Black and White

I like Jackie Kessler, and I'm a huge fan of Caitlin Kittredge, so I was expecting this to be really good. They did not disappoint! Not a comic fan as the authors are, but you don't have to be to enjoy Black and White. This is an introduction to Jet and Iri, young extrahumans who met at the Academy and became not only room mates, but really good friends. They are opposites in many ways so they compliment each other perfectly. Iri is very smart, like high I.Q. smart. Jet is too, but she has to work very hard for every A. Iri is impatient and has a temper. Jet is very calm and likes to think things through. Iri is great at improv, and Jet is just trying to stick to protocal. Iri is a Light power, where Jet is a Shadow power. What they do have in common is how their fathers have shaped their lives. Iri's father is a rabid - what a superhero is called when he turns bad. He's imprisoned for life for speaking out against the Corp. Jet's father killed her mother and was institutionalized. The novel starts five years after the Academy where we find Jet as the superhero of New Chicago, and Iridium a supervillian. Black and White flashes back and forth in time, to when the girls were in school, and as they are five years later. The novel also flashes back to point of view. One chapter it's Jet and the next is Iri. But it is so wonderfully written that a reader does not get confused with either time or character. As a matter of fact, this really works because you get to know each year of their lives even as the present story unfolds. It also makes for a really good mystery, suspense, and some interesting plot twists and turns. I couldn't help but cheer for them both as there are a lot of misunderstandings between the two that caused them to be enemies. As the first of what may be a series, it couldn't have been better; and it laid down a lot of solid foundation to not only the history between the two, but of the way things are in the future, and the fight between superheroes and the Everyman, a group of regular humans who are determined to destroy the very heroes that save them.

This is a fun read! The characters are quirky and the dialogue is fun. I can't wait to read the sequel and I am definitely going to be sharing this book with all of my super hero loving friends. Iridium and Jet are fresh contributions to a genre that has been getting a little stale.

I'm a sucker for superheroes. Always have been and probably always will be. I'm obsessed with the whole good versus evil philosophy. A fertility clinic figures out a way to help woman become pregnant. Soon after the children are born, the clinic realizes that the children are not your average humans. They have special powers. Jet is a shadow power who's father killed her mother when he went insane. She is told that all shadow powers loose their mind eventually. Then an adult shadow power named Night takes Jet under his wing. He becomes a friend, a mentor. Iridium is a light power. Her father became a "rabid" because he defied Corp and all it stands for. He was sentenced to prison for being a traitor. Both Jet and Iridium have suffered from tragedy. They are partners and roommates at school and become friends. But just as quickly they become enemies. Both are fighting for the good humanity, they just happen to disagree about who's is right and who's is wrong. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who likes superhero or the good versus evil stories. When I got close to finishing the book I felt sad. I do this when I read something that I really like because I never want the story to end. Luckily when I got to the back of the book I saw that there will be a sequel "Shades of Gray" in July of 2010. I will definitely put this on my "to be bought" list. If you haven't read this, I suggest you purchase a copy.

Not being all that big on comics or movies based on comics, my expectations for Black and White weren't that high. Don't get me wrong, I love both jackie Kessler and Caitlin Kittredge and knew they would put together a fantastic story, but I didn't think it would be my cup of tea. I was so wrong. This book blew me out of the water, and has officially made me a huge fan. When I first flipped through the book (I like to get a feel for the layout before I start reading), I noticed that the book was split up into sections of "Now" and "Then", and that each of these sections were split up between the two main characters, Jet and Iridium. What sounds confusing, ended up melding together perfectly. At the end of each "Now" section, the reader is left with a cliffhanger, but is then sucked into the past in the following "Then" section. This could have easily become confusing and choppy, but for Jet and Iridium's "frenemies" realationship, it was the perfect way to progress the story while still giving the reader the background information needed to truly understand what's going on. Almost every chapter in Black and White switches between Jet and Iridium, with a few actually integrating both. Each writer gives their character a unique and distinct voice, while still blending seemlessly together (Jackie Kessler writes Jet, Caitlin Kittredge writes Iridium). Even when one writer was writing about conflicts between Jet and Iridium, the parts involving the character that was not their's did not stray out of character. And secondary characters blended seemlessly between the two writers also. Black and White kept me constantly on my toes and completely surprised. Coming from someone who tends to figure things out a couple scenes ahead, this is what sets this novel apart from most. I recommend this book to both comic book lovers, and urban fantasy readers who are looking for something new within the genre.