Starter Villain by John Scalzi

Bibliographic Information:

Title: Starter Villain

Author: John Scalzi

ISBN: 9780765389220

Publisher: Tor Books

Copyright Date: 2023

Format/Genre: Hardcover; Superhero stories; Adult books for young adults (Starter Villain: NoveList Plus - Powered by EBSCOhost, n.d.)

Awards and Honors: 2024 Alex Award Winner

Reading Level/Interest Level: This novel was written for and marketed to adults. But with the adorable cat on the cover, how could it not be a hit with any kids in 9th grade or higher who are interested in super heroes.

Plot Summary: Charlie Fitzer is a single, unemployed journalist who is working as a substitute teacher and has dreams of purchasing the local pub in the small town he grew up in (and currently lives in as well). The only problem is he does not have any money, he is living in his deceased father’s home, and his stepsiblings want him out of it so they can sell it. Things change for Charlie when his Uncle Jake dies and bequeaths his parking garage empire to Charlie. Uncle Jake was really rich, like Warren Buffet rich. Charlie soon finds out that Uncle Jake’s parking garage empire was really just a front for his “real” business, which was being a Super Villain – with a hideout inside a volcano on an island and everything! And it turns out Charlie’s cat is a super-intelligent clone that Uncle Jake had created, who can talk via the computer and actually works for Uncle Jake’s company. And did I mention the talking dolphins on the island, who want to form a labor union unless Charlie meets their labor demands!?

Author Background: Scalzi’s debut novel, Old Man's War, won him the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. His novel Redshirts won the Hugo Award for best novel. He currently lives in Ohio with his wife and his daughter (John Scalzi | Authors | Macmillan, n.d.).

Critical Evaluation: This book is going to appeal to any teens that like superhero (and villain) comics and graphic novels. I think it could be a gateway for teens and young adults who are not especially interested in comics and graphic novels as well! It is a silly, but really quite intelligent, take on the villain genre, and it is definitely a page turner – I read it in one day! The author takes all the usual tropes – a massive cabal of villains trying to take over the world, super powerful weapons – and turns them on their head. I found myself rooting for Charlie, as he was in way over his head, and that made the situation he was in even funnier. This book was marketed to adults, as most of Scalzi’s previous books are, but this could easily have been marketed to young adults from the beginning and it is obvious why it was a 2024 Alex Award Winner.

As one book reviewer put it, “there’s crossing, double-crossing, a wonderfully savvy and knowledgeable second-in-command, nefarious plots, sentient cats, and more. This was playful, smart, funny, and weird” (Bookworm, 2024).

Creative Use for a Library Program: This book does a great job with the anthropomorphic characters. The dolphins who are on a labor strike – the cats who are really the brains behind the entire operation – they are some of the best, and funniest, parts of the book! So I would have the teens create their own (shorter) version of this story, and they cannot use the same animals – they have to create their own versions of anthropomorphic animals and assign roles and tasks to them.

Speed-Round Book Talk: Charlie is a single, unemployed journalist who is working as a substitute teacher in his hometown, and living in the house he grew up in after his parents passed away. He only has one dream – to purchase and own the neighborhood hangout bar – but that takes money that he doesn’t have and can’t get. Until his rich, estranged, uncle passes away and Charlie gets notified that he is to take over the business. It’s not the parking garage business as Charlie thinks though – his recently deceased uncle in a supervillain, and Charlie is about to take over the family business!

Potential Challenge Issues and Defense Preparation: The main thing that anyone could challenge this book about is the violence – bombs and missiles, and people getting shot. But it is not any more extreme than what a teen is going to see on network television or playing video games. So again I do not think any extreme measures are needed in preparing a defense for this book – simply point to the collection development policy.

Reason for Inclusion: How could I NOT read a book with a cat wearing a suit and tie on its cover! I had this book in my TBR pile prior to taking this class in the fall semester, so it was an easy inclusion for my blog, as it won the Alex Award so other people (who may, or may not be, smarter than myself) have already said it is a great book for teens!