Customer Reviews

Dull Boy

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Dull Boy was awesome, hilarious and pretty geektastic! I really liked the main character Avery, I usually prefer books in a female voice just because it's easier for me to relate to, but Avery was just a cool guy with a good heart. I really liked him, and he was pretty funny! I really liked the abbreviated swear words he used or thought, stuff like "What the F". That kind of stuff is just perfect to me!

And of course Avery isn't the only character. I loved all his new friends from Darla the super brain that has all sorts of crazy gadgets and a giant robot(!) to Nicholas the tortured boy with a power he can't control to Sophie who always seemed to be in a good mood and Catherine who is also hiding a secret... they all had something to offer to the story!

I never decided in my mind if Cherchette (crazy awesome name) the mysterious lady with powers of her own would end up to be good or bad and just let the story unfold in front of me. I really liked what I learned about her and from her, she informs us of about some background of where the kids got their powers that some authors might leave out but I'm so glad that Cross included, I'm all about the details!

Another thing I really liked was that throughout the book there are case files about each of the kids and their powers. I liked having that to refer to instead of just knowing what the story told us. All in all a fun and action packed book that seems to definitely set itself up for a sequel, can't wait to see what happens next!

It's About: Forced into a school for delinquents after an incident involving a jewelry store and the frosty, mysterious Cherchette, Avery finds it hard to settle into a dull boy routine- and soon he discovers he's not the only teen in town who's hiding special abilities. The only problem is, the mysterious Cherchette keeps turning up with promises to make these superpowered teens' lives better- and yet, every time she appears, she manages to leave the place in shambles.

This charming origins story captures the dynamic motion of graphic novels with a witty, conversational prose that often left me laughing or nodding along in rueful recognition. Cross has a gift for combining the right amounts of absurdity and realism, creating a world where detention and mecha battles are equally at home.

With great power comes great responsibility, and with a deft and talented hand, Sarah Cross pulls her cast of young super heroes out of the realm of comics and into the world of YA novels. As a long time comic geek, I also enjoyed the little sparkles of fan service in a book that is still utterly accessible superhero first-timers. I really enjoyed this, and I hope it becomes the first of many.

Would I Give This Book to a Kid: Yes, yes, yes. Absolutely great for teens who already love comics, and it's probably also the finest introduction to the superhero genre since Kurt Busiek and Stuart Immonen's superb Secret Identity.

Would I Give This Book to an Adult: Definitely to adult comic readers. I'm going to try slipping this into my mom's to-read pile, just to see what happens, though. I did manage to get her hooked on World of Warcraft, after all!

This is a wonderful, modern superhero tale where the hero searches for how he and his cherished superpowers will fit into the world. I really enjoyed reading such an honest approach rather than the typical bemoaning of "woe is me, I have awesome powers, whatever will I do" that so often occurs in coming of age fantasy and magical realism protagonists. Sarah very naturally works in a lot of pop culture, internet, and comic book references so that whether or not you're aware of the original, you'll enjoy the story. The supporting cast, especially the girl genius, are excellent in their own right. As for the ending, I think it was not so much to setup a sequel as one reviewer suggested (you can do a sequel/prequel with anything these days) but instead was an invitation for the reader to make their own decision about what will happen. That she dared to break from neatly wrapping the story up with her authorial voice is one of the bold moves that make this novel compelling on many levels, ranging from thoughtful introspection about one's place in the world to LOL heroic romp.

Gold Star Award Winner!

Avery lives for the darkness. Not for any deviant reason, but because he is less likely to be seen when he is flying around town. You see, Avery isn't like other kids. He has super-strength and can fly.

Since these powers developed, his life has totally changed. His normal friends are pulling further and further away because he is spending less time with them. They're upset that he quit the wrestling team, but he really didn't have a choice. His strength was too hard to control during practices and matches.

By trying to be a nice guy and save the day by using his powers for good, Avery sends his parents over the edge. They are already forking over a lot of money for his other unintentional damages and feel he is out of control. So his parents decide to send him to a special school for troubled kids.

On his first day at the new school, Avery meets a strange girl. She ends up shedding a lot of light on the world for him. He discovers that he isn't the only one with special abilities and finds himself becoming part of another "family." One that understands him and his desire to help the world and not just waste his powers on frivolous thrills and ways to get into the spotlight.

But, in any superhero story, there has to be an evil mastermind. In DULL BOY that evil mastermind is Cherchette, and she wants to gather all the kids with super-powers together. Why, you might ask? You'll have to read the book to find out.

DULL BOY has it all - humor, friendship, family issues, a little romance, super-powers. What more could you ask for? As a reader, I completely fell in love with Avery. Sarah Cross leaves the reader completely satisfied, even though it is clear there will be a sequel.

Reviewed by: Karin Librarian

Dull Boy is a remarkable debut novel! I've always been a fan of superheroes... batman, x-men, Peter Patrelli, the teenage mutant ninja turtles... they might not be "human" but hey, they are superheroes! I was expecting to like this book just based on that fact alone. And I was thrilled that not only was it about superheroes but it had awesome characters and a super-fun plot!

I loved Avery's character. I loved his humor, his sarcasm, he was just insanely real, flawed, but prefect. As much as I enjoyed the other characters, I'm glad the story was told through his pov.

As with any good superhero there must be a villain, and Cross's vileness was excellent. You can tell right away there isn't something right about Cherchette (what kind of name is that!) but I still think there's more to her than meets the eye.

Well written, fun plot, awesome characters. Looking forward to reading more about these exceptional characters!

Dull Boy was a fun adventure into the world of superhero's and teenage angst. The whole book is told from first-person perspective- Avery. About a year ago Avery saved a little boys life by lifting a car off the boy's leg. That is when he first found out that he was "different". He is super-strong and can fly, but he can't tell anyone, so inevitably he feels different and not as close to his friends. Avery wants to make a difference in the world, like a real superhero, he wants to help people.

After an accident with a fellow wrestler at a match, Avery is determined to be careful around people, to be helpful and not destructive. So every night he patrols his neighborhood hoping to get a chance to use his powers for good. When he meets Nicholas, Darla, Sophie, Catherine, and Jaques and finds out that Darla is a genius (literally), Sophie is like human tape, Nicholas can open a vortex in his chest, Jaques is an iceboy, and Catherine is cat-like, he feels relieved that he is not alone. Very quickly Darla, Avery, Sophie and Nicholas become good friends (Jaques is another story). Catherine grudgingly becomes friends with Sophie and Darla but her and Avery bond very early on, in a weird way (you have to read the book to understand). Together the friends form a team of crime fighting, patroling their neighborhoods and woods, hunting down injustice and covering it in glitter! But things start to go downhill when a woman named Cherchette tries to get them to come live with her so she can help them control their powers. But the friends are uneasy about this woman, and later finds out why, and how they came to have super powers.

This book was a page turner, hilarious (I loved Avery and Darla) and great fun. I hope the author writes a sequel because the ending is a cliff hanger!

Although the overarching plot was pretty standard comic book origins/heroes vs villains fare, I had a constant smile on my face thanks to Dull Boy/superhero Avery's good-natured sarcasm and all the hilarious situations he gets into with his new super friends. I especially adored the characterizations of Darla, a mad robotics genius and Catherine, a grumpy, tough-as-claws catwoman and their scenes at the coffee shop, in their reform school and on their (self-given) missions to take down a mugger and save missing boy scouts.

It was such a joy to read, I even took it to the beach with me on my Barcelona trip and read until it grew too dark to see. The ending is left open for a sequel, and although I was expecting a stand-alone book, I'd be thrilled to hang out with Avery and company if their adventures continue to be so inventive and fun.

Dull Bull was such a fabulously fun book to read. I'm not usually into the whole super hero thing, but the cool cover appealed to me. It turns out Dull Boy was so much more than just a cool cover.

I'm a huge fan of sarcastic humor and Dull Boy had plenty of it. I love how scenes were described, especially at the school for bad kids that Avery attends. It was really hilarious how Avery came up with different titles for all the crazy groups of kids at school. My favorite group would have to be the sweet looking and dangerous Mary Jane's.

The secondary characters were for the most part well fleshed out. I don't read many books with a male protagonist and I thought that Sarah Cross did an excellent job making very believable characters. Even though I don't have any superpowers (so sad) I could still relate to Avery as a person. Aside from having superpowers, Avery is just a normal kid who wants to find a place to fit in. I also loved Nicholas and enjoyed reading about his struggles with his dad. The genius Darla and her weird inventions were one of the stand out characters for me. Darla was just so darn cool and I totally loved her giant robot! Catherine was the coolest character by far because she had super catlike powers. There was one scene in particular where Catherine communicates with a rather err....wild cat. I just thought that was so flipping awesome! I would have liked to see more from Sophie though. She was the one character out the bunch that fell flat for me. I also would have liked to see the story more from Catherine's point of view. In fact, I think that Catherine totally deserves her own book.

Dull Boy is a superhero book so there is plenty of fighting between Avery and his new friends and the every so creepy Cherchette. Once the action started between the two groups, I was really anxious to find out what was going to happen. I thought that battle scenes were very well written and still had an element of humor. As the book comes to a close, we get to learn more about Cherchette and her evil intentions.

the book is great. Avery is funny, the other characters were interesting, and though cliche, i found it delightful!
a very good choice that'll make you wait impatiently for the sequel.

I have to admit that since I was little I've always kind of had a slight obsession with superheros. I loved the Spider Man and X-Men movies. Oh, and Push, too, though that may not count. Anyway, getting back to Dull Boy, I was stoked when I found out that there was going to be a book coming out about superheros, since there's not many YA books on that topic. Luckily, Dull Boy was a pretty awesome book.

As soon as Dull Boy opens up you are drawn into Avery's complicated life. Since, how fast do you think that you'll get sent to a lab if you admit that you have a superhuman qualities? I would say extremely fast. Avery was a unique and heartwarming character. Since, you could imagine how hard it was for him not to know anyone who he could really relate too. The other characters, such as Sophie and Nicolas, were the same way, which made me happy that they all united together with their shared bond of superpowers.

One of my favorite parts of this novel was the in depth look Sarah gave you on the characters' superpowers. To what they could do to how when they first found out that they had superhuman abilities, it was all covered. Overall, I found it all extremely interesting and I think many others will to.

Sadly, I felt that the plot was kind of lacking. Since, it seemed that there wasn't one main struggle that the characters were trying to go against besides Cherchette, but that didn't hit up until the end. I know that many of you will argue that the teens coming to grip with their powers was the main focus. Though after a while that subsided a bit, leaving the book to become a bit boring.

Other than that, I felt that Dull Boy was a great debut novel from Sarah Cross. I look forward to reading more by her in the future. Also, does anyone else want a Dull Boy sequel, because I certainly do!

Grade: B+