Toledo, Ohio: a home for superheroes

Feliza Casano, approaching the end of her teenage years, believes there is something inherent and epic about being a teen. Casano, 18, a junior double majoring in communication and English, with concentrations in journalism and creative writing, is about to achieve the first major accomplishment of her college career: publishing her first novel.

“The TECH Project,” which will be released today, is a fantasy-adventure novel that was written during her sophomore and junior years at Toledo Early College High School about a group of teenagers from Toledo who are gifted with superpowers.

“‘The Tech Project’ is for a high school audience,” Casano said. “It’s a story about teenagers who learn very quickly that they need to grow up.”

Casano chose to write a book about teenagers because, for her, high school is the time in a person’s life when they are most impressionable.

“Being a teenager is when your brain is starting to settle into what you’re going to be for the rest of your life,” she said. “You develop beliefs and study habits — especially early on when you’re 14 and 15. You can be very impressionable. There are a lot of things that can influence a person when they’re a teenager that can affect the rest of their lives.”

“TECH” stands for Team Erie Canal Heroes. That’s right, the superheroes of this novel are defending the city of Toledo, Ohio, which Casano uses as a place for her characters to develop and, of course, fight furious battles.

“I love Toledo. I’ve been here all my life,” she said. “Everyone in Toledo would know some of the places in the book.”

The first chapter, “File 01: Court/Marshal,” introduces the setting for the novel.

“The city of Toledo, located between the Maumee River and Lake Erie, was not blessed with beautiful weather, which was the first thing that Mikolo noticed when the white van rolled to a stop outside the Lucas County courthouse.”

She reveals Toledo as a city amidst a strange disturbance, and the TECH kids are the ones chosen to make everything right.

The heroes are all identified by the color of their uniforms: Purple, Yellow, Red, White, Light Blue and Dark Gray.

The secret identities of the heroes is one of the most appealing aspects of the novel. Zoe, Juliet, Maria, Chloe, Ian and Gordy are all developing, struggling and coping with a variety of emotional and supernatural problems. For example, Juliet cannot accept the mutation of her and her friends because she believes they are no longer able to fit into God’s kingdom. She accuses everyone of being disgusting perversions of God’s creation. Ultimately, every character manifests a superpower that covertly reflects their inner turmoil.

“A lot of things that I tried to explore in the story are things I’ve been trying to explore philosophically or politically,” Casano said. “There are subthemes that include things I’m interested in, like why people become terrorists or extremists.”

The story of “The TECH Project” may be compelling, but it’s hard to distinguish from other series, such as “X-Men,” “Teen Titans,” “Animorphs,” “The Secret World of Alex Mac,” “Power Rangers,” “Final Fantasy,” “Harry Potter” and “Artemis Fowl.” Strong elements from each of these series’ seem juxtaposed in this superhero squad. The only differences may be a change of names and location. However, it’s hard to deny after having appreciated all of the classic comic books, television shows, video games and novels that revolve around ordinary people obtaining extraordinary abilities.

“The TECH Project” was a milestone for Casano, however her passion still lies within pursuing more books.

Sometimes, the closest you can get to reaching a dream or fantasy is by diving into a book or, in Casano’s case, writing one.

“Books are extremely important,” she said. “I can’t imagine not reading books. Being able to see the words in front of you. You hear things and see things all the time. Images and sounds are thrown at you…Sometimes you just need the quietness of the book. You can keep up at your own speed. It’s just words on a page. It’s just you and the words.”

“The TECH Project” is not only an interesting young-adult fantasy novel, it is an example of how a person can set goals and accomplish them. One of Casano’s goals as a growing writer was to finally reach her desired level of discipline and finish an extended project. “The TECH Project” is the result of her long battle with never being able to finish something she started.

“The story isn’t over until you stop trying to write it,” she said. “The story will always continue no matter what happens, until you give up. It doesn’t have to do with anybody else — just you.”

Casano plans to send out press kits in hopes of getting her book on the shelves of local and independent bookstores and in the hands of high school students. Most importantly, though, she is not necessarily concerned with how many people read it. For Casano, the reward lies in finding a reader who will connect with her writing and the characters she created.

“If nothing else, it’s a good story,” she said. “Sometimes a good story is all you need.”

More information about Casano and “The TECH Project” can be found at www.TheTECHProject.net.