Black Widow: Forever Red

Fair warning: I’m a huge Marvel fan. So my critique of Black Widow: Forever Red, by Margaret Stohl, a young adult novel about a girl trying to outlive her past in an epic adventure, may be the tiniest teensiest bit bias. But I’m ok with that.

I love Black Widow. Stohl did a good job of keeping her similar to how Marvel fans imagined her but with a few tweaks to keep the story line in check. That being said, it’s appreciated that the point of view switches between Black Widow, Alex, and Ava, the other protagonists. Not only does it help to make the story more YA friendly, but it keeps the story true to a familiar character while spinning her in a whole new light.

A new light indeed. I confess I haven’t read the comics, but the story felt original, and sometimes that’s half the battle. It had a plot and ending worthy of such a character--fearless and boundary-breaking and packed full of adventure. I didn’t see the big twist coming from the middle (of course there’s more than one; this is Stohl we’re talking about) but absolutely loved it. It made Black Widow that much more relatable.

I also appreciated that Alex was a fan of Black Widow’s as a superhero, then despised her for a little bit once he realized what being a superhero entailed, then grew to be a fan of her for her personality and strength. It was sweet and something every kid would do once meeting their idol.

Recommended for people who aren’t fans of Marvel. This is a great starting point: it’s not too sci-fi/fantasy heavy, the characters in Marvel are isolated, and you don’t need to read anything else to understand the story line.

--Grace Nask