Review: Heat Wave

Title: Heat Wave

Author: TJ Klune

Publisher: Tor Teen

Publication date: July 19, 2022

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Summary

Picking up where Flash Fire left off, Nick, Seth, Gibby, and Jazz are picking up the pieces after the attack on their school. It’s summer, so at least they don’t have to worry about school at the moment. But the impending future looms over them as they all start to figure out what they’re going to do after high school.

Of course, that’s a bit more difficult when you have superpowers. When an old hero makes a return to Nova City, Nick and his friends need to figure out how to move forward. As all of their lives get turned upside down, Nick has to learn what it takes to be a hero. And work up the courage to face his enemies to save everyone that he loves. After all, his future is at stake.

Review: Heat Wave

Thanks to Tor Teen and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this to review! TJ Klune has become one of my favorite authors, and I was so excited to get a copy of this early! Yes, I have a lot of other spring books to review, but I was just in the mood for some of my favorite superheroes.

It was a bit difficult to summarize this without spoiling it, but I did my best! It picks up almost immediately after Flash Fire leaves off, dropping you right into the middle of the action. However, you know there’s something that’s not quite right. I thoroughly enjoyed how Klune teased this for the first half of the novel. It came in bits and pieces, just adding to the mystery.

If you’re familiar with superhero stories, a lot of the plot points won’t be a surprise to you. But that didn’t matter much to me, as I just love these characters. One of the best things about this book is the way Nick’s dad is so supportive of him. There are some frank conversations in this book about sex, and for gay teens to see that played out in a safe way on page is so important. And also absolutely leads to some hilarious scenes with Nick, his dad, and Seth. Like, laugh out loud funny.

The way ADHD is represented also feels authentic and real. I’ve though this in each of the books in this trilogy, and part of it is a journey of Nick accepting himself with it. Nick is such a great narrator, and for teens getting to see ADHD represented like this on the page is great. Nick is also thoroughly supported by his friends and their little found family. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Klune is the king of writing found families.

I would love for this series to get turned into a grpahic novel becuase I think it would be fantastic. This was a great ending to this trilogy, and I can’t wait for everyone else to read it!

5 stars