Runaways

Gr 7 Up—Nico, Karolina, Gert, Chase, and Molly are the children of murderous supervillains in the Marvel Universe. Desperate to escape their evil empire, known as The Pride, the five friends run away in attempts to start their own, normal lives. This proves to be much more difficult than imagined. Told in varying perspectives of each of the five youths, the book assumes familiarity with aspects of the Marvel Universe such as the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D. Without this core knowledge, listeners could be confused and assume they have missed earlier series installments, and the frequent shifts in character voice do not help listeners keep track of events in the anticlimactic story. Golden leaves room for more installments of the series, hopefully adding more depth in the future. The final chapter includes a reflection from narrator Virginia Gardner, an interesting addition. A PDF of the first issue of the revived "Runaways" comic series is available.