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Weakling
Gonzalo Lopez, nicknamed 'Weakling' by his bullies, is just a normal teenager except that he has superpowers.
Ever since that fight with Bill Jackson where his powers first manifested and he broke his attacker’s hand by accident, everything has been spiralling out of control.
Now all of a sudden he’s getting invited to parties, his psychiatrist’s started dating his Mom, and at least two different international organisations are trying to hunt him down.
Then there’s Ali--the new girl at school, the only other person who believes any of this is happening to him, who seems to be hiding a secret of her own. Is she really his friend like she says she is, or does she have some sort of ulterior motive for being so nice to him all the time? Should he tell her about Miracle Force, the superpowered United Nations peacekeeping unit he’s just been recruited to?
And is any of this really happening, or is it all just going on in his head?
Ever since that fight with Bill Jackson where his powers first manifested and he broke his attacker’s hand by accident, everything has been spiralling out of control.
Now all of a sudden he’s getting invited to parties, his psychiatrist’s started dating his Mom, and at least two different international organisations are trying to hunt him down.
Then there’s Ali--the new girl at school, the only other person who believes any of this is happening to him, who seems to be hiding a secret of her own. Is she really his friend like she says she is, or does she have some sort of ulterior motive for being so nice to him all the time? Should he tell her about Miracle Force, the superpowered United Nations peacekeeping unit he’s just been recruited to?
And is any of this really happening, or is it all just going on in his head?
338 pages, Paperback
Published July 5, 2022
13 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
April 18, 2023
✰ 3.5 stars ✰
“What would you do if you found out you were invincible and had super strength all of a sudden?”
During the half-way point of Weakling, a quote from a tv show I grew up watching echoed in mind. 'In a world where you have no powers, you gave yourself super powers.' And I don't know if I appreciated this very unexpected twist that took place to make it a not so typical superhero story, or it made it an all the more confusing read for me, in the end.
It did start off very strong for me - I did actually believe that Gonzalo, a nerdy high schooler who suddenly develops superpowers and is recruited to an international peace-keeping unit to maintain peace in the world. What is revealed much later is that he's also been subjecting to a heavy amount of bullying from his peers, eventually landing him in the hospital and psychiatric care to deal with his own mental health problems, as well.
And here's where it became tricky. 🤔 The lines between fiction and reality became blurred so much so, that I couldn't figure out if Gonzalo was staying in his fictional world to escape the harsh realities of his own life, or was the bullying, the hardships, the loneliness he was facing in his school, the actual fictional world?? Confusing enough, for you??!! Maybe there's a plot device I missed - a significant mention that outlined that Gonzalo was in fact a superhero in his own right. The ending, itself, also was pretty much left with us dangling in the air, literally, that it would be difficult for me to decide otherwise.
Not to say that there weren't some great aspects to this read. I loved that the story started off in media res as we're immediately plunged into the heat of the action of Weakling the Superhero. I did find that it was written very well. Gonzalo as a main character was unique, fun, very honest to a fault, and very determined when it came to doing the right thing. There was plenty of action, like A LOT! That whole night when he realized he had superpowers was one chaotic event after another, with enough villainous roles with meta-human abilities that made it very convincingly read like a superhero fic! 🦸🦸
“You are accepted. You are approved of. You are not condemned. You are a beloved son. You will fight now. You are not a weakling. You are Weakling.”
There was a clever and creative touch to the side characters and friends introduced - Milo the Mute and Ali the Djinn - how they were incorporated into Gonzalo's lives, their different personalities and inputs into how he was more than what he thought, stronger than what he believed, encouraging him when he was down and giving him the strength he needed even during his darkest hour. ✨✨
And it makes me think, now - were the villains and the bullies one and the same? Was escaping to this fictional world that Gonzalo had created his way to escape? Who's to say the powers he manifested were the true ones and everything else was a lie? 👀🥺 And if, in fact, the story does conclude with us NOT returning to his life in the real world without any superpowers, who's to say that was not the fictional world, in the first place?? 🧐🧐
“What would you do if you found out you were invincible and had super strength all of a sudden?”
During the half-way point of Weakling, a quote from a tv show I grew up watching echoed in mind. 'In a world where you have no powers, you gave yourself super powers.' And I don't know if I appreciated this very unexpected twist that took place to make it a not so typical superhero story, or it made it an all the more confusing read for me, in the end.
It did start off very strong for me - I did actually believe that Gonzalo, a nerdy high schooler who suddenly develops superpowers and is recruited to an international peace-keeping unit to maintain peace in the world. What is revealed much later is that he's also been subjecting to a heavy amount of bullying from his peers, eventually landing him in the hospital and psychiatric care to deal with his own mental health problems, as well.
And here's where it became tricky. 🤔 The lines between fiction and reality became blurred so much so, that I couldn't figure out if Gonzalo was staying in his fictional world to escape the harsh realities of his own life, or was the bullying, the hardships, the loneliness he was facing in his school, the actual fictional world?? Confusing enough, for you??!! Maybe there's a plot device I missed - a significant mention that outlined that Gonzalo was in fact a superhero in his own right. The ending, itself, also was pretty much left with us dangling in the air, literally, that it would be difficult for me to decide otherwise.
Not to say that there weren't some great aspects to this read. I loved that the story started off in media res as we're immediately plunged into the heat of the action of Weakling the Superhero. I did find that it was written very well. Gonzalo as a main character was unique, fun, very honest to a fault, and very determined when it came to doing the right thing. There was plenty of action, like A LOT! That whole night when he realized he had superpowers was one chaotic event after another, with enough villainous roles with meta-human abilities that made it very convincingly read like a superhero fic! 🦸🦸
“You are accepted. You are approved of. You are not condemned. You are a beloved son. You will fight now. You are not a weakling. You are Weakling.”
There was a clever and creative touch to the side characters and friends introduced - Milo the Mute and Ali the Djinn - how they were incorporated into Gonzalo's lives, their different personalities and inputs into how he was more than what he thought, stronger than what he believed, encouraging him when he was down and giving him the strength he needed even during his darkest hour. ✨✨
And it makes me think, now - were the villains and the bullies one and the same? Was escaping to this fictional world that Gonzalo had created his way to escape? Who's to say the powers he manifested were the true ones and everything else was a lie? 👀🥺 And if, in fact, the story does conclude with us NOT returning to his life in the real world without any superpowers, who's to say that was not the fictional world, in the first place?? 🧐🧐
January 1, 2023
Umm, okay. So, that happened, and I'm not really sure where to go now. Since I typically start my reviews with a brief synopsis, I guess I'll do that.
Gonzalo Lopez is a fifteen-year-old Jewish Latino boy living in Williamsburg, a neighborhood of Brooklyn. He goes to high school, enjoys his Physics class, and loves the fact that his lab partner is the beautiful new student, Ali, who talks to him like an average person.
To the rest of the school, though, Gonzalo is known as Weakling and is frequently targeted for bullying. But everything changes one day when Bill, a football player who has frequently tormented Gonzalo, tries to beat him up. When he punches Gonzalo, instead of it hurting, Gonzalo doesn't feel much of anything. The punch does, however, end up breaking Bill's hand. Pissed off at this, Bill punches Gonzalo again, this time in the face, and hurts himself again.
Suspended for fighting, confused, and not entirely sure what is happening, Gonzalo eventually tells his mom that he thinks he needs to see a doctor. At the doctor's office, after trying to convince the doctor about his new super strength, Gonzalo ends up demonstrating his new powers. The doctor, shocked and not really sure how to proceed, notifies a nebulous government agency that apparently has a program for kids like Gonzalo. As they're leaving, the doctor warns Gonzalo about revealing or using his powers.
What follows is a crazy night of going to a party where Gonzalo runs into his school bullies again, gets beat up again, loses control and returns the beat down, runs from the party to escape the cops, gets ambushed in his home by an organization that seems to want him dead, escapes said ambush, and is then recruited by the same organization the doctor had told him about, which invites him to join them and train to be a superhero and help people all over the world. (BTW, all of that happens in the span of a few hours and 4 chapters - so, yeah, there's a lot of action going on in this book.)
A great start to a compelling superhero story. I loved the characters of Gonzalo and Mute. The author did a wonderful job of developing their characters, identifying both strengths and weaknesses, and having them grow through the course of the story. There were certainly some tropes used (the bullied kid developing powers and using those for good; the main character has a crush on a beautiful female classmate but doesn't know how to tell her; etc), but they worked well for the story.
Then came the twist in the story. Now, the twist in and of itself is not unusual. Many stories have twists. Many of them, the reader even can see coming. Or, if they couldn't, it's because there was some information that was deliberately not revealed until the twist but the twist still follows the story.
I can't even say the twist in this book came out of left field. No. It came out of right field while I was looking at left field and kicked me in the back of the head. It was so unexpected I had to go back and reread the pages where it happened just to make sure I had read them correctly. I had. But, damn!
To say the story took a turn was an understatement. And I loved it. The amount of character development that happened in those few pages was...immense, and that made Gonzalo a much more real character. Did it hurt, given how it changed the story? Yes. But it also made the story SO. MUCH. BETTER. And the setup that it provided for the end was just *chef's kiss.*
Prior to that twist, I was on track to give the story 4 stars. I was engaging, with some great characters, and plenty of action. But after that twist? That twist and the way the story developed after it is what elevated the story to 5 stars.
So, yeah. If you like stories about superheroes go ahead and pick up this one. Just be prepared, because I don't think there's any way you could see that twist coming, and it's all the better because of it.
Gonzalo Lopez is a fifteen-year-old Jewish Latino boy living in Williamsburg, a neighborhood of Brooklyn. He goes to high school, enjoys his Physics class, and loves the fact that his lab partner is the beautiful new student, Ali, who talks to him like an average person.
To the rest of the school, though, Gonzalo is known as Weakling and is frequently targeted for bullying. But everything changes one day when Bill, a football player who has frequently tormented Gonzalo, tries to beat him up. When he punches Gonzalo, instead of it hurting, Gonzalo doesn't feel much of anything. The punch does, however, end up breaking Bill's hand. Pissed off at this, Bill punches Gonzalo again, this time in the face, and hurts himself again.
Suspended for fighting, confused, and not entirely sure what is happening, Gonzalo eventually tells his mom that he thinks he needs to see a doctor. At the doctor's office, after trying to convince the doctor about his new super strength, Gonzalo ends up demonstrating his new powers. The doctor, shocked and not really sure how to proceed, notifies a nebulous government agency that apparently has a program for kids like Gonzalo. As they're leaving, the doctor warns Gonzalo about revealing or using his powers.
What follows is a crazy night of going to a party where Gonzalo runs into his school bullies again, gets beat up again, loses control and returns the beat down, runs from the party to escape the cops, gets ambushed in his home by an organization that seems to want him dead, escapes said ambush, and is then recruited by the same organization the doctor had told him about, which invites him to join them and train to be a superhero and help people all over the world. (BTW, all of that happens in the span of a few hours and 4 chapters - so, yeah, there's a lot of action going on in this book.)
A great start to a compelling superhero story. I loved the characters of Gonzalo and Mute. The author did a wonderful job of developing their characters, identifying both strengths and weaknesses, and having them grow through the course of the story. There were certainly some tropes used (the bullied kid developing powers and using those for good; the main character has a crush on a beautiful female classmate but doesn't know how to tell her; etc), but they worked well for the story.
Then came the twist in the story. Now, the twist in and of itself is not unusual. Many stories have twists. Many of them, the reader even can see coming. Or, if they couldn't, it's because there was some information that was deliberately not revealed until the twist but the twist still follows the story.
I can't even say the twist in this book came out of left field. No. It came out of right field while I was looking at left field and kicked me in the back of the head. It was so unexpected I had to go back and reread the pages where it happened just to make sure I had read them correctly. I had. But, damn!
To say the story took a turn was an understatement. And I loved it. The amount of character development that happened in those few pages was...immense, and that made Gonzalo a much more real character. Did it hurt, given how it changed the story? Yes. But it also made the story SO. MUCH. BETTER. And the setup that it provided for the end was just *chef's kiss.*
Prior to that twist, I was on track to give the story 4 stars. I was engaging, with some great characters, and plenty of action. But after that twist? That twist and the way the story developed after it is what elevated the story to 5 stars.
So, yeah. If you like stories about superheroes go ahead and pick up this one. Just be prepared, because I don't think there's any way you could see that twist coming, and it's all the better because of it.
January 2, 2023
I hate spoilers, so am attempting to write this review while avoiding them. I'll just say this is not your typical superhero story in a great way. I enjoyed the characters and the unexpected ways the story developed. I don't want to say too much, so will just leave it at this: no matter what you think partway in, keep going. This book will surprise you!
January 26, 2023
Original read , not my usual genre but thoroughly enjoyed this underdog tale, from zero to hero
November 19, 2023
This book was good. Perfect for a YA novel including action, and adventure. I was not expecting the ending to be what it was, it threw me a bit. It leads me to think that there will be another book.
Thank you to the author and StoryOrigin for the opportunity to read this book. The opinions in this review are mine and given in exchange for a review copy of the book.
Thank you to the author and StoryOrigin for the opportunity to read this book. The opinions in this review are mine and given in exchange for a review copy of the book.
January 3, 2023
This is a terrific story and while it is r3written for middle schoolers ot has meaning for all of us. The plot line is solid, the characters are well fleshed out, and the story is written in such a way that you keep guessing how everything is going to pan out. I received the novel from StoryOrigins. This is my true and honest review
October 31, 2023
Audiobook: This was my first experience with L.I.T. Tarassenko's work, and it was surprising. Gonzalo Lopez was a nerdy teenager, who was bullied quite viciously by other kids at his school. After a very brutal beating, Gonzalo realized that he had superpowers, and his life began to change. In the beginning, the story was good but seemed somewhat typical of other fantasies where a protagonist gained superpowers; however, after the middle, the story changed from good to great. Brandon Fisher's narration was skillful, and his performance kept my attention. I was given a free copy of the audiobook, and I have voluntarily posted this review.
October 26, 2023
Really enjoyed this story. I like the ending of the bully getting his come-uppance and the gentle way the mental health issues were dealt with. The complexity was dealt with in an age appropriate way. Well done to the author.
March 16, 2023
Easy quick read
November 8, 2023
This is a great story about a teenager who finds out he has superpowers and it’s a fun story that everyone can enjoy
December 13, 2023
Very good. I thought it was interesting. It kept me turning pages until the end!
December 19, 2023
A story about a 'weakling' who gets revenge on the bullies by developing super powers.
A fun, fast paced adventure that twists and turns right up to the jaw dropping climax
Entertaining and nicely narrated
A fun, fast paced adventure that twists and turns right up to the jaw dropping climax
Entertaining and nicely narrated
January 3, 2023
❤💜💛 A VERY BIG CRUSH!
On board the plane, the signal to wear seat belts had gone out.
A man with a shaved head stood up in the center of the aisle and threatened the passengers with his revolver.
"Hands up !
Lower your head!” he yelled.
I thought then that I really hated flying in an airplane...
----------------
EXTRAORDINARY !
Welcome to the ordinary life of a Super Hero.
I fell in love with the main character, endearing and funny, and for the plot of this great adventure novel.
I would have loved to meet him for real.
An excellent novel to put in my favorite reading.
THANK YOU to the author!
I recommend !
❤💜💛
On board the plane, the signal to wear seat belts had gone out.
A man with a shaved head stood up in the center of the aisle and threatened the passengers with his revolver.
"Hands up !
Lower your head!” he yelled.
I thought then that I really hated flying in an airplane...
----------------
EXTRAORDINARY !
Welcome to the ordinary life of a Super Hero.
I fell in love with the main character, endearing and funny, and for the plot of this great adventure novel.
I would have loved to meet him for real.
An excellent novel to put in my favorite reading.
THANK YOU to the author!
I recommend !
❤💜💛
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews