The Unstoppable Wasp

This is an excellent follow up to the comic more about where they go next, and some small amount of resolution for Nadia about her parents. Sweet, brave, and fun to read.

This book picks up right where the comic series left off, with all the same lovable characters. Taina especially shines in this book. Nadia is as relatable as a teenage genius raised in a murder orphanage can ever be, and you love to see her experience the life she never got to know in her childhood.

[I received an electronic review copy of this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.] 3.5 stars. I had mixed feelings on this – things I loved and things that were a struggle. I pushed through the struggle spots and the ending was good. A few examples of things I struggled with: The AI plot was almost non-existent for the first third of the book which gave a lot of character development time, but I was distracted waiting for the plot to kick in. There were some stylistic things – name dropping from the Marvel universe, calling Nadia and a 20-something character \”girls,\” which felt weird and jarring. (The teens, sure, but this woman with her own company who is at least 23 or 24, maybe older, didn\’t feel like someone who should be called a \”girl,\” especially in a book about empowerment,) Nadia\’s Neat Science Facts were intrusive and interrupted the flow of the story almost every time they came up. (The only one that felt right was one that occurred at the start of a chapter. They aren\’t footnotes – there are plenty of those, too. These just dropped right into the flow of the story.) Things I enjoyed: Nadia\’s found family. The AI plot once it got going. The author\’s descriptions of the action sequences was exceptionally well-done. (I have read lots of other superhero books, and this isn\’t always the case. This author is very good at it!) Diversity – race, sexual orientation (F/F romance), and a character with cerebral palsy. The integration of Nadia\’s mental illness, bipolar disorder, into the book, and the normalization of her going to therapy and taking medication was excellent. The emphasis on women in science. This was my first introduction to this character – this is NOT the same timeline/universe as what you will find in the MCU. Nadia comes across as naive in this story, but she has a support system that, when it is working well, can protect her and foster her growth.

I wish the last quarter of the book had been what the whole book was like, in which case, my rating would have been higher. I loved the found family aspects of this story, and that we have a main character who has a mental illness that does not DEFINE her, as sometimes happens with characters in books. Nadia firmly falls into the \”nobody understands me\” time of being a teenager though, so fair warning if you can\’t stand that. A lot of the distance between Nadia and her friends was a large part of the plot, but I also couldn\’t help but feel that if the friendships were focused on more, I would have enjoyed it more. Nadia tries to handle things on her own instead of sharing with anyone, which made her very isolated. *Big sigh.* I think this book will really appeal to teenage girls interested in STEM, and this book has a very feminist feel in that regard. There is a lot of diversity with the characters\’ ethnicities as well, but I also felt that there was obvious prejudice against white people, and I don\’t know how to take that. It seemed like it was just commenting on white privilege at times, but at other times, it felt less like that and more like actual prejudice. It was hard to tell, and that is probably not a good sign. Despite some of the issues, if there is a book that comes after this, or plans for one, I would read it. I really want to see the G.I.R.L.s working together more.

I received an advanced copy of The Unstoppable Wasp: Built on Hope through Netgalley, so that I could share my review with you! Trigger Warnings: This book contains a discussion of mental illness (specifically bipolar disorder). It is presented and discussed in a very skillful way, but if you are uncomfortable with this topic, you may want to skip this book. Finding balance is extremely important, especially when youre a teenage superhero trying to change the world! Nadia has a lot of things to focus on, but shes sure that she can do everything if she works hard enough. Between thwarting saving the day as the superhero The Wasp and running GIRL (Genius In action Research Labs), Nadia is struggling to keep up with everything in her life. When she receives a special virtual assistant as a birthday present, Nadia thinks she just mightve found a way to truly maximize her productivity! She might not be able to make more hours in the day, but she can certainly make those hours count. As Nadia becomes more and more lost in her own responsibilities, she beings to struggle to maintain control over her own life. Relying on her virtual assistant only seems logical, but how can your balance life when things keep changing? You can get your copy of The Unstoppable Wasp: Built on Hope on July 14th from Marvel Books! I recently attended an Epic Reads Pride panel moderated by the author of this book, Sam Maggs, which was so much fun! I quite enjoyed reading this story, as it was one of the most unique superhero novels Ive read from the Marvel Universe! Nadia is an interesting character and I thought the discussion of different mental illnesses was very well incorporated into the story. Ive previously read quite a few comics about The Wasp, and I think that Sam Maggs did a fantastic job capturing Nadia in novel form. Im always a sucker for girl-power science teams, so this book was a naturally good fit for me! My Recommendation- If you have been wishing for a superhero story full of upbeat characters dealing with real world issues, The Unstoppable Wasp: Built on Hope would be a great choice for your next read! If you loved the Ant-man movies, but wished they had focused more on Hopes story, this book would be a fantastic choice for you!

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