Creature Kid Volume 1: The Teenage Chronicles
Rashad Freeman

Review brought to you by Annabell Cadiz

Synopsis:

Why do the movies always portray mutants as having some kind of glorious plight? If a kid got bit by a radioactive spider he’d probably puke webs right before he died. Men that can walk through bullets and fly don’t dress in tights and pretend to be newspaper reporters. And there are no special flashlights to shine in the air to signal you when there’s trouble. You want to be a superhero and fight crime? Prospects are unlikely at best. Chances are you’d just get sued by the criminals you arrested and put in prison for delivering your own vigilante justice.

The truth of the matter is living as a mutant is risky business. Uncontrollable outbreaks, delusions of grandeur and don’t forget the horde of scientists eager to pick you apart to figure out what makes you tick. Did you really expect a special school to crop up just to take care of all the misfortunate adolescents? Or you could create your own little team by adding Fantastic, Super, or Glorious to the front of a number. No, you wouldn’t be so lucky. And neither was Anthony Dimair, as a matter of fact he was the exact opposite. Now he must survive long enough to find the meaning of his Uncle’s cryptic message while avoiding capture, fighting the elements, and trying to not end up as dinner.

Review:

Anthony Dimar has just entered his first year of high school which would normally be more than enough to deal with. But add a pair of bat-like wings, someone hunting him down and going on a crazy journey in search for the truth Anthony’s life flips into a world wind of crazy!

Creature Kid is a short novella told from the perspective of a teenage boy. Anthony was authentic, brave and determined. I really liked his relationship with his three best friends, Mikey, Mit, and Steve. The boys are loyal without question and accept each other without judgment. They reminded me of the boys from the movie Stand By Me. They are true brothers to each other.

The plot itself was fairly good. The novella does not really solve any of the mysterious events that are presented throughout the plot leaving the reader with far more questions than any real answers. I know the novella is more short story than novel length but I would have liked more of an explanation to what happened to Anthony’s missing friend or what was going on with Anthony. Perhaps the novella would have worked better as a novel than a short story. The pacing began slow and picked up a bit by the time Anthony discovered he had just sprouted wings from nowhere but never really managed to pull me in as a reader.

Creature Kid was a pretty good read for being so short and targeted to a young audience. The novella could use a polish both with grammar and fluidity and the book would work better as a novel. But for a quick and fun read, it’s a really good book to sit back and enjoy a few good laughs with.