Stellar

by Ian Graham, Marc A. Hutchins

Meet Stellar - urban crime-fighter who tackles injustice with swift and decisive action, carrying the burden of freeing society from oppression, fighting for the weak and wounded.

She is brave.

She is beautiful.

She is just a comic book character... or at least she was.

Macy Davis is an athletic high school student with an eye for Patrick Newell, the young artist who created Stellar. When Macy's best friend, Keri Cartwright, discovers Patrick's comic book heroine, she convinces Macy to masquerade as Stellar because to Macy, Stellar is Patrick's perfect girl. But when Macy dons a homemade costume to surprise Patrick at the Halloween Dance, her debut takes an unexpected twist and the reveal is more than anyone, including Macy, could have ever imagined.

Genres: Fantasy, Audiobook

284 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 17, 2020

About the author

Ian Graham is an award-winning author and entrepreneur with an interest in politics, history, and religion. The stories and characters he writes about are centered on the explosive conflicts created when the three intersect. He is a firm believer in being yourself... unless you can be Batman. Always be Batman. 

Reviews

[InD'tale Magazine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating: 4.5/5.0

Readers looking for an endearing and memorable new heroine, look no further. “Stellar” has equal portions of high school intrigue, mounting mystery, and good old-fashioned heroism.

Read full review in the 2021 May issue of InD'tale Magazine.

[Angie Thompson · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was curious to see where the rest of the story was going, but one crude expression and a couple uses of God's name as an exclamation put me on edge, and then an entirely inappropriate comment in what should have been an innocent conversation about whether to wear a superhero costume to attract a boy's attention pushed me over. Had to DNF

[Tina Heitner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. Definitely recommend it. Very thrilling and had a lot of twists I didn't see coming. Very entertaining. Hard to put down. I had a lot of late nights reading. Easy to follow and read. You won't be disappointed.

[Zero-ELEC · Rating 2 out of 5]

A middle of the road, YA super hero/vigilante story with some weaknesses in plotting. It's technically competent but has the occasional tonal whiplash. There's also some very... suspect usages of stereotypes and some weirdly racist language.

Listened to the audiobook version and the performance was solid, though the range was a bit limited.

[Tara · Rating 5 out of 5]

unexpected depth of storyline truly pulled me in and kept me listening. When the narrator's style disappointed, the words of the author kept me enthralled. This was a creative story of a super hero that hadn't planned to be a hero. The reality mixed with the whimsy was sometimes stark in a way that made the story very believable. I would have liked a little more whimsy and less suspense but that's just me. The edge of your seat, nail biting moments seem to be what the public craves in the movies and this could easily become a screen play with the author's excellent imagery. I'll be looking for more by this author. Give this a listen and a read!
Something about the lack of distinctive variation in the narrator's voices for each character left this listener wondering who was speaking and what was going on.

[Roger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stellar (Stellar Series #1), my first read from author Ian Graham. Since this is book 1 in the Stellar Series, I assume there will be a book 2, which I will read because I liked this book so much. A well-written book with a comic book superheroine feel in the written pages. December seemed to be my month for new authors, January & February & then March continued the trend, and now April. “I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review." The gifting of this book did not affect my opinion of it. (RIP Marley January 20, 2014 - July 24, 2018).

[Brian Sutherland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great new series

Stellar is a 9th grade girl that becomes a superhero by accident. Not like Spiderman or anything as she doesn't have any superpowers, but she knows how to take care of herself while helping others.

This is a great introduction for the new series, and I can't wait to find out what is next.

[Patty Mele · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was a good read and I enjoyed it and read it from the very beginning to the very end.

I thought the story line was done nicely and explained alot to me in my opinion.

The characters were very good fit to the story and explained a lot to me in my opinion.

I got this book for free with an honest review freely given.

[ᥫ᭡ · Rating 2 out of 5]

#DNF Couldn’t get past chapter 10, it drags a lot and I’m not a whole lot invested in this story. I was hoping it was a comic book type that had pictures, and instead is a long and dreadful written story.

[Stephen]

Secrets

This was a fun story to read. It reads like a comic book but it's lain out with words instead. You never know who might have a secret identity. An excellent story for young readers.

[Michael Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very fun high school super hero story. Maybe a little YA but charming nonetheless.

[Derrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty typical super hero origin story. I would say a Young Adult novel as it's not short, but the story keeps you engaged, better than I expected. We'll see if I read the next one.

[Brodie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great start to a series. The introduction into the world is great.
Thrilling with lots of intrigue. The fast-paced fight scenes can be hard to follow but feel exciting, all in all a good read.

[James Merritt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one is awesome. It reads well way outside of the target age range. It's a good story and would make a great movie.

[Quasimode · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best part of any superhero story is always the part where an everyday person first discovers - or in this case becomes - the role of superhero, and "Stellar" is one of these stories. The book hits at least two intellectual home-runs, one of them being precisely this theme of "becoming a hero."

The story of "Stellar," though totally different in particulars, reminded me instantly of the similarly-excellent story in the film "Galaxy Quest," because its theme is the same: A person who starts out play-acting a role is suddenly thrust into a situation in which the role has become life-or-death real, and she has to make the choice to become, in reality, the superhero she had only intended (in this case,) to role-play in a Halloween costume. It is that choice - to become something orders of magnitude more than one's original intent, a real-life hero rather than the fictional construct - that makes this theme so great and so instantly edifying for the reader.

Macy Davis is instantly likable and relatable both as ordinary student and heroine, making her transformation and subsequent trials and conflicts a matter of personal investment for the reader. You feel as if you're right there, shoulder-to-shoulder with her, facing down some incredibly evil villains. Her friends, acquaintances, parents, teachers and villains alike are rendered in full 3D, with the relationships between them gaining authenticity as a result.

The second stand-up-and-cheer thing in this novel happens at one point during the heroine's climactic confrontation with the villain. Macy/Stellar responds to the villain's whiny protestation to the effect of "You have no idea what I had to go through," with an excellent cut-through-the-crap point: "I don't have a clue what your life's been like, and after everything you've done I couldn't care less about getting one. You can blame whoever you want, but ultimately you're the one responsible for your own actions."

Ownership of the ethical nature of one's own actions, explicitly stated, is as rare today as it is important. So yeah, stand-up-and-cheer material.

"Stellar" is an outstanding story, one I hope becomes a series and eventually makes it to the screen.

[Rachel Tilley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was something different to my usual read, but the blurb appealed to me so I picked it up regardless. It was entertaining and I struggled to put it down.

I thought the characters were well written and believable, and I liked that the plot included continuous development i.e. there was lots happening, it wasn't all just building up to an ending.

There were some American expressions I hadn't come across before and have now added to my vocabulary - my favourite being 'bet dollars-to-donuts', and being in Britain I had to google certain aspects like the years of the school system.

I would recommend this book to others. There was something both unique and empowering that I really liked about it.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book as an ARC, for an honest review.
This is the start of a great series, and introduction into the world of the action/thriller.
Intrigue, fast paced fight scenes and a heroine that is just finding her path, all make for a thrilling story!