Trouble - Janelle Brown - ★★★★.¼

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AUTHOR: Janelle Brown
SERIES: We Could be Heroes, #3
GENRE: Short Story
PUBLICATION DATE: February 7, 2023
RATING: 4.25 stars.

In a Nutshell: Not the kind of story I expected in a series titled “We Could Be Heroes”, and that itself shows how preconceived our notions are about certain topics. Fits the theme perfectly, if you look at it the right way. I enjoyed this! (I am an outlier on the positive side, for once! 🥳)


Plot Preview:
When Polly’s fourth-grader daughter Hannah decides that she wants to invite her new best friend, Katrina’s daughter Sylvia, over for a play date. Polly cannot refuse, despite her reservations about the kind of influence Sylvia will be. Polly is sure that either Sylvia is troubled OR she is trouble, primarily because of her upbringing. But when Polly hears Sylvia’s admissions about her struggles at home, Polly realises that she needs to take some action to save the child from her dismal life.
The story comes to us in Polly’s third person perspective.


This is the third standalone story in the 'We Could be Heroes’ series, described on Amazon as “a darkly inquisitive collection of short stories that examines heroic intentions versus their real-life consequences.”

Polly is one of those mums who seem to have everything right at home and school. A homemaker, PTA member, a wealthy husband, a huge house,.. Have you already started creating a picture in your mind of what kind of a person Polly is?

Good. Let’s add another character to the mix.

Katrina, Sylvia’s mother, is one of those mums who lives a flashy life regardless of what others think about her. Revealing flashy clothes, high heels, inappropriate behaviour, and bad language. With such a character, you can already guess what kind of a childhood Sylvia has with such a mother. Right?

Do you see why Polly felt like she had to be Sylvia’s ‘hero’? Isn’t it normal to want to save a child from abuse at home?

However, this story doesn’t fit into the series theme in the conventional way. It is a darker take on the idea of heroism, challenging you to question your stereotypical thinking, your judging of someone based on looks or language, your assumptions about those who either fit into or fit outside of societal conventions.

Though I could see where the tale was going, I still found it a compelling read. Within just 36 pages, the author provides just enough of character depth to help us understand their motivations without spoon-feeding too many details.

All in all, this was a fresh take on the ‘heroes’ idea, and quite unlike the other two stories I have read in this series. This is the lowest rated story of the series on Goodreads, but to me, it is the best story so far, which is saying a lot because the other two stories were also great.

Definitely recommended to those who understand these important words from the theme tagline: “heroic intentions versus their real-life consequences.”

This standalone story is a part of the “We Could Be Heroes” collection, and is currently available free to Amazon Prime subscribers.

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