Book Review: The She-Hulk Diaries

Author: Marta Acosta

Publication Date: June 18, 2013
Publisher: Hyperion

JANUARY 1

CURRENT STATUS: No job, no boyfriend, no permanent place to live, no car, and most of my clothes are held together with staples and duct tape. Bank account almost wiped out. Many of my former associates have expressed a desire that I never darken their doorways again for legal and financial reasons.

She-Hulk got us got us kicked out of the Avengers Mansion. People keep posting videos online of her New Year's Eve shenanigans: twirling, flaming telephone poles in Times Square, climbing the Empire State Building while dangling Anderson Cooper...

Saying there are two sides to Jennifer Walters's personality is an understatement. When she hasn't morphed into a 650-pound, crime-fighting, hard-partying superhero, she's a single lawyer trying to get her act together. Hilarious and action-packed, The She-Hulk Diaries tells her story, as she juggles her intense legal career by day with battling villains and saving the world by night. Maybe bad guys will stop trying to destroy the planet so she can have a real social life and even meet a guy who isn't trying to take over the universe.

The problem with New Year’s Resolutions is that you’re expected to make tectonic lifestyle changes immediately after the holidays, when your brain is lumpy and dried out as a slice of fruitcake that someone shoved under the sofa.

 

Well, Shulky had hung the drapes and she always changed the lightbulbs without complaining. She kills scary spiders in corners. She only eats out, so she never leaves dirty dishes. Frequently, she brings back bottles of expensive wine, which are useful as hostess gifts, and she always passes to movie previews. I didn’t feel so irked as I organized her collection of BeDazzled booty shorts.

 

“Confident men do not denigrate women,” I said. “Cease abusing my client or I shall seek redress.”

 

Superheroes have a different dress code, too. Shulky’s PVC, Lycra, leather, sequined, and studded ensembles crammed the guest closets. She always dumps her clothes on the floor, expecting me to put away her thigh-high boots, spangled bikini bottoms, and chain-mail bras. One of her halter tops had something gross and sticky on it. I threw it away and scrubbed my hands with hot water and antibacterial soap.

This book was an awesome escape from the types of stories that I normally read. Here we have Jennifer Walters, aka “She-Hulk”, and her life has just taken a turn for the worst as she realizes she has no job, no boyfriend, no permanent place of residence, and a sad excuse for a social life. The book is written, as the title suggests, in the format of Jen’s diary and her epic personality and sassiness comes out through her daily entries. The book starts on January 1, the start of a New Year, and Jen has decided to make some New Year’s Resolutions, except these resolutions will begin on February 14! She decides to turn her life around. Little does she know, her superhuman side has far better plans!

 

Jennifer Walters does not refer to the She-Hulk, or Shulky, as a part of herself, but rather as a friend that walks in and out of her life unknowingly. I knew little about her character, but thought that Marta Acosta did a wonderful job of exploring what Jennifer Walters might really be like, apart from She-Hulk. Jen was full of surprises and I loved her quirky, funny personality which often filled the pages with humor and sarcastic happenings. I also loved the diary format and I contribute my strong like of Jennifer’s character to the format in which the book was written. There were things crossed out and tons of lists made my Jen. The pages of this book, otherwise known as Jen’s diary, gave me an inside look into Jen’s head that I don’t think I would have received otherwise.

 

I must admit that I do not know that much about the Marvel universe, but this book has helped build my intrigue to find out more. I only know what I have seen in movies and on television. To be honest with you, I had no idea that the She-Hulk was even a character before I read this book. I thought Marta did a fantastic job of connecting this book to the Marvel realm, while still giving Jennifer Walters her own voice. There were several mentions of some pretty awesome Marvel heroes that we all know and love, and this only helped build my wonder to learn more about Marvel! I really wanted to read a comic book by the time I had finished the book!

 

***A copy of this book was provided to me by the publishers at Hyperion in exchange for my honest review***