The gas pedal is all the way to the floor in Kami Garcia and Gabriel Picolo’s final installment of the Teen Titan series: Together. We’re racing to the conclusion, and that pace strains and solidifies the relationships our teens have been developing.
We finally have the whole team together, but they’ve just come together, so there are many growing pains they still have to go through. This is honestly my favorite part of the book and the series as a whole. It’s the coming-of-age story of adolescence where emotions are new, big, and confusing. And these kids are misfits with freaking powers! They’re growing up on hard mode, but that’s comforting to us because if they can persevere and make it through all the challenges that come their way, then there’s hope for the rest of us.
My biggest takeaway with this book is that I wanted more. Not action (The plot really moves!), but more time to sit in the emotional fallout and angst – but I’m greedy and that’s the stuff I really like. It’s what made me fall in love with the books in the first place. I love to twist the knife on characters’ emotions, because then their eventual success feels so much sweeter. But I understand that the final act in a story isn’t where we slow down, it’s where we ramp up and race to the end, so, narratively, this book is doing its job. However, I would’ve really liked a Cyborg book. We get a brief look into his contentious relationship with his dad (Boy, do lots of these kids have daddy issues!) and his constant struggle to maintain his humanity despite being part machine. It’s a great emotional linchpin to drive tension through the group. Sure, there are a lot of plot obstacles getting in the kids’ way of going after H.I.V.E, Slade, and Trigon, but the biggest hurdle is their own emotional hangups and personality challenges.
These emotional hangups and challenges are everywhere, and they lead to a lot of instances of motivated reasoning – a useful tool for maintaining relationships, but you’re essentially using your biases to come to your preferred conclusion about people. When Damian makes some questionable choices, many in the group are quick to write him off, especially those who were already upset with him. They conclude that this is proof that Damian is not on their side, but Dick defends Damian’s bad behavior because he rightfully assesses that they don’t know all the information. Thankfully, we’re able to see Damian make amends and repair the relationship between him, Dick, and the others. It’s a great moment of emotional growth for Damian and makes us hopeful about his future with the group.
Kori and Kira give us another angle, but it doesn’t end as well. Kori still loves Kira and wants their relationship to be close like it was before, but Kira is up to her manipulative ways again. Despite this, Kori still holds out hope that her sister will come around. Until she doesn’t. It’s a nuanced take that even if you love someone, that doesn’t give them the right to be in your life. When someone does something hurtful towards you, even if you understand their reasoning, sometimes, it’s best for everyone involved if you distance yourself. I feel like it’s also a gentle commentary on “blood” versus chosen family. It’s often implied that our blood family deserves our loyalty just for being related to us, but bonds with chosen family can be just as strong, or stronger at times. Dick and Damian aren’t blood relatives, but they’re still brothers and despite clashing, they’re now willing to build a relationship. Kira and Kori have had a strong relationship until recently, but now it’s suffered a rupture and Kori is unwilling to accept Kira’s actions and words. Serious repairs must happen before Kori’s willing to let her sister back in.
This interaction with Kori and Kira shows how impactful and cutting words can be. If you’re anything like me, you might’ve been told “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me” as a response on how to deal with bullying growing up. I believe the saying should really be “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will mess you up for a lifetime” – unless you do a lot of self-reflection and therapy, that is. Bones can heal given the proper rest and care, but a single careless or caustic word can seep into your psyche and erode away at your self-esteem and self-worth. They can have you believing damaging stories about yourself, some that you don’t even realize are stories, you just think they’re the truth. Thankfully, in Kori’s case, she doesn’t let these words take root. She’s quite secure in who she is and is able to push back against Kira and set clear boundaries. It’s a powerful example of standing up for yourself and your needs without being cruel, especially with someone you still love. Boundaries are healthy, people, but we need to communicate them to others. After all, many of us have an unspoken manual about how we expect others to behave, but if they don’t know that, how can they behave properly? Communication, my friends: It’s important in any relationship.
Speaking of communication, or lack thereof, Max has one of my favorite emotional storylines in this book. Outwardly, she can act confident and self-assured, but she’s scared of getting too close to people and getting hurt. (Welcome to the club, Max; we meet on Tuesdays.) I love that this idea gets explored in a YA book, where the target audience is still figuring out who they are and what they want. I mean, I’m not a teen anymore, and I’m constantly reevaluating these things. It’s a bit of a paradox, because we understand that if we actually want the opportunity to feel loved by others, we have to put ourselves out there and risk possible rejection. It’s the Wayne Gretzky thing of “you miss one hundred percent of the shots you don’t take,” so the only way to really fail and never connect with others is to never try in the first place. But that kind of emotional exposure is terrifying. It feels safer to protect yourself and build up walls so no one can get in and ensure you’ll never get hurt. But keeping out the bad stuff means you also keep out the good stuff. Brené Brown teaches us this. You can’t selectively numb emotions. If you try to numb the painful emotions, you also dull the good ones, and that doesn’t seem like a fun way to live. Once again, by seeing someone else be brave enough to try, it gives us the courage to try, too.
This book is riddled with angsty goodness. Every single one of our teens gets pushed in emotionally uncomfortable positions. Raven and Max get into it because they have different perspectives on romantic relationships and how to deal with Trigon; Damian gets vulnerable with Max and it doesn’t go the way he planned which adds another layer to his bickering with Dick; Dick himself crosses a line with Victor and his interactions with Kira worry Kori, and even Gar gets stressed seeing Raven put herself in danger for the sake of everyone else. Basically, everyone is kind of a mess in the best way. It makes sense, group dynamics can be difficult, even when you don’t have someone actively manipulating members of the group. It’s part of the uncomfortable growing pains, but a common goal can be a great unifying force.
The common goal here is to take down H.I.V.E, Slade, and Trigon. Not necessarily in that order, and not necessarily completely – our teens are self-aware enough to know that going against an entire organization and a powerful demon will be difficult even with powers. Which means there’s a lot of plot action happening here in addition to the emotional turmoil that I love to simmer in. Personally, the climax felt a bit rushed to me, mostly Raven’s confrontation with Trigon. It didn’t seem as difficult as it was in the first book when Raven had help to deal with Trigon. Granted, she is stronger, but still, I would’ve loved to really sit in this conflict a bit more and draw it out. The aftermath was a delight; however, Gar’s anguish comes through beautifully. You can feel how much he cares about Raven, and it helps to solidify their bond and relationship moving forward. The confrontation with Slade and H.I.V.E felt on par with the kids’ powers and what they could do, and I was glad to see that the book didn’t end in a place where the teens came out victorious on all accounts.
When it comes to the art, I think I love the slice-of-life moments Picolo draws the best, as well as the closeups of facial expressions – especially tears, he draws some beautiful tears. From private moments between two characters to big emotional blow ups, it’s fun to see them as regular teens trying to navigate the world and all the challenges that come with that. I get a real kick out of the clothes Picolo puts the teens in, especially Raven and Max. From their ‘salty,’ ‘easy tiger,’ and ‘killing it’ shirts, it’s another great way to showcase their individual personalities. We also get plenty of smooches in this book, and they’re all quite sweet.
The book leaves us with enough open threads that can continue in many directions. Dick’s emergence as Nightwing is hinted at, as well as Slade’s turn as Deathstroke, and the budding romances between the teens. I would eat up a Nightwing book with Dick juggling college, his relationship with Kori and his responsibility and dedication to the rest of the teens and especially Damian. Even a book with Raven and Gar attending college together, or, honestly, a book about them all just hanging out with no real plot heavy stakes. Picolo has lots of artwork of the teens in casual situations and I would pre-order a copy of that kind of book so fast.
Overall, I’m happy with where everyone ended up, but would absolutely devour a new book with these kids going forward if one were to pop up. But in the meantime, I have Garcia and Picolo’s upcoming Young Justice graphic novel to look forward to, and so do you.
Creative Team: Kami Garcia (writer), Gabriel Picolo (artist), Rob Haynes (artist), N. Steven Harris (artist), David Calderon (colorist), Wes Abbott (letterer)
Publisher: DC Comics
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