Three Rivers Press -- tpb
New York -- ©2008 -- 377pp
ISBN: 978-0-307-39440-8
Five college students at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, wake up one morning after a party to discover they have super powers. They begin a journey, at first alone, and then together, to discover what their powers mean for themselves.
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I'm not sure what I was expecting when I picked this up in a little independent book store, but, as I like comics and I enjoy literary and genre fiction, this seemed like a good book for me.
I'm still intrigued with the premise ... five students in Madison, WI wake up one morning to discover that they've inherited/developed/been gifted with some extraordinary super powers. What happens next?
I like that Schwartz has attempted to keep it real. Grounded (no pun intended). Unfortunately, it gets so grounded that it becomes tedious and boring in spots. The personal/sexual relationships that are developed don't seem interesting, and frankly, I never fully understand how close these friends really are. Are they all friends? Are some outsiders among their groups? Does it matter? Well, yes it does if you're telling a story about people. And their actions as super-powered individuals isn't played up too much ... mostly second reports about what they've done. Again, this is fine as this is a story about people and not a comic about a superhero, but what is the focus of this story?
There are some really nice moments here ... specifically (without giving anything away), a scene in a nursing home that I really wanted to read more about, and the effects that the powers have on some of the students (physical as well as psychological), but in the long-run, this book lagged a bit.
I give it 3-1/2 stars.
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