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Places of Power #1
Star Child
Powers are determined by geographic birth locations, and only the rich and powerful are permitted access to prized sites. SC is the first person born in space.
The punishment for unauthorized births is death. Out of fear, SC keeps his strange abilities as his darkest secret. He pretends to be nothing more than a mere Regular while his peers develop unique powers, varying from controlling lightning to producing diamond-hard skin. But when his mother is kidnapped by an unknown organization, SC has no choice but to act.SC ventures into a school of talented students to learn to fight, where he must learn to master his powers without revealing their true nature. But soon he realizes that the school is more than it appears and that it may hold the secret to his missing mother. To rescue her, he will have to reveal powers never before seen in all of history.
By award-winning author Leonard Petracci, a master of tension and suspense.
The punishment for unauthorized births is death. Out of fear, SC keeps his strange abilities as his darkest secret. He pretends to be nothing more than a mere Regular while his peers develop unique powers, varying from controlling lightning to producing diamond-hard skin. But when his mother is kidnapped by an unknown organization, SC has no choice but to act.SC ventures into a school of talented students to learn to fight, where he must learn to master his powers without revealing their true nature. But soon he realizes that the school is more than it appears and that it may hold the secret to his missing mother. To rescue her, he will have to reveal powers never before seen in all of history.
By award-winning author Leonard Petracci, a master of tension and suspense.
253 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 29, 2017
1210 people are currently reading
1799 people want to read
About the author
Leo Petracci
23 books91 followersLeonard Petracci is a recent graduate of Georgia Institute of Technology currently living in Los Angeles. In his spare time you can find him hiking, at the beach, or enjoying the outdoors.
Feel free to direct any questions or comments to his reddit account, LeoDuhVinci, or his gmail, leonardpetracci@gmail.com
Visit his blog at https://www.leonardpetracci.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 95 reviews
May 26, 2018
I received this book in exchange for an honest review and I think it would most appeal to people who like coming of age/ya urban fantasy with a hard magic system.
To understand the main character you first need to know a little bit about the world building. This book has a serious superhero alternate-reality vibe to it. The magic system is based on the conditions of your birth, some people under the right conditions can develop a magic based on their birth environment. People who are born on airplanes can fly, people born near volcanos can use fire, people born on mountains get ice powers etc. SC was born in an illegal location, in space. Both he and his mother have to go into hiding because he isn’t supposed to exist, and if the wrong people found out he could be captured and killed.
SC’s mother is arrested by the police and he’s able to get away, however, after sitting and brooding about how he should have done something to help his mother, he explodes out of anger and guilt and uses his powers in a way he never has before, he ends up blowing apart his apartment complex.
SC is able to make “force points” which look like black marbles that draw everything around them towards the force point. It’s sort of like having the power to create mini black holes. Since he’s the only known space-born person his powers are unregistered and he sparks the interest of the authorities. They don’t know where he is, but they’re searching for him after he explodes his apartment.
A series of unlikely events leads him to a school for those who can use magic and while he’s there he’s disguising himself as a telekinetic. He still doesn’t want to reveal what he really is, and is doing a halfway decent job of passing off as a normal kid. He makes a few friends, one of them was born in Hollywood and he’s able to implant memories and feelings into a person. Another is named Ariel, born on a plane and able to fly, her father makes things complicated since he’s the one trying to hunt down the person who destroyed the apartment.
Something is wrong with the school he’s attending, however. His friends come to him with a theory that the school is implanting motivations in a similar way that Hollywood kid can, indoctrinating them to be loyal to the school for unknown reasons. They begin to investigate and things get complicated.
This was a single pov told in the first person from the main character, it was a very straightforward way of telling a story so it worked well for the audio.
This was a really fast-paced book, a ton of plot lines were being introduced in the first third of the book and then a larger one about halfway through. It’s also written in a way where you can really fly through it.
I do think this is a good book for the right target audience, I’m not usually a fan of young adult but the magic system in this one and the magic school both kept me entertained. I wish there was a little more character development, this was a plot and worldbuilding driven book.
Audience:
For people who like:
* hard magic system
* superhero-like abilities
* alternate world/urban fantasy
* single pov
* first person narration
* magic schools
* faster paced books
* audiobooks
Ratings:
Plot: 12/15
Characters: 9/15
World Building: 13/15
Writing: 11/15
Pacing: 13/15
Originality: 11/15
Personal Enjoyment: 7.5/10
Final Score: 76.5/100 – 3.5/5 stars.
To understand the main character you first need to know a little bit about the world building. This book has a serious superhero alternate-reality vibe to it. The magic system is based on the conditions of your birth, some people under the right conditions can develop a magic based on their birth environment. People who are born on airplanes can fly, people born near volcanos can use fire, people born on mountains get ice powers etc. SC was born in an illegal location, in space. Both he and his mother have to go into hiding because he isn’t supposed to exist, and if the wrong people found out he could be captured and killed.
SC’s mother is arrested by the police and he’s able to get away, however, after sitting and brooding about how he should have done something to help his mother, he explodes out of anger and guilt and uses his powers in a way he never has before, he ends up blowing apart his apartment complex.
SC is able to make “force points” which look like black marbles that draw everything around them towards the force point. It’s sort of like having the power to create mini black holes. Since he’s the only known space-born person his powers are unregistered and he sparks the interest of the authorities. They don’t know where he is, but they’re searching for him after he explodes his apartment.
A series of unlikely events leads him to a school for those who can use magic and while he’s there he’s disguising himself as a telekinetic. He still doesn’t want to reveal what he really is, and is doing a halfway decent job of passing off as a normal kid. He makes a few friends, one of them was born in Hollywood and he’s able to implant memories and feelings into a person. Another is named Ariel, born on a plane and able to fly, her father makes things complicated since he’s the one trying to hunt down the person who destroyed the apartment.
Something is wrong with the school he’s attending, however. His friends come to him with a theory that the school is implanting motivations in a similar way that Hollywood kid can, indoctrinating them to be loyal to the school for unknown reasons. They begin to investigate and things get complicated.
This was a single pov told in the first person from the main character, it was a very straightforward way of telling a story so it worked well for the audio.
This was a really fast-paced book, a ton of plot lines were being introduced in the first third of the book and then a larger one about halfway through. It’s also written in a way where you can really fly through it.
I do think this is a good book for the right target audience, I’m not usually a fan of young adult but the magic system in this one and the magic school both kept me entertained. I wish there was a little more character development, this was a plot and worldbuilding driven book.
Audience:
For people who like:
* hard magic system
* superhero-like abilities
* alternate world/urban fantasy
* single pov
* first person narration
* magic schools
* faster paced books
* audiobooks
Ratings:
Plot: 12/15
Characters: 9/15
World Building: 13/15
Writing: 11/15
Pacing: 13/15
Originality: 11/15
Personal Enjoyment: 7.5/10
Final Score: 76.5/100 – 3.5/5 stars.
June 21, 2020
This had a lot of potential, but then it turned into a typical "completely inexperienced teens outsmart the world" thing.
November 7, 2017
Reminder of my favorite times reading has brought me
This book simply brought me back to the height of my enjoyment of reading. Back when I spent nights with a crank up light reading under the blanket on a school night giggling like a schoolgirl simply from how much I loved to read. Its been a very very long time since I had found a book that gave me this feeling.
Thank you so much for this
This book simply brought me back to the height of my enjoyment of reading. Back when I spent nights with a crank up light reading under the blanket on a school night giggling like a schoolgirl simply from how much I loved to read. Its been a very very long time since I had found a book that gave me this feeling.
Thank you so much for this
November 8, 2017
It wasn't my cup of tea... The concept and the world created are original it could have been better.
March 14, 2023
OPENING WORDS:
I DNF’d Star Child on page 22. The premise and the magic system really spoke to me, so I was very excited to read this book. But the rest of this review will explain why the book disappointed me enough to DNF.
PROSE & WRITING STYLE:
Sometimes it’s confusing. Sometimes it’s hard to tell what’s going on and why it’s happening. Sometimes it feels like an entire sentence of context is missing, which is bizarre considering how much the author info-dumps and goes out of his way to try to explain things.
Also, this book seems to have been lacking a line editor. The author uses “as” far too often and uses lots of really long sentences. The prose in general is very awkward, like this was only the first or second draft of the novel, before it ever reached any editors, if it was sent out to editors at all. Despite how strong the premise was, the writing itself had me feeling like the author rushed the book to publication and skipped important editing steps.
CHARACTERS:
The characters as a whole are very bland. There’s enough characterization to tell them apart, but it’s just surface level things. Like the author thought “I want this character to be bubbly,” so he made the character vaguely bubbly but didn’t put any nuance or depth behind it. Stuff like that. Each character only really has one trait, maybe two, so they all read pretty flat. Perhaps I would’ve gotten more traits if I’d read further, but keep in mind that I was 22 pages in and not even the main character had more than 1-2 traits.
So that paired with the lackluster prose and the excessive info-dumps, I didn’t get any feel for who these people are and why I should care about them.
STAR CHILD (SC):
His name is stupid. I CAN believe that his mother truly didn’t give him a name and instead opted to call him Star Child. I SEEMS like a realistic thing a mother might do when the child’s existence is illegal, and therefore not exactly safe to give them a name. HOWEVER, Star Child goes to an actual school while having this dumb name. Despite the implied realism, in actuality I get the impression that the author just couldn’t decide on a name, so he went with the most obvious, infuriating pet name and stuck with it. I hate the name. Really really hate it. Especially considering all the other characters have regular names like Jessica, Emma, or Stephen. “Star Child” is tragically unique for no reason other than to be tragically unique. It really screwed up my suspension of belief.
I never got any real sense of who SC was, and I’d read 22 pages prior to DNF-ing. I understood that he wanted to be a real boy, that he wanted to be where the people are — meaning he wanted to not have to hide his powers and to be with all the other kids. But that’s it. In the first 7 chapters, not even that personality trait was really explored because the author is far too focused on exposition dumps and world building (most of which wasn’t even relevant info).
How SC feels about his mom is also very foggy. Up until the police came to take his mom away (not a spoiler, it’s literally in the blurb), I got the impression that SC doesn’t really care that much about his mother, because he knows that she’s the one holding him back from being with the other kids. But then when the police show up, all of sudden he’s a loving son trying to protect her? Huh? This shift in character came out of nowhere. Could’ve been easily fixed if the author focused less on world building and more on character development and character relationships. A vast majority of Mom’s dialogue has just been her teaching SC (and therefore the reader) about the world building.
STAR CHILD’S MOM:
Is she homeschooling SC or nah? The first two entire chapters were SC narrating about school, yet Mom kept teaching him (thus the reader) about stuff. It felt like she was homeschooling him, even though he wasn’t homeschooled, so I was all confused.
ARIAL:
I DNF’d before Arial could make any impact on the story, but it seemed like she was going to become the love interest and/or the new best friend. She was easily the most characterized character in all 22 pages I read, which is so bizarre because she was only on 3-4 of those pages. She was the bubbly character I mentioned earlier.
STORY / PLOT:
The first 2 chapters (6 pages) were entirely exposition. I was so mind-numbingly bored during the first 2 chapters that I almost DNF’d that early. There was no hook, nothing to get me interested in the story, nothing to suggest what the story would be about, and ALMOST nothing to suggest what any of the characters wanted or feared. Most of that massive info dumping wasn’t even relevant. It was mostly just the author explaining a bunch of nonsense about the world that had nothing to do with the following chapters. A SMALL chunk of those info dumps was relevant info, but I seriously wanted to close the book immediately after opening it because of how utterly boring all of that was.
The actual story didn’t begin until page 7 (Chapter 3), in case you’re wondering. But even then it was still chock full of needless exposition. Despite every chapter only being 3 pages, they all read very slow, and that’s coming from someone who prefers slower paced stories. The reason it was so slow was because the first 2 chapters were utterly meaningless, which of course set the entire book off on the wrong start. Those info-dumps should’ve been worked in as flashbacks later in the story, or the first 2 chapters should’ve been clearly labeled asa skippable prologue.
MY FINAL RATING:
Despite DNF-ing, I do not rate this book as 1 star. I’m giving it 2 stars for a couple reasons.
1) I just DNF’d another book that was significantly worse and gave it a 1-star. It doesn’t feel fair to lump Star Child in with that other atrocity. This book at least TRIED to be good. It failed, but it at least tried.
2) This book had a phenomenal magic system. The author really tried to explore it as much as possible (which is where all those unnecessary info-dumps came from), so it’s clear that he had some really great ideas for this story. Unfortunately, he spent far too much time trying to explain the magic, and not enough time developing the characters. But at least the magic system felt complete and fully realized. The magic was not half-assed.
3) Even though I got the impression that there weren’t any editors on this book (I don’t know if there were, just saying that it didn’t seem like it), the prose and pacing wasn’t bad enough to give it a 1-star.
Conclusion: Despite DNF-ing, this book wasn’t bad enough for the lowest rating. It had great ideas, and the author clearly put a lot of effort into developing the magic system (which was the selling point that lead me to buying it). Unfortunately, the bland characters and the lackluster prose irked me too much to continue reading, otherwise it might’ve gotten at least 3 stars.
I DNF’d Star Child on page 22. The premise and the magic system really spoke to me, so I was very excited to read this book. But the rest of this review will explain why the book disappointed me enough to DNF.
PROSE & WRITING STYLE:
Sometimes it’s confusing. Sometimes it’s hard to tell what’s going on and why it’s happening. Sometimes it feels like an entire sentence of context is missing, which is bizarre considering how much the author info-dumps and goes out of his way to try to explain things.
Also, this book seems to have been lacking a line editor. The author uses “as” far too often and uses lots of really long sentences. The prose in general is very awkward, like this was only the first or second draft of the novel, before it ever reached any editors, if it was sent out to editors at all. Despite how strong the premise was, the writing itself had me feeling like the author rushed the book to publication and skipped important editing steps.
CHARACTERS:
The characters as a whole are very bland. There’s enough characterization to tell them apart, but it’s just surface level things. Like the author thought “I want this character to be bubbly,” so he made the character vaguely bubbly but didn’t put any nuance or depth behind it. Stuff like that. Each character only really has one trait, maybe two, so they all read pretty flat. Perhaps I would’ve gotten more traits if I’d read further, but keep in mind that I was 22 pages in and not even the main character had more than 1-2 traits.
So that paired with the lackluster prose and the excessive info-dumps, I didn’t get any feel for who these people are and why I should care about them.
STAR CHILD (SC):
His name is stupid. I CAN believe that his mother truly didn’t give him a name and instead opted to call him Star Child. I SEEMS like a realistic thing a mother might do when the child’s existence is illegal, and therefore not exactly safe to give them a name. HOWEVER, Star Child goes to an actual school while having this dumb name. Despite the implied realism, in actuality I get the impression that the author just couldn’t decide on a name, so he went with the most obvious, infuriating pet name and stuck with it. I hate the name. Really really hate it. Especially considering all the other characters have regular names like Jessica, Emma, or Stephen. “Star Child” is tragically unique for no reason other than to be tragically unique. It really screwed up my suspension of belief.
I never got any real sense of who SC was, and I’d read 22 pages prior to DNF-ing. I understood that he wanted to be a real boy, that he wanted to be where the people are — meaning he wanted to not have to hide his powers and to be with all the other kids. But that’s it. In the first 7 chapters, not even that personality trait was really explored because the author is far too focused on exposition dumps and world building (most of which wasn’t even relevant info).
How SC feels about his mom is also very foggy. Up until the police came to take his mom away (not a spoiler, it’s literally in the blurb), I got the impression that SC doesn’t really care that much about his mother, because he knows that she’s the one holding him back from being with the other kids. But then when the police show up, all of sudden he’s a loving son trying to protect her? Huh? This shift in character came out of nowhere. Could’ve been easily fixed if the author focused less on world building and more on character development and character relationships. A vast majority of Mom’s dialogue has just been her teaching SC (and therefore the reader) about the world building.
STAR CHILD’S MOM:
Is she homeschooling SC or nah? The first two entire chapters were SC narrating about school, yet Mom kept teaching him (thus the reader) about stuff. It felt like she was homeschooling him, even though he wasn’t homeschooled, so I was all confused.
ARIAL:
I DNF’d before Arial could make any impact on the story, but it seemed like she was going to become the love interest and/or the new best friend. She was easily the most characterized character in all 22 pages I read, which is so bizarre because she was only on 3-4 of those pages. She was the bubbly character I mentioned earlier.
STORY / PLOT:
The first 2 chapters (6 pages) were entirely exposition. I was so mind-numbingly bored during the first 2 chapters that I almost DNF’d that early. There was no hook, nothing to get me interested in the story, nothing to suggest what the story would be about, and ALMOST nothing to suggest what any of the characters wanted or feared. Most of that massive info dumping wasn’t even relevant. It was mostly just the author explaining a bunch of nonsense about the world that had nothing to do with the following chapters. A SMALL chunk of those info dumps was relevant info, but I seriously wanted to close the book immediately after opening it because of how utterly boring all of that was.
The actual story didn’t begin until page 7 (Chapter 3), in case you’re wondering. But even then it was still chock full of needless exposition. Despite every chapter only being 3 pages, they all read very slow, and that’s coming from someone who prefers slower paced stories. The reason it was so slow was because the first 2 chapters were utterly meaningless, which of course set the entire book off on the wrong start. Those info-dumps should’ve been worked in as flashbacks later in the story, or the first 2 chapters should’ve been clearly labeled asa skippable prologue.
MY FINAL RATING:
Despite DNF-ing, I do not rate this book as 1 star. I’m giving it 2 stars for a couple reasons.
1) I just DNF’d another book that was significantly worse and gave it a 1-star. It doesn’t feel fair to lump Star Child in with that other atrocity. This book at least TRIED to be good. It failed, but it at least tried.
2) This book had a phenomenal magic system. The author really tried to explore it as much as possible (which is where all those unnecessary info-dumps came from), so it’s clear that he had some really great ideas for this story. Unfortunately, he spent far too much time trying to explain the magic, and not enough time developing the characters. But at least the magic system felt complete and fully realized. The magic was not half-assed.
3) Even though I got the impression that there weren’t any editors on this book (I don’t know if there were, just saying that it didn’t seem like it), the prose and pacing wasn’t bad enough to give it a 1-star.
Conclusion: Despite DNF-ing, this book wasn’t bad enough for the lowest rating. It had great ideas, and the author clearly put a lot of effort into developing the magic system (which was the selling point that lead me to buying it). Unfortunately, the bland characters and the lackluster prose irked me too much to continue reading, otherwise it might’ve gotten at least 3 stars.
February 12, 2018
Reader thoughts: Fun book, but not phenomenal. I enjoyed it and can't even point to anything it did wrong, just that I'm going to forget it quickly.
The plot was good. Hidden power, on the run, school for the powerful delinquents, principal lady with hidden agenda, magical brainwashing, police hunter with something to prove, and power competitions to rank students. The elements were there, and they were arranged in a new, fun way. The book never dragged, although I did get annoyed that SC let himself get brainwashed and distracted from his goal.
SC was a likeable character. I rooted for him. He wasn't very clever, though, which I wanted. He didn't figure out lots of new uses for his powers in delicate and creative ways, which I was expecting.
He also didn't seem fully fleshed out as a character. He makes friends within a day of his new school, but he makes no mention of the people at his old school, where he has been for his entire life. Seriously? What's with a character's existence starting on page 1?
Now, granted, there was a first chapter intro piece (maybe a prologue?) with SC as a child, but the rest of the book still didn't reference his life before he met that one flying girl. What were his hopes, his dreams, his friends, his fears? Did he have a life before the book started?
Writer thoughts: I know backstory can slow down a book's pace, but it fleshes out the character so much better that it's worth it (unless you're writing a short story or a horror story or something and have to keep the pacing to a sprint).
Benefits to backstory and referencing a character's life before page one?
Creates character depth
Helps reader identify with the character
Deepens motivation
Raises stakes
As it was, SC lost his mom on, like, page 20, but it didn't feel as big of a deal as if SC had thought about his mother later in the book. He wanted to rescue her, but he never relived memories of her or where they'd been or what they'd done. Did they celebrate holidays together? Did she ever scrimp and save to buy him nice shoes? Did he ever help her make a favorite meal?
The plot was good. Hidden power, on the run, school for the powerful delinquents, principal lady with hidden agenda, magical brainwashing, police hunter with something to prove, and power competitions to rank students. The elements were there, and they were arranged in a new, fun way. The book never dragged, although I did get annoyed that SC let himself get brainwashed and distracted from his goal.
SC was a likeable character. I rooted for him. He wasn't very clever, though, which I wanted. He didn't figure out lots of new uses for his powers in delicate and creative ways, which I was expecting.
He also didn't seem fully fleshed out as a character. He makes friends within a day of his new school, but he makes no mention of the people at his old school, where he has been for his entire life. Seriously? What's with a character's existence starting on page 1?
Now, granted, there was a first chapter intro piece (maybe a prologue?) with SC as a child, but the rest of the book still didn't reference his life before he met that one flying girl. What were his hopes, his dreams, his friends, his fears? Did he have a life before the book started?
Writer thoughts: I know backstory can slow down a book's pace, but it fleshes out the character so much better that it's worth it (unless you're writing a short story or a horror story or something and have to keep the pacing to a sprint).
Benefits to backstory and referencing a character's life before page one?
Creates character depth
Helps reader identify with the character
Deepens motivation
Raises stakes
As it was, SC lost his mom on, like, page 20, but it didn't feel as big of a deal as if SC had thought about his mother later in the book. He wanted to rescue her, but he never relived memories of her or where they'd been or what they'd done. Did they celebrate holidays together? Did she ever scrimp and save to buy him nice shoes? Did he ever help her make a favorite meal?
June 10, 2019
Nothing terrible, nothing great
The thing that I dislike the most about this book is that it is taking on a very complex enemy (the state, and all of this world's modern society and powerful people) but treating it as if it's as simple as beating up the bad guys. Its not.
Should have taken some more cues from 1984 and hit hard ideas if they were going to go in this direction.
The thing that I dislike the most about this book is that it is taking on a very complex enemy (the state, and all of this world's modern society and powerful people) but treating it as if it's as simple as beating up the bad guys. Its not.
Should have taken some more cues from 1984 and hit hard ideas if they were going to go in this direction.
September 25, 2024
People are in fact still good at writing superhero stories.
TL; DR: A good superhero story that doesn't offer anything new, but does have a grand world and solid characters.
The world is full of so many dang superhero stories; I blame Marvel for the inundation of the genre. Unfortunately, most of them suck or are mediocre at the very best. Star Child is a better. The work that Petracci has put into this work is rather impressive. His efforts to craft a fantastic world is pretty impressive. There are a few downsides to the story, but realistically, the product as a whole is solid and I'm glad that the story continues, though I have my doubts as to the sustainability of the story.
Characters: They're all pretty enjoyable; probably the strongest element of Petracci's world, the children and adults of Star Child pop off the page and give an excellent glimpse into the way the world turns. The biggest weakness of the book is also here though, where some decisions or emotional responses are really out of character for individuals who had previously proven themselves functioning human beings. It's just a really odd sequence, and though this generally was gotten over with early in the book, those kind of character creation and expression flaws stick with me for a story and it's hard for me to get past sometimes.
Setting: While there are only a couple of different settings in the story, they're used pretty effectively. From the city streets to the undercellar of the school, everything has a purpose and character, especially the arena and the towers. Though used effectively, I don't believe it was to the fullest potential, but it was well-done nonetheless.
Story: As I stated before: nothing new under the sun. You'll find the same tried and true story of some powerful kid who doesn't know his potential or doesn't want to reveal it and just wants to beat the bad guys. A huge plus for this series though is its world-building. It never feels like anything is done for convenience or plot armor and the derivation of powers is exceptionally well outlined. There's also an insane amount of variety in abilities, as is usually the case for superhero stories, but it's not overwhelming, as everything is pretty neatly organized. I'd bet my bottom dollar that Petracci either has an entire journal filled with statistics and outlines of the rules of power or has crafted an elaborate ledger in his mind. Either way, it's something to be proud of and certainly something I'm happy to praise.
Writing: It's good. I don't have much more to say in this regard. The only critique I have is that simultaneously the characters seem both younger and older than their actual age; the young teen age bracket seems out of place with both their maturity levels for certain situations being farther above, and their understanding in others significantly lower. I also read a couple of reviews where people complained that it was another story of "smart kids best even smarter adults somehow by magic," and I think that's a massive injustice to this story. The plots and planning put forth by the kids aren't anything someone with reasonable, child intelligence couldn't come up with, and the mistakes of the adults seem more based on ego than stupidity. I found it a very believable plotline and enjoyed my time with the kids of the reformation center.
Star Child isn't anything meant to revolutionize the genre, it's a great idea, a good baseline for a story and a world that's accessible to everybody and welcomes a lot of others into its fold without any sort of barrier to understanding. I'd argue that in itself is a feat of writing. Secondarily, as I hadn't mentioned it earlier, the narrator for the audiobook is incredible. It might be the best solo performance of one that I've seen and I cannot sing his praises enough. I'm glad to have gotten into Petracci's work and have already started on book two. It's a great thing to be able to enjoy on long car rides or during work that I'm sure was bolstered by the excellent vocal performance. I can't wait to see more powers, worlds, and characters that I'm sure I'll get attached to.
4.1 🌟
TL; DR: A good superhero story that doesn't offer anything new, but does have a grand world and solid characters.
The world is full of so many dang superhero stories; I blame Marvel for the inundation of the genre. Unfortunately, most of them suck or are mediocre at the very best. Star Child is a better. The work that Petracci has put into this work is rather impressive. His efforts to craft a fantastic world is pretty impressive. There are a few downsides to the story, but realistically, the product as a whole is solid and I'm glad that the story continues, though I have my doubts as to the sustainability of the story.
Characters: They're all pretty enjoyable; probably the strongest element of Petracci's world, the children and adults of Star Child pop off the page and give an excellent glimpse into the way the world turns. The biggest weakness of the book is also here though, where some decisions or emotional responses are really out of character for individuals who had previously proven themselves functioning human beings. It's just a really odd sequence, and though this generally was gotten over with early in the book, those kind of character creation and expression flaws stick with me for a story and it's hard for me to get past sometimes.
Setting: While there are only a couple of different settings in the story, they're used pretty effectively. From the city streets to the undercellar of the school, everything has a purpose and character, especially the arena and the towers. Though used effectively, I don't believe it was to the fullest potential, but it was well-done nonetheless.
Story: As I stated before: nothing new under the sun. You'll find the same tried and true story of some powerful kid who doesn't know his potential or doesn't want to reveal it and just wants to beat the bad guys. A huge plus for this series though is its world-building. It never feels like anything is done for convenience or plot armor and the derivation of powers is exceptionally well outlined. There's also an insane amount of variety in abilities, as is usually the case for superhero stories, but it's not overwhelming, as everything is pretty neatly organized. I'd bet my bottom dollar that Petracci either has an entire journal filled with statistics and outlines of the rules of power or has crafted an elaborate ledger in his mind. Either way, it's something to be proud of and certainly something I'm happy to praise.
Writing: It's good. I don't have much more to say in this regard. The only critique I have is that simultaneously the characters seem both younger and older than their actual age; the young teen age bracket seems out of place with both their maturity levels for certain situations being farther above, and their understanding in others significantly lower. I also read a couple of reviews where people complained that it was another story of "smart kids best even smarter adults somehow by magic," and I think that's a massive injustice to this story. The plots and planning put forth by the kids aren't anything someone with reasonable, child intelligence couldn't come up with, and the mistakes of the adults seem more based on ego than stupidity. I found it a very believable plotline and enjoyed my time with the kids of the reformation center.
Star Child isn't anything meant to revolutionize the genre, it's a great idea, a good baseline for a story and a world that's accessible to everybody and welcomes a lot of others into its fold without any sort of barrier to understanding. I'd argue that in itself is a feat of writing. Secondarily, as I hadn't mentioned it earlier, the narrator for the audiobook is incredible. It might be the best solo performance of one that I've seen and I cannot sing his praises enough. I'm glad to have gotten into Petracci's work and have already started on book two. It's a great thing to be able to enjoy on long car rides or during work that I'm sure was bolstered by the excellent vocal performance. I can't wait to see more powers, worlds, and characters that I'm sure I'll get attached to.
4.1 🌟
January 3, 2018
This was my first Sci-fi book and although it's not the genre I am used to reading I enjoyed it.
I got the audiobook version and the narration of Will M. Watt is great, he manages to get different voices and accents for every character and makes the book really enjoyable specially when singing Siri's lines and manage to hold my attention wondering what was going to happen with SC and everyone else.
It was interesting all the powers and how depending on their place of birth is the power they got but it also was a little bit confusing at times specially with SC but I was able to enjoy it and now I want more.
I would really love to read the second book when it comes out because I want to know more about the powers and the other characters.
I got the audiobook version and the narration of Will M. Watt is great, he manages to get different voices and accents for every character and makes the book really enjoyable specially when singing Siri's lines and manage to hold my attention wondering what was going to happen with SC and everyone else.
It was interesting all the powers and how depending on their place of birth is the power they got but it also was a little bit confusing at times specially with SC but I was able to enjoy it and now I want more.
I would really love to read the second book when it comes out because I want to know more about the powers and the other characters.
January 22, 2022
Had a fantastic time reading this one! Started reading it years ago when it was on the subreddit /r/writingprompts! It was so successful there it got crowdfunded to be a fully fledged book.
The premise of the book is that in its world, people can develop superpowers based on the location of their birth. Like developing heating/fire powers if born near volcano, or flying/aerial powers if born in a plane. Even excellent cooking skills in a certain cuisine if born in a place like Paris or Rome (I found that particularly funny). Society has developed around these powers, and the government has setup restrictions on where people are legally allowed to give birth, and failure to register a birth can result in death.
Anyway, would strongly recommend this to anyone who likes dystopian/science fiction themes.
The premise of the book is that in its world, people can develop superpowers based on the location of their birth. Like developing heating/fire powers if born near volcano, or flying/aerial powers if born in a plane. Even excellent cooking skills in a certain cuisine if born in a place like Paris or Rome (I found that particularly funny). Society has developed around these powers, and the government has setup restrictions on where people are legally allowed to give birth, and failure to register a birth can result in death.
Anyway, would strongly recommend this to anyone who likes dystopian/science fiction themes.
November 6, 2017
Good book for YA
Not for me and personally if I were the MC I would’ve used my power to kill everyone who got in my way once I knew what I wanted. His power can be so OP but he never uses it to destroy everything. Idk maybe I read the book wrong but it sounds like he could’ve killed everyone anytime he wanted to.
Not for me and personally if I were the MC I would’ve used my power to kill everyone who got in my way once I knew what I wanted. His power can be so OP but he never uses it to destroy everything. Idk maybe I read the book wrong but it sounds like he could’ve killed everyone anytime he wanted to.
May 10, 2018
This was another book that I found on Reddit. I know, what a great source for books. I was browsing a word prompt subreddit, and I saw the prompt “Everyone has a superpower based on the topography of where they were born (IE: Mountains, deserts, etc.). You are the first person to be born in space.” This sounded really interesting, so I looked into it and I saw that the top comment had actually made a book out of it! Just like the other book I got from Reddit, I’m very happy I read this.
The world in the book is just like ours, except that people with powers have been integrated into everyday life. The powers you get are based on where you were from. These range from simple flight to being able to manipulate the emotions of those around you. There are better places than others, for example, a volcano is more desirable than a busy city. We follow Star Child, or SC. He, obviously, was born in space. With this comes the power to manipulate space to create something akin to mini black holes. His father was never in his life, and his mother gets taken really early on. After brooding, he goes to a rehabilitation facility for troublemakers because he wanted to learn to control his power and he was told that they do that. From then on, it sorta becomes a school story but better. There’s this odd singing that he hears every night. Now he’ll do anything to not become part of the bottom class.
One of my favorite things about this book is the setting, which is ironic because the author didn’t even think of it. However, he does do a great job at expanding upon the prompt. The way that he’s integrated the powers into “real” life makes sense. This might be immature, but I also really liked the powers of SC. He is a really powerful person, and the black hole esque power is simply cool. Another thing that I enjoyed was the supporting characters. The love interest and the friends all felt like they were real people, and the main antagonist is certainly evil.
There was not all much that I didn’t like. I would say that the ending leaves much to be desired, even if it does complete the temporary story. Another thing that I didn’t like is that because of the powers of SC, he could’ve just destroyed everything in his path. There is very little that can stop him due to the power that he has under his control. I also think that this book is probably not that dense. You can see everything that is happening without too much thought, so I would not recommend if you want something that makes you think. However, I enjoyed it, and I think that you will too.
The world in the book is just like ours, except that people with powers have been integrated into everyday life. The powers you get are based on where you were from. These range from simple flight to being able to manipulate the emotions of those around you. There are better places than others, for example, a volcano is more desirable than a busy city. We follow Star Child, or SC. He, obviously, was born in space. With this comes the power to manipulate space to create something akin to mini black holes. His father was never in his life, and his mother gets taken really early on. After brooding, he goes to a rehabilitation facility for troublemakers because he wanted to learn to control his power and he was told that they do that. From then on, it sorta becomes a school story but better. There’s this odd singing that he hears every night. Now he’ll do anything to not become part of the bottom class.
One of my favorite things about this book is the setting, which is ironic because the author didn’t even think of it. However, he does do a great job at expanding upon the prompt. The way that he’s integrated the powers into “real” life makes sense. This might be immature, but I also really liked the powers of SC. He is a really powerful person, and the black hole esque power is simply cool. Another thing that I enjoyed was the supporting characters. The love interest and the friends all felt like they were real people, and the main antagonist is certainly evil.
There was not all much that I didn’t like. I would say that the ending leaves much to be desired, even if it does complete the temporary story. Another thing that I didn’t like is that because of the powers of SC, he could’ve just destroyed everything in his path. There is very little that can stop him due to the power that he has under his control. I also think that this book is probably not that dense. You can see everything that is happening without too much thought, so I would not recommend if you want something that makes you think. However, I enjoyed it, and I think that you will too.
November 13, 2018
The best thing about this book is the power system. It's unique and introduces powers that are fun to think about and play around with.
There are some good plot twists that kept it fresh and give it a certain shock value and tone that I enjoyed. But it did leave me wondering a few times who the audience for this book is, since it seems like a young adult novel with some very adult moments. Plus I thought it would be a more challenging read for an older audience, but it's geared towards teens.
The final fight seems to drag on and had some very confusing moments. I'm still not totally sure how the main character won his second to last fight. Also, temperature must work differently then I remember, because somehow metal can turn orange and people are fine.
Overall, it wasn't bad. Only found two typos, which isn't bad compared to other books I've found recently. But this book isn't written for me, and I'm not sure if I would recommend it to anyone.
There are some good plot twists that kept it fresh and give it a certain shock value and tone that I enjoyed. But it did leave me wondering a few times who the audience for this book is, since it seems like a young adult novel with some very adult moments. Plus I thought it would be a more challenging read for an older audience, but it's geared towards teens.
The final fight seems to drag on and had some very confusing moments. I'm still not totally sure how the main character won his second to last fight. Also, temperature must work differently then I remember, because somehow metal can turn orange and people are fine.
Overall, it wasn't bad. Only found two typos, which isn't bad compared to other books I've found recently. But this book isn't written for me, and I'm not sure if I would recommend it to anyone.
May 2, 2019
Harry Potter Genre
It's fun. It's novel. Original. It's well written. So why only a four star rating? It runs into a problem when any book introduces a lot of characters too fast - it's hard to keep them straight. Also, the magic, although never called by that name, is almost eerie and dream-like. Especially at the end of the book with the machine-time-warp-travel thingy. There are a couple of odd holes in the narrative (pun intended). He breaks into a room by creating a huge hole in the floor. Didn't anyone notice a huge hole in the bathroom? Anyway, with some flexibility and imagination this is a fun story in the Harry Potter genre.
It's fun. It's novel. Original. It's well written. So why only a four star rating? It runs into a problem when any book introduces a lot of characters too fast - it's hard to keep them straight. Also, the magic, although never called by that name, is almost eerie and dream-like. Especially at the end of the book with the machine-time-warp-travel thingy. There are a couple of odd holes in the narrative (pun intended). He breaks into a room by creating a huge hole in the floor. Didn't anyone notice a huge hole in the bathroom? Anyway, with some flexibility and imagination this is a fun story in the Harry Potter genre.
November 17, 2022
Like many people, I'm not a big fan of YA, probably because I'm outside the target demographic, but I try not to let things like that restrict me. I'm in my thirties, but I still love Shonen manga and Avatar: The Last Airbender. It can't all be nostalgia either, because I'm still discovering new Shonen and young audience material that I enjoy. I don't want to be that person who drags on YA, but . . . it freaking sucks, and people can't say that I haven't given it a fair chance.
I thought this one would be different - so the story goes. A modern fantasy where people have special powers dependent on the geographical location of their birth? The MC was illegally born in space? Great cover art? Sign me up -
And then cross my name right off the list. Once again YA proves to me how juvenile it is, although the target audience is 'young adults,' I was reading far more mature books at that age than the way the teenage characters were portrayed in this book.
The MC barely has a personality. He was raised in an isolated environment, but is somehow clever and confident whenever is needed, despite never going through an internal struggle. Side characters fair no better, and the super obvious love interest he has no chemistry with is written as more of a twelve year old brat than a fifteen year old girl (although sometimes irl there isn't much difference).
The world building couldn't have been more vague, giving me no foundation for the random bits of seemingly irrelevant information occasionally thrown my way. Toward the end, one of the 'bad guys' starts monologuing about his motivations. He mentions the basics: government, society, blah, blah. The one that got me though was corruption.
I think this was the moment that really put the nail in this books coffin. Corruption? The only corruption I've seen is the facility he works for. And yeah, often times, "villians" have misguided or straight up wrong ideologies, but the problem with Star Child is that we're given absolutely no world building to indicate why he would even think this way? I don't know anything about the government or this worlds society, or where corruption exists because we never see any of it. All we get to see is the inside of the rehabilitation facility, and it's even worse!
I want to say that I understand very little about the facility, but I think it's more accurate to say that I understand the facility, it just doesn't make any damn sense. I don't care if Siri has a way of controlling the students or how much they think they know about the student's powers; from what I was reading, the place only has like five teachers and two security guards? And this is a secure facility? Oh sure, they have a force field around the place, but again, they're teaching delinquents with super powers! Or at least I think they're delinquents? I thought some of the students were leftover from the academy closing down, but I just don't know. The book isn't really clear.
And SC's mom! You're trying to keep your son and his power hidden at all cost but you name him SC? You name your son Star Child and expect no one to wonder what SC stands for? Of course no one does, because every character is too dense to question anything.
Super powers based on geographical location sounds pretty good, but I guess I just prefer my books on the more mature side. It's a real shame though, because this concept has a lot of promise, but you can't expect YA to ever do anything interesting with good ideas.
I'm giving it 2 stars because if I'm being honest, it's ok, and I do have to remind myself that I'm not necessarily the target audience. However, I am severely disappointed that this concept wasn't better executed.
I thought this one would be different - so the story goes. A modern fantasy where people have special powers dependent on the geographical location of their birth? The MC was illegally born in space? Great cover art? Sign me up -
And then cross my name right off the list. Once again YA proves to me how juvenile it is, although the target audience is 'young adults,' I was reading far more mature books at that age than the way the teenage characters were portrayed in this book.
The MC barely has a personality. He was raised in an isolated environment, but is somehow clever and confident whenever is needed, despite never going through an internal struggle. Side characters fair no better, and the super obvious love interest he has no chemistry with is written as more of a twelve year old brat than a fifteen year old girl (although sometimes irl there isn't much difference).
The world building couldn't have been more vague, giving me no foundation for the random bits of seemingly irrelevant information occasionally thrown my way. Toward the end, one of the 'bad guys' starts monologuing about his motivations. He mentions the basics: government, society, blah, blah. The one that got me though was corruption.
I think this was the moment that really put the nail in this books coffin. Corruption? The only corruption I've seen is the facility he works for. And yeah, often times, "villians" have misguided or straight up wrong ideologies, but the problem with Star Child is that we're given absolutely no world building to indicate why he would even think this way? I don't know anything about the government or this worlds society, or where corruption exists because we never see any of it. All we get to see is the inside of the rehabilitation facility, and it's even worse!
I want to say that I understand very little about the facility, but I think it's more accurate to say that I understand the facility, it just doesn't make any damn sense. I don't care if Siri has a way of controlling the students or how much they think they know about the student's powers; from what I was reading, the place only has like five teachers and two security guards? And this is a secure facility? Oh sure, they have a force field around the place, but again, they're teaching delinquents with super powers! Or at least I think they're delinquents? I thought some of the students were leftover from the academy closing down, but I just don't know. The book isn't really clear.
And SC's mom! You're trying to keep your son and his power hidden at all cost but you name him SC? You name your son Star Child and expect no one to wonder what SC stands for? Of course no one does, because every character is too dense to question anything.
Super powers based on geographical location sounds pretty good, but I guess I just prefer my books on the more mature side. It's a real shame though, because this concept has a lot of promise, but you can't expect YA to ever do anything interesting with good ideas.
I'm giving it 2 stars because if I'm being honest, it's ok, and I do have to remind myself that I'm not necessarily the target audience. However, I am severely disappointed that this concept wasn't better executed.
July 7, 2023
The summary really had me hooked, I was so excited to read this story. Imagine my disappointment when I finished the book and all I could think about was 'finally I finished'.
I sooo would've absolutely loved to love this book, I wanted to love it, but it was just so shallow, not fleshed out, and maybe even boring. How it could be boring when the premise of the book is so interesting? For me this was because of multiple problems.
•••
1. Weak Main Character and characters
The main character felt unrefined at best. I can't remember a single thing that I could describe him as because there was nothing worth remembering. He felt like a mannequin being moved around having no contribution and his only interesting factor being his powers. Even those, you expected so much more considering the emphasis put on them throughout the whole story. The author randomly made him think or do something bc it was ot convenient.
Other characters are not fleshed out. They feel like AI generated people with a single personality trait to go off of.
2. Pacing
The pacing in this book makes it so hard to keep reading. So much detail yet not enough in crucial areas leaving the reader confused as to why/how the character got there in the first place. The characters would have a big plot point be rushed, yet something as mundane and boring as a moment in class to explain specific powers is used in the longest chapters. I expected more about his time alone on the streets after his mother was taken. I expected more about finding his mother and defeating his opposition in the climax. I did not expect to have such long fight scenes for characters COMPLETELY irrelevant to the plot. Whole chapters dedicated to characters only mentioned in said chapters.
3. Plot and character drive
The characters were following the plot, the plot was not following the characters. Everything that happened was because they met just the right people and were at just the right place. The reason for all characters to do what they were doing was very 1 dimensional. You never read anything more the simplest of explanations and in turn the plot feels like you're being taken from stage to stage with no consequence or risks. The plot feels like someone wrote what they wanted to happen in bullet points but didn't write blending chapters or had GOOD reasons as to why this happened in the plot. Randomness basically.
•••
Idk I wanted to like this story I really did, the summary I first read that made me really want to read it was a great hook, unique plot. He was illegally born in space and his mother hid him on a space shuttle? Awesome. Then you get to it and your expectations are literally crushed beyond belief. The mother doesn't feel like the mother in the way that in other books, siblings talk or fight in a way that makes you cringe. SC's friends have no emotional connection to the reader making you not care about their stakes or their problems. And 'Star child'??? Really ? I thought it was a nickname.
SC does a lot of stuff he thinks or does bc it was convenient to the author. He suddenly likes Ariel now? It was expected, but horrible execution. You'd think that being 1st person would give you small hints here and there. No, he just suddenly thinks about her in a weirdly sensual manor after not talking or thinking about her basically the whole rehab arc. The reader is just as new to plans and actions of the characters as the characters are.
I like the premise and I want this to be better than anything this seems like an awesome read had It been fleshed out and maybe gone through some editors editing ? I know this is self published thought so I'm giving it leeway.
S m h
I sooo would've absolutely loved to love this book, I wanted to love it, but it was just so shallow, not fleshed out, and maybe even boring. How it could be boring when the premise of the book is so interesting? For me this was because of multiple problems.
•••
1. Weak Main Character and characters
The main character felt unrefined at best. I can't remember a single thing that I could describe him as because there was nothing worth remembering. He felt like a mannequin being moved around having no contribution and his only interesting factor being his powers. Even those, you expected so much more considering the emphasis put on them throughout the whole story. The author randomly made him think or do something bc it was ot convenient.
Other characters are not fleshed out. They feel like AI generated people with a single personality trait to go off of.
2. Pacing
The pacing in this book makes it so hard to keep reading. So much detail yet not enough in crucial areas leaving the reader confused as to why/how the character got there in the first place. The characters would have a big plot point be rushed, yet something as mundane and boring as a moment in class to explain specific powers is used in the longest chapters. I expected more about his time alone on the streets after his mother was taken. I expected more about finding his mother and defeating his opposition in the climax. I did not expect to have such long fight scenes for characters COMPLETELY irrelevant to the plot. Whole chapters dedicated to characters only mentioned in said chapters.
3. Plot and character drive
The characters were following the plot, the plot was not following the characters. Everything that happened was because they met just the right people and were at just the right place. The reason for all characters to do what they were doing was very 1 dimensional. You never read anything more the simplest of explanations and in turn the plot feels like you're being taken from stage to stage with no consequence or risks. The plot feels like someone wrote what they wanted to happen in bullet points but didn't write blending chapters or had GOOD reasons as to why this happened in the plot. Randomness basically.
•••
Idk I wanted to like this story I really did, the summary I first read that made me really want to read it was a great hook, unique plot. He was illegally born in space and his mother hid him on a space shuttle? Awesome. Then you get to it and your expectations are literally crushed beyond belief. The mother doesn't feel like the mother in the way that in other books, siblings talk or fight in a way that makes you cringe. SC's friends have no emotional connection to the reader making you not care about their stakes or their problems. And 'Star child'??? Really ? I thought it was a nickname.
SC does a lot of stuff he thinks or does bc it was convenient to the author. He suddenly likes Ariel now? It was expected, but horrible execution. You'd think that being 1st person would give you small hints here and there. No, he just suddenly thinks about her in a weirdly sensual manor after not talking or thinking about her basically the whole rehab arc. The reader is just as new to plans and actions of the characters as the characters are.
I like the premise and I want this to be better than anything this seems like an awesome read had It been fleshed out and maybe gone through some editors editing ? I know this is self published thought so I'm giving it leeway.
S m h
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 3, 2025
I got the feeling that this author is someone who is very new to writing. It's not mentioned or marketed as a YA novel, but it definitely is YA.
The main idea is solid, and some (but not al) of the characters got the backstory needed to justify their parts in the play. The sheer NUMBER of different types of magic and the power levels within each type is a bit much. It's made clear that this is not really a school, but basically Juvenile Hall for magical teens-none of whom wants to be there. Which poses dozens of questions.
Living in a cold room and sleeping on the floor while receiving inadequate food and rest, you'd think some of the more enterprising individuals with useful skills like teleportation, mimicry, and a dozen other talents, would take every opportunity to steal or sneak what they needed to live, but this possibility is ignored.
Considering the sheer power and abilities of some of the mostly street kids in there-incarceration under these conditions just seems improbable. Mind control only goes so far when survival is at stake; as demonstrated with Blake's little almost-jump from the upper floor.
Then there's Siri. He describes her (who I would classify as a type of Siren), as a powerful mind controller whose singing makes slaves out of (most of) the students.
She had to KNOW which talents would be resistant to her, but this apparently blindsided her? What kind of mastermind hasn't considered every angle when aiming for world domination? It's the little details like this that need work.
Otherwise, this is promising start to a series-it just needs tidying up for coherency. I struggled to place this school America, Britain, or Australia; Just when I think I have it nailed down to the UK, he mentions Congress....
The main idea is solid, and some (but not al) of the characters got the backstory needed to justify their parts in the play. The sheer NUMBER of different types of magic and the power levels within each type is a bit much. It's made clear that this is not really a school, but basically Juvenile Hall for magical teens-none of whom wants to be there. Which poses dozens of questions.
Living in a cold room and sleeping on the floor while receiving inadequate food and rest, you'd think some of the more enterprising individuals with useful skills like teleportation, mimicry, and a dozen other talents, would take every opportunity to steal or sneak what they needed to live, but this possibility is ignored.
Considering the sheer power and abilities of some of the mostly street kids in there-incarceration under these conditions just seems improbable. Mind control only goes so far when survival is at stake; as demonstrated with Blake's little almost-jump from the upper floor.
Then there's Siri. He describes her (who I would classify as a type of Siren), as a powerful mind controller whose singing makes slaves out of (most of) the students.
She had to KNOW which talents would be resistant to her, but this apparently blindsided her? What kind of mastermind hasn't considered every angle when aiming for world domination? It's the little details like this that need work.
Otherwise, this is promising start to a series-it just needs tidying up for coherency. I struggled to place this school America, Britain, or Australia; Just when I think I have it nailed down to the UK, he mentions Congress....
November 29, 2017
Addictive reading
Its rare for a book to hold my attention sufficiently to set aside other things... this was one such. Mr Petracci has managed to create an entirely new and original reason for superpowers. Geography and circumstance govern power, people born near volvanoes tend to have firepowers etc.
The title of the book is probably the weakpoint sounding a bit 1970's flowerpowery...don't be fooled...in context it makes sense.
in tone this is similar to the upcoming new mutants film. A police state and something darker than the police state of which we see only the tip of the iceberg, running a 'school' that prioritises obedience...permanent life long obedience.
Our protagonist is unique due to where he was born, and frankly I'd be a bit worried about his power getting out of hand... if it did, there wouldn't be much left! That said its interesting to see the mechanics of this particular power..I wonder if the author will fiddle with time dilation and other powers that might be inferred from 'SC's unique 'geo' and one has to wonder if being the only one means he gets 'all' the potential power from that location rather than just part of it (as would be normal for this universe).
Its rare for a book to hold my attention sufficiently to set aside other things... this was one such. Mr Petracci has managed to create an entirely new and original reason for superpowers. Geography and circumstance govern power, people born near volvanoes tend to have firepowers etc.
The title of the book is probably the weakpoint sounding a bit 1970's flowerpowery...don't be fooled...in context it makes sense.
in tone this is similar to the upcoming new mutants film. A police state and something darker than the police state of which we see only the tip of the iceberg, running a 'school' that prioritises obedience...permanent life long obedience.
Our protagonist is unique due to where he was born, and frankly I'd be a bit worried about his power getting out of hand... if it did, there wouldn't be much left! That said its interesting to see the mechanics of this particular power..I wonder if the author will fiddle with time dilation and other powers that might be inferred from 'SC's unique 'geo' and one has to wonder if being the only one means he gets 'all' the potential power from that location rather than just part of it (as would be normal for this universe).
December 7, 2017
Great surprise. The book is a coming of age novel. While there are many familiar elements typical of the genre, the novel is well written and executed. The main character SC, lives in modern world not unlike our own, but is not burdened with with real world legacy or current happenings. They are in a fictional country, in a fictional world shaped by the existence and industry of real human super powers. The book is better b/c of this, everything just fits and it helps the reader suspend disbelief.
Minor spoilers: As for the plot, SC starts off on the war path, and he stumbles around like many juvenile characters, but his plotting and scheming is second to none and he eventually outmaneuvers his enemies rather nicely. The author shows that despite having the strongest power in the world, SC is very vulnerable to his enemies and he finally makes his play, it is part pure comedy and edge of your seat roller coaster to the end.
Again, a great surprise and I will be following this series closely. Greatly recommended!
Minor spoilers: As for the plot, SC starts off on the war path, and he stumbles around like many juvenile characters, but his plotting and scheming is second to none and he eventually outmaneuvers his enemies rather nicely. The author shows that despite having the strongest power in the world, SC is very vulnerable to his enemies and he finally makes his play, it is part pure comedy and edge of your seat roller coaster to the end.
Again, a great surprise and I will be following this series closely. Greatly recommended!
July 22, 2022
Pretty okay
I liked it.
Not the best book I've ever read, and can get a little cringey from time to time. But those moments are brief, and not very bad.
The world is really interesting, kind of a medium-hard magic system, somewhat similar to Mistborn, but with way less restriction. I'm hoping future books will have more lore, for what is apparently an alternate earth.
I'm looking forward to seeing how the author grows in his writing. I already like the fact that he can incorporate some gritty, grim dark elements without trying to use it as a crutch to try and build interest. And the protagonist is unique and powerful in this world, without feeling like much of a Mary Sue.
The author is WAY better at writing books, than I am at writing reviews, and I'm looking forward to the rest of this series.
I liked it.
Not the best book I've ever read, and can get a little cringey from time to time. But those moments are brief, and not very bad.
The world is really interesting, kind of a medium-hard magic system, somewhat similar to Mistborn, but with way less restriction. I'm hoping future books will have more lore, for what is apparently an alternate earth.
I'm looking forward to seeing how the author grows in his writing. I already like the fact that he can incorporate some gritty, grim dark elements without trying to use it as a crutch to try and build interest. And the protagonist is unique and powerful in this world, without feeling like much of a Mary Sue.
The author is WAY better at writing books, than I am at writing reviews, and I'm looking forward to the rest of this series.
March 8, 2021
This book is highly imaginative. The powers described within it are unlike anything you'll have ever heard of, and the beginning chapters are fantastic — after chapter 2, I was thoroughly immersed and kept reading to understand the power system. I can't remember the last time a book's setting gripped me in the way that Star Child's did.
That being said, the middle portion of the book takes this imagination away. It becomes a run-of-the-mill story about the chosen one trying to navigate a high school setting, complete with love interests, bullies and vengeful teachers. These middle chapters were a slog at times.
Still, it's a fantastic premise with a satisfying conclusion. And a quick read so I would recommend it for the world-building if nothing else.
That being said, the middle portion of the book takes this imagination away. It becomes a run-of-the-mill story about the chosen one trying to navigate a high school setting, complete with love interests, bullies and vengeful teachers. These middle chapters were a slog at times.
Still, it's a fantastic premise with a satisfying conclusion. And a quick read so I would recommend it for the world-building if nothing else.
May 3, 2021
This book is highly imaginative. The powers described within it are unlike anything you'll have ever heard of, and the beginning chapters are fantastic — after chapter 2, I was thoroughly immersed and kept reading to understand the power system. I can't remember the last time a book's setting gripped me in the way that Star Child's did.
That being said, the middle portion of the book takes this imagination away. It becomes a run-of-the-mill story about the chosen one trying to navigate a high school setting, complete with love interests, bullies and vengeful teachers. These middle chapters were a slog at times.
Still, it's a fantastic premise with a satisfying conclusion. And a quick read so I would recommend it for the world-building if nothing else.
That being said, the middle portion of the book takes this imagination away. It becomes a run-of-the-mill story about the chosen one trying to navigate a high school setting, complete with love interests, bullies and vengeful teachers. These middle chapters were a slog at times.
Still, it's a fantastic premise with a satisfying conclusion. And a quick read so I would recommend it for the world-building if nothing else.
August 17, 2025
Leo Petracci's Star Child, a novel twist on urban fantasy and superheroes, introduces the "Places of Power" series. It features a unique magic system where abilities are tied to one's place of birth. The narrative centers around SC, the first person born in space, who is forced into hiding by his new and unique abilities until he becomes a hero after his mother is abducted. Memorable characters, a captivating school setting that adds complexity, and inventive world-building propel the plot's rapid pacing. As SC negotiates a society that both fears and wants his skills, tension is created by Petracci's lucid and engrossing writing style. Star Child is a recommended book for readers who enjoy superhero-themed coming-of-age tales.
May 25, 2018
Original
A fun and engaging story with lots of originality! Only reason I’m giving it 4 stars instead of 5 is that it reads a little choppy in places. Still, that’s a very minor thing, and I definitely recommend reading this book. You’ll love it. After a while it gets hard for a bookworm like me to find more high quality original fantasy reading, so this was an unexpected gem. The plot really lived up to its potential (which sadly isn’t always the case), and the premise, characters, and superpower applications were all awesome and well-crafted. I am looking forward to book 2!
A fun and engaging story with lots of originality! Only reason I’m giving it 4 stars instead of 5 is that it reads a little choppy in places. Still, that’s a very minor thing, and I definitely recommend reading this book. You’ll love it. After a while it gets hard for a bookworm like me to find more high quality original fantasy reading, so this was an unexpected gem. The plot really lived up to its potential (which sadly isn’t always the case), and the premise, characters, and superpower applications were all awesome and well-crafted. I am looking forward to book 2!
February 28, 2022
A Fun Read
BLUF: this book has a unique power concept and the writing and story itself improve as the book develops.
Pros:
* The power concept was very well developed and very unique.
* The characters were easy to root for/against.
* The Second half of the book moved quickly and left you wanting more.
Cons:
* The characters were a bit two dimensional, especially secondary and tertiary characters.
* The first half of the book was a bit slow and many of the interactions seemed forced.
* The writing style shifted between tween/teen and YA, which threw off the flow of the story.
BLUF: this book has a unique power concept and the writing and story itself improve as the book develops.
Pros:
* The power concept was very well developed and very unique.
* The characters were easy to root for/against.
* The Second half of the book moved quickly and left you wanting more.
Cons:
* The characters were a bit two dimensional, especially secondary and tertiary characters.
* The first half of the book was a bit slow and many of the interactions seemed forced.
* The writing style shifted between tween/teen and YA, which threw off the flow of the story.
November 30, 2017
The story wasn't bad but I am not motivated to read the next installment. It had a firm conclusion which is a good thing. I felt that writer might have just gone all the way and made these people aliens on an alien world because there was no relation to our reality. That would make the magic system make more sense. Some of the action scenes could have been better written or there could have been less of them. Obviously this was geared to young boys. I didn't really understand the main characters power... but it looked cool in my mind lol so points for that.
January 21, 2018
This is a decent book, not amazing and probably better for a highshool audience, but the writing is okay and the story holds together, even mending several possible plot holes that I saw coming. There are a few times where the technical explanations grow a bit tedious and the plot is told to the reader instead of shown, but there was never a point that I got frustrated at the author as many other books have made me. If Leonard Petracci can continue to improve on this writing level I look forward to reading his further works.
March 14, 2020
Great story
This story was very good and had surprising depth, the world has an interesting take on how power is obtained, and the characters are well rounded. I especially like that the 15 and 16 year olds acted their age and not like 13 year olds.
Note: there are points with darker elements and topics such as suicide, murder, war, etc. as the main character and his friends learn more about what is going on behind the scenes of the institute, at which they are students.
There are a few grammatical errors, but not many.
This story was very good and had surprising depth, the world has an interesting take on how power is obtained, and the characters are well rounded. I especially like that the 15 and 16 year olds acted their age and not like 13 year olds.
Note: there are points with darker elements and topics such as suicide, murder, war, etc. as the main character and his friends learn more about what is going on behind the scenes of the institute, at which they are students.
There are a few grammatical errors, but not many.
October 21, 2024
A rapid action, teen action novel - adventure. The hero, called Star Child (or S.C. by those who know him), come from a single-parent home. His mother is very capable as a nurse and mother, but exploited -- as is S.C. As the story goes on his new friends (the readers) come to see how much exploitation of many innocents goes on, and so does S.C., who cunningly fight back to liberate himself and others. Little by little he finds those who believe in him and in their own freedom, and they work with him against all odds.
A good read!
A good read!
February 5, 2019
Enjoyable read hoped for more but satisfied.
A little difficult to start but did explain the world as the story unfolds. A good read I was hoping for more to the story but I am satisfied. I will continue with the story and purchase the next book. I did wait until next book was out even though had in my list since came out. I seem to pick too many one hits that don’t get continued.
A little difficult to start but did explain the world as the story unfolds. A good read I was hoping for more to the story but I am satisfied. I will continue with the story and purchase the next book. I did wait until next book was out even though had in my list since came out. I seem to pick too many one hits that don’t get continued.
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