinds of things. (Some of them defy explanation, like the near-disaster she witnessed in Kansas in the middle of one night.) But now her family is putting down roots in the big city, and Lois is determined to fit in. Stay quiet. Fly straight. As soon as she steps into her new high school, though, she can see it won’t be that easy. A group known as the Warheads is making life miserable for another girl at school. They’re messing with her mind, somehow, via the high-tech immersive videogame they all play. Not cool. Armed with her wit and her new snazzy job as a reporter, Lois has her sights set on solving this mystery. But sometimes it’s all a bit much. Thank goodness for her maybe-more-than-a friend, a guy she knows only by his screenname, SmallvilleGuy.

I wanted to love this book so bad. I've been a fan of DC comics since I was little, literally I had batman villain search and find books from before I could even read. I think I was going into this book expecting something different, which you should never really do with a book. I did end up really liking it, but I didn't outright love it. 

Lois Lane was a great character, and reminded me of just how young comic book Lois Lane would react to things. She's hot-headed, impulsive, caring, and she just can't seem to stay out of trouble. It's almost like it follows her around! When she is seeing a girl get bullied, she has to step in. She doesn't realize the people who are bullying her - The Warheads, are working on some super secret research project that the principal of the school is endorsing. Lois obviously needs to get to the bottom of this research project with the help of a few other of her friends at The Daily Planet program for young journalists under the supervision of the iconic Perry White. 

“I was many things, but I wasn't a quitter. I didn't give up, and I wasn't going to start."

We never really meet any other characters in depth. There obviously are secondary characters that play large roles in the book, but Lois narrates and never has an extremely close relationship with anyone. You may think "Smallville Guy" would play a large role in the novel, but that sadly is not the case. The time with him is limited to whenever Lois can find time to log onto her computer or rarely on her phone. Later on in the book, he appears in a virtual reality game (not as himself, either). I was hoping to see more of him, but I'm hoping Gwenda is just building up the tension for the next few books! 

The plot seemed very middle grade, which I wasn't expecting. The book is actually a short read because the pages are very thick and the font is quite large. Like I said before, I definitely want more interaction between Lois and "SmallvilleGuy". I was expecting this book to be revolved around Lois, yes. However, I always thought that Clark Kent would also play a large role in it, too. While Lois admits to her attraction to Smallville Guy, she still doesn't know who he is. In fact, I think there are other secondary characters who play a much larger role in the story than Smallville Guy. Besides that, I think the plot was really solid. I really enjoyed the dynamics between Lois and Perry White. 

“But, Lois, I promise you that someday I will. You'll be the first person I tell."  

I can't wait to see what Gwenda does in the forthcoming Lois Lane books. Aside from wanting to see more of Superman and Lois, I also hope to see more characters from the DC Universe. Im interested in seeing Superman's Big Bads show up at some point throughout this series. If you are a DC comics fan, this book is definitely worth the read. You'll be able to appreciate young Lois in an environment you haven't seen before. Even if you aren't a comic fan, but enjoy middle grade - then I still definitely recommend this book to you! I mean Clark and Lois are one of the most iconic superhero couples, aside from Barry and Iris of course ;) 

- Jocelyn