The Rise of Renegade X [Hardcover]

Chelsea M. Campbell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 11, 2010

Sixteen-year-old Damien Locke has a plan: major in messing with people at the local supervillain university and become a professional evil genius, just like his supervillain mom. But when he discovers the shameful secret she's been hiding all these years, that the one-night stand that spawned him was actually with a superhero, everything gets messed up. His father's too moral for his own good, so when he finds out Damien exists, he actually wants him to come live with him and his goody-goody superhero family. Damien gets shipped off to stay with them in their suburban hellhole, and he has only six weeks to prove he's not a hero in any way, or else he's stuck living with them for the rest of his life, or until he turns eighteen, whichever comes first.

To get out of this mess, Damien has to survive his dad's "flying lessons" that involve throwing him off the tallest building in the city--despite his nearly debilitating fear of heights--thwarting the eccentric teen scientist who insists she's his sidekick, and keeping his supervillain girlfriend from finding out the truth. But when Damien uncovers a dastardly plot to turn all the superheroes into mindless zombie slaves, a plan hatched by his own mom, he discovers he cares about his new family more than he thought. Now he has to choose: go back to his life of villainy and let his family become zombies, or stand up to his mom and become a real hero.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 9 Up Damien Locke lives in an alternate universe inhabited by superheroes, supervillains, and regular people. If you are a hero, a letter H appears on your thumb when you turn 16. If you are a villain, you get a V. On his 16th birthday, Damien gets an X. He is half hero, half villain, the product of a one-night stand between his mad-scientist supervillain mother and superhero father Crimson Flash, otherwise known as Gordon Tines. Gordon is certain that his son will become a full-fledged hero, but the teen is equally certain that he is going to end up a villain, and is counting on admission to Vilmore, the villain academy. While he tries to make life for his father and stepfamily unbearable, Damien's mom is hooking up with the head of Vilmore romantically as well as using her hypno-device to take over the city, and Damien is forced to choose sides. This scenario certainly works as a metaphor for the shades of gray teens have to deal with as they struggle to find their identity. The book is definitely for older teens, as there is a significant semi-explicit focus on Damien's messed-up love life as he tries to reconcile with his villain ex-girlfriend, Kat, while stringing along his new hero love interest, Sarah. This is the YA equivalent of a B movie. Tim Wadham, St. Louis County Library, MO
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Chelsea Campbell grew up in the Pacific Northwest, where it rains a lot. And then rains some more. She finished her first novel when she was twelve, sent it out, and promptly got rejected. Since then she's written many more novels, earned a degree in Latin and Ancient Greek, become an obsessive knitter and fiber artist, and started a collection of glass grapes. Chelsea is a pop culture fangirl at heart and can often be found rewatching episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, leveling up in World of Warcraft, or spending way too much time on Twitter and Facebook. Visit her online at chelseamcampbell.com.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 14 and up
  
• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: EgmontUSA (May 11, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1606840606
• ISBN-13: 978-1606840603
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 1.5 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #811,351 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Chelsea Campbell grew up in the Pacific Northwest, where it rains a lot. And then rains some more. She finished her first novel when she was twelve, sent it out, and promptly got rejected. Since then she's written many more novels, earned a degree in Latin and Ancient Greek, become an obsessive knitter and fiber artist, and started a collection of glass grapes. As a kid, Chelsea read lots of adult books, but now that she's an adult herself (at least according to her driver's license), she loves books for kids and teens. Besides writing, studying ancient languages, and collecting useless objects, Chelsea is a pop culture fangirl at heart and can often be found rewatching episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, leveling up in World of Warcraft, or spending way too much time on Livejournal and Facebook.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Unusual Snarky Protagonist Will Charm You!, May 11, 2010

By 

Stephanie Su (Swarthmore, PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Rise of Renegade X (Hardcover)

All Damien Locke wants for his 16-year-old is to see the V appear on his thumb--the V that will indicate that he will become a villain, just like his supervillain mom. To his horror, an X appears on his thumb, indicating that his father was a superhero! Damien gets carted off to live with his father, the Crimson Flash, and his family, with the hopes that the hero within him may awaken.

Damien would rather go back to his old life of pranking and hanging out with his best friend and ex-girlfriend, Kat. However, an unexpected friendship with Sarah Kink turns his life upside down when he gets sucked into a battle of good versus evil, and he must decide which side he stands on.

THE RISE OF RENEGADE X is an astonishingly interesting debut YA novel that subverts the usual paradigms of the YA genre and our preconceptions of good and evil. And it does this all in the most entertaining way possible!

The gem of this novel is Damien's voice. A perfect balance of snark, sincerity, and your typical adolescent male stupidity, Damien will charm you into falling for his screwed-up ways. I took a kind of perverse pleasure in liking an irreverent character so much: it's not every author who can make readers like an obnoxious, mouthy, and crass protagonist!

The plot meanders through family subtleties, adolescent complexities, and the absurdity of a comic book, and so does get a bit choppy at times. However, despite the rather sudden climax and resolution, it is the character development of THE RISE OF RENEGADE X that you'll remember after reading. The love triangle between Kat, Damien, and Sarah is marvelously believable, lacking the flatness that can often occur in such satirical situations. Damien's family members are well-rounded and believable in their (sometimes twisted and misguide) support of Damien.

It's hard to adequately describe THE RISE OF RENEGADE X, as it's like a subgenre of its own. All I can say is that, plotting issues aside, it is one enjoyable ride for anyone who likes superheroes, supervillains, giggle-inducing adolescent humor, and a great narrative voice.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Oh My Books! The Rise of Renegade X by Chelsea Campbell, December 6, 2010

By 

Maria Guajardo "Gaby" (Venezuela) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Rise of Renegade X (Hardcover)

In a world of superheroes and supervillains, you will meet Damien Locke. He's the typical teenager, dealing with his cheating ex-girlfriend, his supervillian mother and his upcoming birthday. His plans for the future are to study at the supervillain university and become an the best villain.

Except that something happens in his birthday. Instead of getting a V for Villain, he get an X, and suddenly, his future isn't so sure anymore.

Damien Locke is one of my favorite male character of all time. He has a great personality that fills the book with humor, and I couldn't help falling in love with him. He's funny and sometimes eccentric, and you really aren't sure if he's really a super-villain, or his worst nightmare, a superhero.

It was a fast paced book and I couldn't stop reading it until knowing what was going to happen to Damien. Besides, the author creates a world where finding super villains or heroes is normal, but they have the same problems we do, except that they can fly, or whatever.

Overall, I absolutely loved this book, and I really wish there would be a sequel. It's funny, original and fantastic, and you shouldn't miss it.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best smart mouth you'll ever love!, January 30, 2011

By 

Reacher Creature (Rochester) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Rise of Renegade X (Hardcover)

Okay, I picked this book up on a whim, and I thought it would just be "oaky". Boy, was I wrong. This is such a fantastic read!

This is a story of a boy, Damien, who wants to be a supervillain. Not just any supervillain, but the best and baddest. Then one day he finds out that his mom had a one night stand with a superhero. That means that Damien can never really be a 'supervillain" because he has some "superhero" in him. Damien does things to prove that he should have the title "Supervillian" no matter what is in his bloodline. However, soon Damien has to make some hard choices in his life that will decide if he's a "villain", a "hero" or something inbetween.

This is such a fantastic and original story, you can't help but to be glued to the book to the very last page, and wanting more. The author has a unique writing style. She makes Damien not only face challenges for Damien to face, but also makes Damien face issues that todays teens have to face as well. Students of all ages will be able to identify with some aspect of Damien.

This has a great cast of characters. I love the characters of Damien, Kat and Sarah. This also has superheros and supervillains, something for everyone. If you have a boy who doesn't like to read, then I highly suggest this book for him. I can' promise he'll be hooked. This book is okay for kids in 5th grade or up.

Damien is such a snarky characters, you can't help to love him. He's a hoot.

I hope we'll see Renegade X and his friends in future books. I know I'll be first in line to get my copy.