Journey back in time to the Umbrella Academy’s earlier years in Alyssa Sheinmel’s The Umbrella Academy: Young Blood. Long before Reginald Hargreeves’ death reunited the Umbrella Academy and long before Ben’s tragic death, the Hargreeves siblings itched for a glimpse at freedom, for the chance to be normal kids. But what happens when they go out into the world, in search of a normal night at a college party? Can they escape their extraordinary lives? Or are they destined to save the day wherever they go? These are the questions at the heart of Sheinmel’s Young Blood – and they’re questions she answers to a tee. Young Blood feels just like an episode of The Umbrella Academy. Jam-packed with action, adventure, and a whole lot of family drama, it’s a great read for anyone anxiously awaiting the show’s upcoming final season.

A Normal Night Out for the Umbrella Academy

Life for the Umbrella Academy feels pretty monotonous. Day in and day out, they save they wake up, they train, they save the world, and they debrief about it with their father. But when do any of them have time to be normal teenagers? After yet another successful but ultimately disappointing mission, the Hargreeves siblings decide to sneak out and go to a college party. After all, what could be more quintessentially normal than that? But when they arrive at the party, they discover that it might not be so easy leaving their extraordinary lives behind. With mysterious earthquakes, strange partygoers, and a mystery on the edge of discovery, the Umbrella Academy’s normal night out might yet turn into another mission. Alyssa Sheinmel’s Young Blood takes the weirdness of everyone’s favorite super-powered siblings and the normalness of a coming-of-age story and combines them with delightful results.

Taking place over the course of a single night, Young Blood follows the Hargreeves siblings as they wander into the real world, all alone, for the first time. That, alone, would make for a pretty entertaining Umbrella Academy story. Remove the extraordinary from the team, and what are you left with? Naturally, it’s not that simple here as the Hargreeves siblings stumble their way into yet another mission – despite all their attempts at normalcy. What follows is an action-packed, surprisingly emotional look at the Umbrella Academy’s earlier years. Over the years, the show’s hinted at a lot of these events, but never has it explored them with such depth. Here, Sheinmel perfectly captures the voices of each of these characters, taking readers deep into their heads at this pivotal point in their lives. It’s entertaining, it’s funny, but most of all, it’s worthy of being called an Umbrella Academy story.

Great Ideas and Characterization; Underbaked Execution

What makes Young Blood especially good is the way it splits its time between each member of the Hargreeves family, with each chapter bouncing back and forth between each Hargreeves sibling. Nobody feels like a second thought; every character plays an important role in the novel’s overarching plot. But, on the flip side, the novel’s brevity means that Sheinmel can never really spend enough time on any given character’s arc to give it the depth it deserves. Viktor’s struggle with his identity, for example, simultaneously takes center stage while also never fully emerging into the forefront. And the same is true for Klaus’ penchant for self-medicating his problems away, Ben’s disenchantment with being a superhero, etc. Young Blood is packed to the brim with meaty character moments, but the novel never stops long enough to truly dig into those moments.

And the same rings true for the novel’s overarching plot, too. Sheinmel spends so much time setting up the Hargreeves’ longing for normalcy that there’s hardly any time left to develop the story’s antagonist. Without venturing into any spoilers, the story’s antagonist feels paper-thin, given only the barest bits of motivation or development. They make for a lovely foil to the Hargreeves siblings, but it’s hard not to see the potential left on the table. And really, it’s all a victim of the novel’s pacing. Young Blood has a relatively restrained page count, and Sheinmel packs as much as she can into the novel that there’s simply not enough time to spend on any given thing. All of the pieces are here, and Sheinmel does her best to connect them. But there’s just never enough time to fully flesh out those quieter moments.

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, The Umbrella Academy: Young Blood offers an action-packed, glimpse at the lives of a teenage Umbrella Academy. Balancing six different character arcs and an extraordinary threat, Sheinmel delivers a story that’s sure to please Umbrella Academy fans new and old alike. While the book struggles to deliver fully satisfying character arcs to each of the Hargreeves siblings, it never fails to be anything less than entertaining. If anything, Young Blood makes a great case for an ongoing series of Umbrella Academy YA novels – just with a narrow focus next time. A fast-paced, page-turner of a novel, The Umbrella Academy: Young Blood thrills, entertains, and packs a pretty good punch – however brief it might be.

The Umbrella Academy: Young Blood is available now in hardcover and ebook from Amulet Books/Abrams and Chronicle Books.

Disclaimer: A review copy of The Umbrella Academy: Young Blood was provided by the publisher. All opinions are the honest reactions of the author.