In AntiHero by J.M. Fibelkorn, high school senior Colby Dixon learns that love is not always convenient or easy, but what else is new? He has spent a lifetime battling an alcoholic, negligent mother, he can count only one person as a true friend and even she is not aware how bad things really are at home. Then he notices a new blue-eyed boy at school. The attraction is immediate and leads him on a path to lust, heartache, pain, love and personal empowerment, not necessarily in that order.

J.M. Fibelkorn builds AntiHero one layer at a time, allowing the reader to become fully engrossed in the story of the dark horse who sees no future for himself that isn’t filled with loneliness and pain. I was taken on a journey through Colby’s past, his education, his love life and his home life. By the time the book ended, I felt as if I knew Colby, and I cared about his future as much as anyone did.

AntiHero took me on an emotional roller coaster ride, although the first pages were very self-involved and left me wondering why I would possibly care about this loser kid who lived in such a colorless world. Fibelkorn built on that colorless world a layer at a time until I was so enthralled with the book that I didn’t want to put it down. I can see where AntiHero will give readers of all ages hope and an undeniable belief in a high power.

AntiHero by J.M. Fibelkorn revolves around the life of teenager Colby Dixon. As the title suggests, Colby is not your traditional hero. He has plenty of weaknesses and attributes that could turn him into a rather unlikable person. He is a very troubled teenager, with a mother who hardly ever is sober, and a best friend who becomes more distant after she started dating a popular guy. As if life wasn't already hard enough, he started falling in love with the broody guy, Christian. Not such a negative development, you would think, right? But what about falling in love with a guy who has blackouts and can't remember certain periods in his life? And what if there is a development that puts your whole world on its head? How can a teenager deal with such things? And will Colby fall deeper into his own problems with alcohol and anger, or will he find a solution for himself and the people around him?

It took me a while to get into AntiHero by J.M. Fibelkorn as the narrative is rather slow at stages. Yet it probably would not be suitable for such a story to be fast paced. The various characters within the novel are very well developed, and you would most likely be able to identify them from their behaviour even if their names were not mentioned. There are some interesting plot twists in the story, and you'll definitely want to keep on reading to find out what Colby will do in the end.