Review Detail

Josh Anvil is a typical teenager until a not-so-typical encounter with aliens gifts him with superpowers. Cue a roller-coaster ride of a story as Josh is yanked out of his typical school life into unwanted limelight.

What worked in this story is that for me, the author succeeds in getting inside the mind of a 14-year old protagonist and making him totally believable. His actions are authentic, and sometimes frustrating and illogical to the adult reader - but hey, that's not quite the target audience for this book. I appreciated the courageous introduction of Josh's dyslexia. At one point I thought, 'the author is really having fun here' as his imagination stretches and fizzes and pops off in unexpected directions, and that for me is a strong recommendation for this story. The opening scene is especially memorable and the book picks up pace throughout. The superpowers are explored and played with; I also enjoyed the treatment of family/friends, they certainly don't always get on, but they add to the story.

I felt the plot suffered in two respects - firstly, I found some of the high school material too lengthy. I found myself wanting to skip those sections to get to the good bits, of which there are plenty, but they made the high school material seem bland in comparison. Secondly, it is hard I think to generate and sustain tension when the main protagonist has apparently unbridled power. Crisis situations are too easily raised and resolved and I fear some readers might feel the lack of a driving tension in the story. The analogy might be of swimming in many small waves, but no huge ones.

However, all told, a fun story and one I am glad I got to read. I received this book in exchange for for a non-reciprocal, honest review.