The Winter Soldier

The Winter Soldier is Mackenzi Lee’s contribution to the Marvel young adult novel series, focused on the character of Bucky Barnes during his post Brainwashing period. Marvel commissioned a series of YA prose novels from established young adult writers, each focused on one or more characters from the wider Marvel universe, and Lee was tapped for the Winter Soldier book in part because of her track record writing morally complicated young men in her Montague Siblings novels.

The novel takes Bucky after the events of Captain America Civil War, when he has been freed from the Hydra programming that turned him into the Winter Soldier and is trying to figure out who he actually is when he is not killing people on someone else’s orders. Lee uses the YA prose format to dig into the kinds of psychological questions that the films could only gesture at. What does it mean to come back to yourself after being used as a weapon for decades? Can you build a life with the memories of what you did during that time intact and unedited? And what happens when the past catches up with you in a way that does not let you stay quietly hidden in Bucharest?

Lee writes Bucky with care and respect for the character. The book draws on both the comics and the films, weaving them together in a way that should satisfy fans of either medium. The supporting cast is strong, with appearances by characters from across the wider Marvel universe, and the action sequences move at the pace YA fantasy readers expect.

For Marvel fans who want more time with Bucky than the films have given them, The Winter Soldier is a satisfying addition. For young adult readers who do not know the comics or the films, the novel works as a self contained story about a man trying to rebuild a life worth living.