Book Review: “Supernova”

Picking up where “Arch-Enemies” by Marissa Meyer left off, “Supernova” wraps up the Renegades trilogy in a satisfying conclusion. Fair warning: there will be spoilers for all three books moving forward.

“Supernova” opens with Nova nervously entering the Renegades HQ, the very same place where she stole Ace Anarchy’s helmet the night before. After a accident lands Max- Adrian’s brother with the ability to steal prodigies’ abilities- in the hospital, both Nova and Adrian are on edge.

In “Arch-Enemies,” we found out that Danna was following Nova with a butterfly, and as a result, knows all of Nova’s secrets. The Anarchists are able to trap the butterfly, restraining Danna’s ability to reform as a human. Another Anarchist by the name of Narcissa Cronin kills the butterfly, not entirely on accident, and Danna is able to reform.

When Danna finally wakes up, she tells Adrian that Nova is Nightmare. He doesn’t believe her at first, but eventually all the facts start to align, and he arrests Nova, condemning her to the same prison as her uncle, Ace Anarchy.

Nova finds out that she is to be subjected to the same fate as her uncle- being stripped of her powers using Agent N and executed.

Narcissa realized that she owed Nova for killing the Detonator, the villain who murdered her grandfather. In an attempt to repay debt, she dressed up as Nightmare and showed herself to the Renegades, effectively “proving” Nova’s innocence.

Nova is freed from prison, and she goes back to the Anarchists where she finds out that their team has grown.

On the day that was supposed to be Ace Anarchy’s execution, the Anarchists set their plan in motion. Having already replaced the Renegades’ Agent N, the grand presentation of the neutralizing agent that the Renegades were hoping for doesn’t happen. The Anarchists set free bees with stingers tipped in Agent N and started taking away Renegade powers. Adrian changes into his Sentinel suit, but after a long fight, Phobia eventually gets Ace Anarchy’s helmet to him.

Chaos erupts, and Ace Anarchy and the Captain fight. Adrian is busy getting his other father out of the crossfire, but quickly realizes the captain needs help. Understanding he would be useless in his metal suit, he retracts his armor, and the world- including Nova- finds out that the Sentinel and Adrian are the same person. Nova realizes that Ace is beginning to target Adrian and stops him, saying that they’ve done what they needed to today. The villains leave, taking refuge at an old cathedral.

The Renegades order an attack on the cathedral. In the middle of a frenzy, Adrian realizes three fundamental truths at the same time. One: Nova is in fact Nightmare. Two: He created Phobia. Three: Phobia killed his mother. All the while, Nova realizes this anarchy isn’t what she wants. Captain Chromium reveals that Ace Anarchy was actually the one to kill Nova’s family, and not the Renegades’ fault like she was led to believe.

Adrian brings Max to the rooftop where Nova is and where Ace is fighting the captain. Ace knocks the captain unconscious, and Nova lunges for Ace, injecting him with Agent N. Adrian gives Ace’s helmet to Max and with his newly amplified power, begins absorbing every prodigies’ power.

Max, not desiring of the power, releases it. Upon giving it up, power is granted to everyone, even non-prodigies. The day became known as “the Supernova.”

Overall, the “Renegades” series was well-written, funny, and action-packed. Marissa Meyer wrote a perfect balance between fantasy and sci-fi, set in a futuristic, yet still dystopian-like city. It’s hard not to love the characters, especially if you always find yourself liking the villains better than the heroes.

While the ending was extremely fitting for the series, it was a little cliché and predictable. Nova and Adrian get together, and she eventually chose to side with the heroes in the end, and some could argue that was obvious how the books were going to play out from the first one.

No matter the ending, I still think that the many unpredictable plot twists, chemistry between the characters, and fast-paced writing make all three of the “Renegades” books worth the read.