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Comet Cove is a city where everyone gets their own special powers when they come of age. Everyone, that is, except for Samael Judd.
Ordinary in a world of extraordinaries, Sam faces the possibility of exile, should his powerlessness be discovered. When a Fragment doesn’t accept themselves, their Aura doesn’t give them the powers they’re promised, making them a Blank.
But a solution exists: If Sam can confront the part of himself that he would rather stay buried, he just might be in the clear. That is until he finds out he’s revealed his secret to the wrong person.
(JUDD is not a comic—oh, how I wish—but it is within the superhero genre to a degree, so comic comes up in the categories. Perhaps one day.)
Ordinary in a world of extraordinaries, Sam faces the possibility of exile, should his powerlessness be discovered. When a Fragment doesn’t accept themselves, their Aura doesn’t give them the powers they’re promised, making them a Blank.
But a solution exists: If Sam can confront the part of himself that he would rather stay buried, he just might be in the clear. That is until he finds out he’s revealed his secret to the wrong person.
(JUDD is not a comic—oh, how I wish—but it is within the superhero genre to a degree, so comic comes up in the categories. Perhaps one day.)
228 pages, Hardcover
First published March 5, 2021
4 people are currently reading
354 people want to read
About the author
J.D. Toombs
3 books18 followersJ.D. Toombs was born and raised in rural Alaska. Learning how to read at a very young age, he became instantly enthralled in literature beyond his years, soon after beginning to create his own stories throughout high school.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
December 29, 2021
JUDD is a fresh take on the superhero genre that encourages readers to be themselves and to find power in who they are. With its interesting premise, relatable characters, and intriguing storyline, JUDD is a powerful, heart-wrenching read. This is one book that I didn’t want to end and I can’t wait for the next installment!
(I voluntarily wrote this review and it's separate from the full review I posted on my review site. For the full review, I received a free digital copy of the book and monetary compensation for my time. All opinions are my own and are honest. To read the full review, click this link: https://kaylacreviews.blogspot.com/20... )
(I voluntarily wrote this review and it's separate from the full review I posted on my review site. For the full review, I received a free digital copy of the book and monetary compensation for my time. All opinions are my own and are honest. To read the full review, click this link: https://kaylacreviews.blogspot.com/20... )
March 5, 2021
A 'high school for heroes' tale about the power of accepting who you are paired with some unique world building...
Welcome to Aries High, a school for those with unique powers but in this world they are known as Fragments. The only problem is our main character and narrator Samael Judd doesn't appear to have any powers... That is without mentioning the many pressures he faces for someone his age from stepping out of his older brother's shadow to even making the basketball team and while he does his best to hide a lack of powers he's also concealing his sexuality. If both are revealed the repercussions could be disastrous, at least to him anyway. There are only a few he can fully trust and confide in - perhaps the most realistic thing about the social politics of high school, something this story captures well.
There are some unique and interesting concepts in this world of Fragment's and that world building is something I want to see more of. Terminology and abilities like 'technomancy' and 'magnekenisis' sound cool and these concepts are only really touched upon as most of the story focuses on Judd's journey and his high school life which is most probably just the beginning. The symbolism paired with the struggle to accept one's self is what you'll find at the centre of this tale and it's bravely executed. From fighting bullies to borrowing a new girl's magical dragon to pretend you have powers - as I said cool concepts, there are even some awesome references to video games and music.
On a few occasions there were moments where scenes felt crowded with quite a number of characters present so it was a little difficult to follow and transitions between scenes did occur rather abruptly but overall Judd is a unique story full of drama that captures coming of age, explores social issues and celebrates diversity.
Welcome to Aries High, a school for those with unique powers but in this world they are known as Fragments. The only problem is our main character and narrator Samael Judd doesn't appear to have any powers... That is without mentioning the many pressures he faces for someone his age from stepping out of his older brother's shadow to even making the basketball team and while he does his best to hide a lack of powers he's also concealing his sexuality. If both are revealed the repercussions could be disastrous, at least to him anyway. There are only a few he can fully trust and confide in - perhaps the most realistic thing about the social politics of high school, something this story captures well.
There are some unique and interesting concepts in this world of Fragment's and that world building is something I want to see more of. Terminology and abilities like 'technomancy' and 'magnekenisis' sound cool and these concepts are only really touched upon as most of the story focuses on Judd's journey and his high school life which is most probably just the beginning. The symbolism paired with the struggle to accept one's self is what you'll find at the centre of this tale and it's bravely executed. From fighting bullies to borrowing a new girl's magical dragon to pretend you have powers - as I said cool concepts, there are even some awesome references to video games and music.
On a few occasions there were moments where scenes felt crowded with quite a number of characters present so it was a little difficult to follow and transitions between scenes did occur rather abruptly but overall Judd is a unique story full of drama that captures coming of age, explores social issues and celebrates diversity.
May 10, 2021
It was a well-written book and deserves a lot of attention from this tired old genre.
Pros
The MC ( JUDD ) has to hide not only the fact that he has no powers but also the fact he is gay. This shows a very real situation where gay/lesbian/bi/ETC is seen as an abomination by many old-school men & women. The way they show it affecting his mind is in the utmost detail throughout the story and affects the others around him in a very realistic way.
To read the rest of this review visit my blog: https://cwpublishing54.wordpress.com/...
Pros
The MC ( JUDD ) has to hide not only the fact that he has no powers but also the fact he is gay. This shows a very real situation where gay/lesbian/bi/ETC is seen as an abomination by many old-school men & women. The way they show it affecting his mind is in the utmost detail throughout the story and affects the others around him in a very realistic way.
To read the rest of this review visit my blog: https://cwpublishing54.wordpress.com/...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 28, 2021
Review em português em baixo da em inglês.
Judd is a mix of high school drama with the dangerous life of super heroes, one moment you are sitting in your crush’s lap and the other one both of you are fighting a super villain! Judd is a popular basketball playeraren't all gays supposed to be shy and recluse? and with a amazing group of friends. The problem is, his powers haven’t awakened yet. In a fragmented family and living in a town that only allow people with powers would be trouble enough right? But the fact his powers haven’t showed up yet means his hiding something really important about himself, wont knowing about his powers make people think about what his hiding? Will this reveal that he is gay?
The authors manage to make an amazing universe from the super powers political system, and how they affect the normal world, to the drama that accompany teenagers, even more when puberty come baring super powers. The story has an ample amount of interesting side characters, their stories are subtly developed through pieces of dialogue or small events put between the main ones. Unfortunate so many complex characters can’t all be lived up to, something that I think will be solve with the upcoming book Judd II.
Many LGBT+ books end up falling in the same plot lines when come to love interest or how people react to the main character coming out. Judd however surprised me very much in this sense. The authors make an amazing job of creating platonic love between some characters, it’s good to see genuine friendships between a gay character and the same sex friend without turning in a future or past lover – gay people don’t need to crush in EVERY guy friendjust the hot ones . Even the fact that the love interest wasn’t explicit since the beginning was a pleasant thing for me, in the end Judd has suppress his sexual identity until now, and I thing not even him knows exactly how of his many crushs he really likes.
Judd is confymost of the time… LGBT+ book that reach the fear and anxiety that is living as a gay boy in the closet and the danger of dealing with super powerful enemies. An amazing story that makes me eager to get my hands in the sequel. Would indicate to anyone interested in a self-discover story and the action of having super powers, without relying in the same plots that usually comes with books about gay characters.
Warning: The final of this first book is a big cliffhanger and since the second one hasn’t come out yet, prepare yourself to be anxious to continue this account for a little more time.
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Judd é a união perfeita do drama do ensino médio com a vida de super heróis em treinamento, um instante sentado no colo do garoto que você gosta e no outro enfrentando um super vilão. Judd é um garoto até que popular na sua escolanão era suposto todos os gays serem tímidos e reclusos? e com vários amigos, o problema está que seus poderes não surgiram ainda, em uma família e uma cidade que só permite fragmentados isso já seria problemático por si só, mas o fato de seus poderes não terem se apresentado ainda quer dizer que ele está escondendo algo muito importante sobre si mesmo, o que os outros pensariam que ele está escondendo? Será que isso revelaria que ele é gay pra toda a cidade?
Os autores conseguem criar um universo rico tanto na questão dos poderes e como eles afetam o mundo como com o micro universo escolar e todo o drama que adolescente são capazes de criarem, ainda mais quando a puberdade é acompanhada de super poderes. Muitos personagens secundários são apresentados e desenvolvidos com pedaços de diálogos ou pequenos acontecimentos ao decorrer do livro, infelizmente essa abrangência de desenvolver várias pessoas, apesar de muito boa, acaba deixando muito em aberto e alguns parecem até um pouco negligenciados em alguns momentos, mas acredito que tudo será resolvido e esclarecido no segundo livro.
Muitos livros LGBT+ acabam caindo nos mesmos acontecimentos em relação ao romance ou a como as pessoas lidam com o personagem principal saindo do armário, Judd entretanto me agradou bastante nesse quesito, desde criar relações de amor platônico entre os personagens (pessoas gay não precisam ter um crush em TODOS os amigos), até fazer com que o interesse amoroso não seja explicitamente claro, afinal Judd ainda está no armário e fora os seus desejos internos nunca pôde experimentar muito bem relações amorosas ou a sua sexualidade.
Judd é uma "farofa" LGBT+ aconcheganteem sua maioria... que equilibra o medo e a paranoia de um garoto gay vivendo escondido com o terror de ter que lidar com inimigos super poderosos. Uma leitura extremamente agradável e que me deixou ansioso para a continuação, indicaria para todos que querem ler uma história "coming of age", sobre auto aceitação e a ação de ter super poderes, sem cair nos plots repetitivos de sempre.
Aviso, o final do primeiro livro é um cliffhanger e como o segundo ainda não foi lançado esteja preparado parar ficar ansioso pela continuação da história por mais algum tempo.
Judd is a mix of high school drama with the dangerous life of super heroes, one moment you are sitting in your crush’s lap and the other one both of you are fighting a super villain! Judd is a popular basketball player
The authors manage to make an amazing universe from the super powers political system, and how they affect the normal world, to the drama that accompany teenagers, even more when puberty come baring super powers. The story has an ample amount of interesting side characters, their stories are subtly developed through pieces of dialogue or small events put between the main ones. Unfortunate so many complex characters can’t all be lived up to, something that I think will be solve with the upcoming book Judd II.
Many LGBT+ books end up falling in the same plot lines when come to love interest or how people react to the main character coming out. Judd however surprised me very much in this sense. The authors make an amazing job of creating platonic love between some characters, it’s good to see genuine friendships between a gay character and the same sex friend without turning in a future or past lover – gay people don’t need to crush in EVERY guy friend
Judd is confy
Warning: The final of this first book is a big cliffhanger and since the second one hasn’t come out yet, prepare yourself to be anxious to continue this account for a little more time.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Judd é a união perfeita do drama do ensino médio com a vida de super heróis em treinamento, um instante sentado no colo do garoto que você gosta e no outro enfrentando um super vilão. Judd é um garoto até que popular na sua escola
Os autores conseguem criar um universo rico tanto na questão dos poderes e como eles afetam o mundo como com o micro universo escolar e todo o drama que adolescente são capazes de criarem, ainda mais quando a puberdade é acompanhada de super poderes. Muitos personagens secundários são apresentados e desenvolvidos com pedaços de diálogos ou pequenos acontecimentos ao decorrer do livro, infelizmente essa abrangência de desenvolver várias pessoas, apesar de muito boa, acaba deixando muito em aberto e alguns parecem até um pouco negligenciados em alguns momentos, mas acredito que tudo será resolvido e esclarecido no segundo livro.
Muitos livros LGBT+ acabam caindo nos mesmos acontecimentos em relação ao romance ou a como as pessoas lidam com o personagem principal saindo do armário, Judd entretanto me agradou bastante nesse quesito, desde criar relações de amor platônico entre os personagens (pessoas gay não precisam ter um crush em TODOS os amigos), até fazer com que o interesse amoroso não seja explicitamente claro, afinal Judd ainda está no armário e fora os seus desejos internos nunca pôde experimentar muito bem relações amorosas ou a sua sexualidade.
Judd é uma "farofa" LGBT+ aconchegante
Aviso, o final do primeiro livro é um cliffhanger e como o segundo ainda não foi lançado esteja preparado parar ficar ansioso pela continuação da história por mais algum tempo.
June 10, 2021
Judd is a mish-mash of; slice of life, super-hero, drama, and theres even a touch of philosophy hidden in there if you look for it. Sadly the book did need a few more coats of polish before publication, which is a big part of why my rating isnt higher. But to focus on what I think is a important takeaway first:
The Titular character and protagonist; Judd. Is struggling with his homosexuality and being in the closet. Now while I know nothing about that specifically, I DO KNOW what it is like to repress part of yourself. Hiding something about who you are from the world. And this is the deeper theme underneath the surface level of the plot. And its reasonably executed. Some more foreshadowing and build up would have enhanced the weight of the theme as we moved through the story. But its not bad.
Besides that we got a walk in the park of highschool fiction tropes, and I honestly love most of those tropes so I enjoyed that.
Now what definitely needed some more fleshing out was character motivations, especially Judd's. The plot was a little hard to fully buy for me, because Judd's motives, while stated, did not make a whole lot of sense. At least not to me.
There were also a few spots where the prose needed some polish, and even another round of line edits. But it was nothing that makes the book hard to read, I glossed over them pretty easy.
Finally, the end did manage to hook me and make me want to pick up book two. So clearly the book got enough right.
The Titular character and protagonist; Judd. Is struggling with his homosexuality and being in the closet. Now while I know nothing about that specifically, I DO KNOW what it is like to repress part of yourself. Hiding something about who you are from the world. And this is the deeper theme underneath the surface level of the plot. And its reasonably executed. Some more foreshadowing and build up would have enhanced the weight of the theme as we moved through the story. But its not bad.
Besides that we got a walk in the park of highschool fiction tropes, and I honestly love most of those tropes so I enjoyed that.
Now what definitely needed some more fleshing out was character motivations, especially Judd's. The plot was a little hard to fully buy for me, because Judd's motives, while stated, did not make a whole lot of sense. At least not to me.
There were also a few spots where the prose needed some polish, and even another round of line edits. But it was nothing that makes the book hard to read, I glossed over them pretty easy.
Finally, the end did manage to hook me and make me want to pick up book two. So clearly the book got enough right.
June 28, 2021
In some ways, Sam is just an ordinary teen, with the struggles you'd expect from a typical sophomore in high school. Unfortunately, there's one slightly bigger, out of the ordinary problem - in a city and school where everyone has superpowers, Sam hasn't gotten his yet. The secret holding him back is a big one, and not an easy one to admit to anyone. It's not unusual for a teen to struggle with coming out, especially when you're not sure whether you'll be accepted. There was some great world building, and the characters were well fleshed out. I'd definitely recommend this book!
May 4, 2021
Judd is a fun read, full of relatable characters and themes, set on the backdrop of super-hero fantasy.
It is an exciting take on what can be deemed as a repetitive genre, and with auto-biographical parallels to the authors own life, it is a highly relatable story.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys authentic LGTBQ+ characters and superpowers!
It is an exciting take on what can be deemed as a repetitive genre, and with auto-biographical parallels to the authors own life, it is a highly relatable story.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys authentic LGTBQ+ characters and superpowers!
April 10, 2021
The author requested I review this book and I would give this 3.5 stars.
Judd by J.D. Toombs & Erika Schulze is a Teen/Young Adult supernatural, superhero fiction; book 1 in The Fragmented Chronicles series.
Samael Judd lives in a community dedicated to beings that have supernatural powers. In order to stay in Comet Cove he must come into his own powers or face exclusion from his friends and family. Sam must face that his owning up to the secret he is hiding will allow his powers to show and determine his future.
He shares his secret with a select few, but this is not enough and ultimately he realises that he chose the wrong person in which to confide.
This is a story filled with the angst of normal teenage life; high school, sports tryouts, romantic interests and the bullying clique. Add in the turmoil that Sam is experiencing with hiding his sexual orientation and masking that he doesn’t yet have his powers allows for a good teen drama read.
The premise of this book is spot on. Using the supernatural element to buffer the angst of the main character coming out to his friends, family and community was cleverly thought out. I found some of the teen drama elements, quantity of characters and dialogue a little hard to follow, meaning for me the story was a slower read than I had wanted it to be. This is more than likely a cultural and age issue on my part more than anything. However the main character is well written and I felt for him as he struggled with the decisions he had to make.
The authors have dropped some serious bread crumbs for continuing the series, although for me this wasn’t developed enough in this first book and if I’m honest I would have preferred a longer book that wrapped up the story in one go rather than waiting for another installment.
I would recommend this book to those who enjoy teen drama mixed with supernatural, superhero stories.
Judd by J.D. Toombs & Erika Schulze is a Teen/Young Adult supernatural, superhero fiction; book 1 in The Fragmented Chronicles series.
Samael Judd lives in a community dedicated to beings that have supernatural powers. In order to stay in Comet Cove he must come into his own powers or face exclusion from his friends and family. Sam must face that his owning up to the secret he is hiding will allow his powers to show and determine his future.
He shares his secret with a select few, but this is not enough and ultimately he realises that he chose the wrong person in which to confide.
This is a story filled with the angst of normal teenage life; high school, sports tryouts, romantic interests and the bullying clique. Add in the turmoil that Sam is experiencing with hiding his sexual orientation and masking that he doesn’t yet have his powers allows for a good teen drama read.
The premise of this book is spot on. Using the supernatural element to buffer the angst of the main character coming out to his friends, family and community was cleverly thought out. I found some of the teen drama elements, quantity of characters and dialogue a little hard to follow, meaning for me the story was a slower read than I had wanted it to be. This is more than likely a cultural and age issue on my part more than anything. However the main character is well written and I felt for him as he struggled with the decisions he had to make.
The authors have dropped some serious bread crumbs for continuing the series, although for me this wasn’t developed enough in this first book and if I’m honest I would have preferred a longer book that wrapped up the story in one go rather than waiting for another installment.
I would recommend this book to those who enjoy teen drama mixed with supernatural, superhero stories.
Read
March 31, 2021It breaks my heart that this wasn't my cup of tea. I personally just didn't mesh with the writing/world but honestly if you're into books with complicated protagonists who don't always make the right decisions and people with superpowers and generally queer sci-fi then I would definitely recommend this to you!
April 3, 2021
JUDD is a refreshing take on a coming of age story. It's a unique super hero tale chock-full of loveable and diverse characters and a storyline that will make you smile one minute and pull at your heartstrings in another.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews