Powerful: A Powerless Story

In Powerful, Lauren Roberts’s structure diverges from the happy ending typical of the romance genre. How does its characterization as “romantasy,” its dystopian setting, and the foreshadowing Roberts employs throughout the narrative help temper readers’ expectations about how Adena and Makoto’s love story will end?

Adena and Makoto are very different people when they first meet. What rhetorical devices and techniques does Roberts use to create these two differing characters? How does their characterization evolve over the course of their romantic arc?

Roberts has said that Adena’s romance with Makoto is more relatable than Paedyn’s romance with Kai. What makes a romantic pairing “relatable” to readers, and do you agree or disagree with Roberts’s assessment? Cite specific examples from the text to support your argument.