Asha Anderson: The Dragon
GENRE
ACTION SCI-FI YOUNG ADULT
Core Theme
GOOD VERSUS EVIL, FRIENDSHIP
TIME PERIOD
Future,Contemporary
COMPARABLE TITLES
FALLEN, GIFTED
CHARACTER LIST
ASHA ANDERSON: 14. LEAD. BRAVE AND LOYAL GIRL WITH SUPERPOWERS.
LILY DONOVAN: 14. ASHA'S BEST FRIEND. VERY INTELLIGENT.
MICK GALLOWS: 14. ASHA'S FRIEND. STRANGE, HAPPY, AND CURIOUS.
KERI SHAW: 14. BULLIES ASHA, LILY, AND MICK. HEARTLESS.
TOM ANDERSON: ASHA'S FATHER. STRUGGLES TO BE THERE FOR HIS DAUGHTER AFTER HIS WIFE'S DEATH BUT GRADUALLY LEARNS.
ATHENA: ANTAGONIST WHO WAS A LEADER OF THE DRAGON. TRIES TO CONVINCE ASHA TO JOIN.
Logline
A broken girl. An unstoppable evil. Can she rise up to defeat a deadly criminal organization or will she be destroyed along with her city?
Target Audiences
Age: 13-17
Target Gender: Universal
Setting
Fictional City: Ascension's Cross
Based on a True Story
No
Publishing Details
Status: Yes: self-published
Publisher: Self-Published
Year Published: 2018
Starting Description
14-year-old Asha Anderson's birthday trip to the metropolis of Ascension's Cross was supposed to be the best ever. Instead, it ended in her mother's death at the hands of the criminal organization called The Dragon and Asha being cursed with terrifying abilities.
Ending Description
Despite her rage at her mother's death and her life becoming a terrible mess, Asha learns what it means to be a hero. In epic battle, she takes the fight to The Dragon and defeats them once and for all.
Group Specific
Information not completed
Hard Copy Available
Yes
ISBN
978-1-7751889-0-2
Mature Audience Themes
Information not completed
Plot - Other Elements
Coming of Age,Happy Ending,Meaningful Message,Philosophical Questions
Plot - Premise
Overcoming Monster/Villain,Other
Main Character Details
Name: Asha Anderson
Age: 14
Gender: Female
Role: Protagonist
Key Traits: Adventurous,Complex,Empathetic,Faithful,Gracious,Heroic,Leader,Naive,Underdog,Modest,Selfless
Additional Character Details
Name: Lily Donovan
Age: 14
Gender: Female
Role: Sidekick
Key Traits: Decisive,Educated,Skillful,Outspoken
Additional Character Details
Name: Mick Gallows
Age: 14
Gender: Male
Role: sidekick
Key Traits: Adventurous,Charming,Clumsy,Sarcastic,Funny
Additional Character Details
Name: Athena
Age: 30
Gender: Female
Role: antagonist
Key Traits: Leader,Manipulative,Sophisticated,Secretive,Visionary,Power Hungry,Charming,Confident,Criminal,Engaging,Educated
Genre
ACTION, SUSPENSE, THRILLER, DRAMA, FANTASY
Brief
A 14-year-old girl's mother dies in an accident that leaves the girl with a strange medical condition. Soon that condition evolves into super powers, and the girl must use her powers to help protect her city and her new best friends from a criminal organization called the Dragon.
Overall Rating
GOOD
Narrative Elements
Authors Writing Style: EXCELLENT
Characterization: GOOD
Commerciality: GOOD
Franchise Potential: EXCELLENT
Pace: GOOD
Premise: GOOD
Structure: GOOD
Theme: GOOD
Accuracy of Book Profile
The short summary makes the book seem like it is for a younger audience than the book is actually for, especially the first sentence. The additional character details should include Lily and Mick as well, not just Asha, since they are very important characters as well. The rest of the profile is accurate.
Draw of Story
The story starts off with a flashback to Asha's 14th birthday, the day when her mother was killed by The Dragon and the day when she accidentally got her superpowers. It is an exciting opening scene, and the pacing continues to be quick and exciting as the story progresses; the action doesn't let up until the very end. The world-building is also intriguing and draws the reader in. This is a world in the not-too-distant-future where everything is similar to our own world but more high-tech, and we see these exciting technological advancements right off the bat.
Possible Drawbacks
At times the bullying felt a bit too extreme. The kids are obviously brutal and mean, and kids can be like that sometimes, but I think there needs to be some redeeming factor or admirable factor about the bullies that allows them to have the kind of power and popularity that they have in the school. If they were just openly terrible people who never did any good to anyone, they wouldn't have the respect of the student body. Or maybe we see something that explains their behavior or humanizes them a bit – are they secretly insecure? Do they have issues at home? etc.
Use of Special Effects
THE STORY RELIES HEAVILY ON SPECIAL EFFECTS
Primary Hook of Story
The world that the author has created is unique and intriguing. The characters are also easy to root for – Asha isn't perfect and can be impulsive and reckless, but she is brave and loyal, and she has strong friendships with Lily and Mick. In addition, this book has great action sequences. As Asha comes into her powers, the battles evolve from little arguments with bullies at school to life-or death fights with people flying out windows and dodging bullets.
Fanbase Potential
If adapted, this could potentially have a solid fanbase. Fans of science fiction and young adult fiction would enjoy this concept as a film, and this is a story that could appeal to people of any gender.
Awards Potential
No, I do not see this having awards potential since young adult fiction is rarely recognized with awards.
Envisioned Budget
MEDIUM BUDGET
Similar Films/TV Series
SPIDER-MAN, ARROW, FALLEN
What’s New About the Story
There are very few stories about female superheroes who are only 14 and live in a science-fiction world. This makes the story stand out from the thousands of other superhero stories out there. While the premise is already quite unique, to make it more unique, maybe take out tropes like Asha not needing her glasses when her powers start evolving.
Lead Characters
Asha is a stand-out protagonist. She is only 14, and yet she has suffered tremendous loss, since she watched her mother die on her 14th birthday. She refuses to open up to her dad and isolates herself in her misery until Lily and Mick come along. The steady growth of her friendship with them and her relationship with her father help characterize her as a loyal, caring friend and daughter. Asha is impulsive and reckless, but it is because she is brave and selfless like her mother. She isn't afraid to stand up for herself and others, and it is exciting to watch her fight the bullies and criminals who try to attack her.
Uniqueness of Story
I would say this is a rare gem. The characters, pacing, and action are all strong, and there is plenty of conflict. In terms of what can be improved, I would suggest making the opening flashback a bit clearer, since I wasn't entirely sure what went down in that scene until later in the book. I would also try to give the bad guys more human sides and clearer motivations. We never see what makes Keri and the others how they are or why Athena, Toro, and the others are wreaking havoc on the city besides the insight that they enjoy hurting people.
Possible Formats
Film - Indie, Film - Streaming, Film - Studio, TV Series - Cable, TV Series - Network, TV Series - Streaming, Unscripted
Analyst Recommendation
CONSIDER
Justification
People love superhero stories, and there are very few that focus on a 14-year-old female protagonist. Asha is a unique protagonist for a story like this, and her friendship with Lily and Mick will appeal to viewers. The writing, pacing, and world-building are strong. I think the antagonists could be better characterized which is why this is a consider and not a recommend at this point.
Brief
14-year-old Asha Anderson's mother dies in a fiery explosion that leaves Asha with an unexplainable medical condition. Several months later, Asha and her father move to Ascension's Cross, a futuristic city with advanced technology everywhere. As Asha deals with bullies at her new school and befriends two other outcasts, she realizes that her condition has developed into superpowers. She uses her powers to fight The Dragon, a criminal organization intent on wreaking havoc on the city.
What We Liked
Asha Anderson: The Dragon is an exciting sci-fi young adult novel with a courageous protagonist, tons of action, and franchise potential. Asha isn't your typical superhero – she is a 14-year-old girl who accidentally develops powers after being in a fiery explosion that kills her mother. While Asha can be brave and strong, it's a good thing she has her two best friends, Lily and Mick, to rein her in, since she tends to occasionally act recklessly or impulsively. The core trio demonstrates the power of outcasts coming together to combat oppressive figures and helps convey the central themes about good versus evil and standing up to bullies. Audiences will enjoy the originality and creativity of this futuristic world, and they will be entertained by the never-ending action and conflict.
Film: Superhero stories generally lend themselves well to film, and this story is no exception. In fact, Asha's story would be a refreshing superhero film, since there are very few 14-year-old female superheroes whose stories have made it to the big screen. This book is action-packed and filled with suspense, and the plot is structured into acts that would easily translate to film. The story has franchise potential, since we see at the end of the book that Athena isn't done wreaking havoc on the city or coming after Asha quite yet. The battle scenes would be extremely exciting to watch play out in a film, and the core trio have a friendship that would be very appealing to movie-goers.
TV: Asha's story is exciting and would make for excellent television. She is dedicated to protecting her city and her friends from evil, just like the lead in the show Arrow, and she can combat different foes as the seasons progress. Adapting Asha's story for TV would allow us to get to know the exciting core trio even better, since we could dig into their pasts and their stories more and more as the show goes on. The concept would lend itself well to a procedural format of a show and also would have serialized elements that build on the previous episodes. This story could go in many directions, and Ascension's Cross provides an original setting where so much could happen.
Key points: 1. strong female protagonist
2. original superhero story
3. good versus evil
4. good guys win
5. lots of exciting action/battle scenes
Synopsis
In the Not Too Distant Future, ASHA ANDERSON (14) and her MOTHER are in the big city of Ascension’s Cross to celebrate Asha’s 14th birthday. They are having a wonderful day until a criminal organization called The Dragon appears, attacking people and setting fires. Asha’s mother runs into a burning building to try to save a baby, and Asha tries to follow her. There is an explosion, and Asha’s mother is killed. A power transformer falls on Asha and electrocutes her.
Six months later, Asha and her father TOM ANDERSON move to Ascension’s Cross. Asha isn’t used to living in such a high-tech city, and she nervously attends her first day of school. LILY DONOVAN (14) is assigned to show her around. Lily is very intelligent, and she points out the mean, popular kids to Asha – TREVOR, ANDREW, CRYSTAL, and KERI. After school, Keri and her crew approach Asha and play a prank on her that ends up with Asha locked outside on the roof of the school in the freezing winter. MICK GALLOWS, a strange boy who always seems happy and likes to stir up trouble for the bullies, rescues Asha.
Asha arrives at school and yells at Keri for the dangerous prank, shoving her. Suddenly, Asha falls to the ground with tremors. Her condition is linked to her accident six months prior, but doctors cannot explain it. Asha walks home from school and is attacked by an evil man in jet boots who is a member of The Dragon. She somehow pulls a manhole off of the ground and hurls it at the man, knocking him out with the force. Her unnatural strength reappears the following day in gym class, and she is unsure where it comes from. Later, Lily and Asha run into Mick at the mall just as The Dragon attacks. Asha runs at the criminals, slamming her palm into one’s chest, sending him and several others flying out of the building. She carries Lily and Mick to safety and tells them she has no idea how she did that.
The trio are all close friends now, and Mick invites Asha and Lily’s families over for dinner. Lily and her mom, EVA DONOVAN, are already at the Gallows’ house when Asha and her father arrive. Eva works at HAAS, a high-tech lab, and Asha’s dad is a security guard at the Hydro Plant next door. After dinner, Asha tells her friends about what happened to her mom. Later, Mick tells Lily and Asha about another Dragon Attack that happened at the West Bridge, and they go investigate. The getaway truck that the criminals used supposedly just disappeared, and they are determined to find it. They find an old warehouse that leads to a secret underground room with the truck, but the truck is empty. Suddenly, Dragon boys start shooting at them, and Asha’s powers kick in – she knocks them out and carries Mick and Lily to safety. Mick calls the police tip line to tell them where they found the truck, but they think he is prank-calling because of his age. The trio realizes that the attack was staged as a distraction while the Dragon members stole copper wire from the truck.
Asha wants to investigate a hardware store where she thinks The Dragon will strike next to steal magnets, but Mick and Lily don’t want to put themselves in danger again and refuse. Asha goes alone and fights the Dragon members there, taking down many of them before she manages to escape. At school the next day, all of the students are sent home after there are 10 Dragon attacks all over the city. Before they go home, Mick yells at Asha for doing something so reckless. Asha storms off, and when Keri taunts her, she grabs her by the throat. The next day, Asha’s dad left her a note telling her to stay home because of the dangerous attacks going on, but she ignores him. When she goes home, she finds her dad waiting for her, worried sick. She opens up to him about how unhappy she’s been since her mother died, and they grow closer. He gets called into work again and leaves, telling her to stay home once more. Just after he leaves, Lily calls her in a panic – she and Mick are at her mom’s office at HAAS, and The Dragon members are attacking. Asha hurries over and takes down Dragon members, then runs upstairs and finds her friends. ATHENA, a leader of The Dragon, shows up and implores Asha to join them, and when she refuses, Athena lets TORO, a vicious Dragon member with a metal arm, attack her. Asha tackles Toro out the window, and witnesses see this, but Asha glows when her powers are activated, so no one recognizes her.
Asha realizes The Dragon members are using electromagnetic energy to take down all the power in the city (which is why they stole copper wire and magnets), and she realizes they will use the Hydro Plant next door as their main power source. She hurries over to the Hydro Plant. and finds the machine that she needs to unplug. However, it is shooting out lightning. As she approaches, she is shocked again and again; she is in agony and just manages to unplug the device before passing out. She wakes up and hurries home, and her dad gets home just after her; there was a police barricade by the plant, so he couldn’t get to work, meaning he was never in danger from the Dragon members who attacked the plant.
Athena meets with her superior. They discuss how Asha foiled their plans this time but that they think they can bring her to their side; they obviously have more destructive plans for the city.
Lily and Mick get Asha a Hero t-shirt, and the three friends are stronger than ever. Mick mentions to them that there is another criminal organization called the Crypt that they should look into.