Ben Langdon’s The Miranda Contract is average when it comes to YA Superhero novels but the book excels as a drama about the conflict between an unassuming young man and his manipulative criminal grandfather.
Dan Galkin used to be a member of the Small Gods, a team of young people with superpowers. His power of changing and manipulating electricity and technology and his family connection with his grandfather who formed the Small Gods made him an indispensable member of the team.
Unfortunately an assignment turned deadly. The aftermath resulted in the ending of the Small Gods. Dan eventually went into exile and suppressed his powers.
Years later, Dan works as a cashier and delivery driver for a fast food place and has been evicted by his roommates. He occasionally does some private work using his powers under the table but it's nothing like his glory days. His latest assignment is to become bodyguard for pop star, Miranda Brody.
This assignment attracts the attention of his estranged grandfather who lives up to his sobriquet of the Mad Russian. He is reorganizing his underground criminal enterprise and wants Dan to become his heir.
There are plenty of books about people with superpowers to the point that the market is saturated with them. The trick is when reading multiple books with similar topics and themes is to see how differently the author explores the topic by adding different details or ways to make it stand out from others. When it comes to the world of superheroes Langdon doesn't do this.
Many of the action oriented chapters are typical for the subgenre. There's the moments when the once close heroes come out of retirement or exile to reunite once again. There's the innocent that is left in the crossfire as the heroes try to save them.
The organization of supers have clandestine meetings where they either wax nostalgic about the good old days or make some sinister plan to take over the world. There's the traitor, the potential love interest, and the idealistic hero turned cynical anti-hero. Even the powers are derivative and familiar. All are present and add nothing new to the table.
Surprisingly the most interesting part isn't the superhero drama. It's the family drama found in the toxic love-hate relationship between Dan and his grandfather. It is a generation gap that is rich in conflict and complexities.
The Mad Russian is a smooth, charismatic, manipulator. He is the type of antagonist who could wait months or even years to make his move as he studies his options, others' weaknesses, and the means and methods to reach his goals. He often has back up plans inside main plans and is a maestro at using and taking advantage of others especially family members and colleagues.
However, The Mad Russian knows that he's not a young man. His days are far behind him and he needs an heir. He wants Dan to return to the life of being a super so he can eventually take his grandfather's place as the head of his criminal empire.
He thinks that the boy is wasting his life acting normal and suppressing his real gifts. He sees Dan’s abilities and potential as a reflection of himself. He wants Dan to fill his grandfather's legacy in his way and become an extension of the old man.
Dan despises his grandfather but can't completely cut himself off from him. The dissolution of the Small Gods and his current mundane life have made him cynical towards the whole good vs. evil battle. When he uses his powers to help others such as Miranda, it is often for financial reasons or out of survival than any notion of becoming a superhero.
He still has some empathy for others and still helps people. Two chapters in particular show him using his electricity manipulation to help one person in one incident and a stadium full of people in another.
Dan is capable of compassion but it is tempered by a weariness far beyond his years. It's a weariness that had been used and betrayed by people that he thought that he loved and could trust.
The Mad Russian in particular took control of his life and powers so he now is seeking means to take that control and power by being his own person. Instead of being other people’s idea of a hero, he is trying to be his own hero and rescue himself from potential destruction.
The relationship between Dan and The Mad Russian is what elevates an otherwise standard YA Superhero novel into something worth remembering
This is a warm nostalgic book of childhood in the 1960’s. Former scouts and those who loved camping in the great outdoors will especially enjoy this book.
Andy is joining his Boy Scout troop on a campout around Spirit Lake near Mt. St. Helen's in 1967. It will be a time of fun, competition, trying new things, making important discoveries, and having a close relationship with nature, specifically an area of nature that in 13 years would be changed forever.
This book is practically a love letter to the nature that surrounded Mt. St. Helen’s before it was covered by volcanic ash. J.A. Epperson describes the large trees, mountainous view, tranquil waters, animal chirps, natural and campfire smells, and the grass and stone beneath their feet. For kids who were raised in suburbia like Andy, they practically feel like they are in a foreign country because it is almost unworldly and so different to what they are used to.
Since the book is primarily set during a Boy Scout outing, readers get an inside look at the rituals, organized events, teamwork, and competitive spirit that these outings bring. The troop practices activities like canoeing and swimming as a team, camping out under the stars, dividing the responsibilities like cooking, pitching tents, cleaning up, and building fires, and following their principles like kindness, courtesy, thriftiness, responsibility, trustworthiness etc. while keeping their fellow scouts in line.
The troop enter a competition to be the best troop in Spirit Lake so they throw themselves into various activities that they specialize in like specimen collecting, identifying plants and animals, swimming, archery, and other activities. It is a test in endurance, patience, and perseverance as they work to achieve their goal. These passages will interest readers who have never experienced such events and are curious or have experienced them and want a reminder of those forgotten days.
This summer also develops the scout’s characters, particularly Andy and his friend Ervin. Ervin’s specialty is collecting bugs and specimens. He brings the various insects to life by describing their characteristics and traits giving them personality through his observations. Ervin is practically nature’s spokesperson giving voice to the Spirit Lake inhabitants that can’t speak for themselves.
Ervin is also hit by another bug: the love bug. A running gag throughout the book is how often he goes down to the Trading Post. At first the Scouts assume that he wants the candy bars and Shasta that the post provides. While that is an incentive, it’s pretty clear that he is also interested in Susan, the girl behind the counter. This is the summer where puberty meets the young boy head on. So Ervin balances his interest in insects with his new found interest in girls.
Andy also goes through much character development mostly because he is the main pov character. When we first encounter him, he is uncertain about graduating from elementary school to junior high and feels like he is in the shadows of his rugged outdoorsy scoutmaster father and his self-assured older brothers who are more experienced scouts. Andy feels that he has a lot to prove and live up to.
Through this summer, Andy shows a lot of spirit and persistence. He makes his first map and obtains a strong sense of direction and memory. He reaches Beginner level in activities like swimming and shows promise in ascending higher in scouting levels. When Susan informs them of a contest to collect 25 bottle caps, Andy spends all summer collecting them to win the coveted prize of a free gift from the Trading Post.
Andy starts out as just the pack mule who carries everyone else’s stuff and is afraid of everything. During this camping trip, he becomes courageous and determined and finds skills and confidence that will help him during his return home when he faces the difficulties of junior high.
As for Mt. St. Helens’ eruption, yes that is featured in this book as well. Andy, now an adult, sees the devastation and can’t reconcile the picture on his tv screen with the location that taught him so much. The eruption is made even sadder and more personal now that the readers have seen and experienced the land around the volcano.
To read about this once thriving campsite reduced to smoldering ash helpless under the weight of magma and lava is truly heartbreaking. It is a land that holds memories that were lost and changed forever
