Amazing Fantastic Incredible

Amazing Fantastic Incredible: a MARVELous memoir   by Stan Lee and Peter David and Colleen Doran

Of course Stan Lee's memoir is told in comic format.  

Mere print could never capture the exuberance, the ego, and the buoyant zest of the most legendary name in the history of comic books.  Stan Lee not only co-created many of Marvel Comics' most popular superhero characters like Spiderman, Iron Man, the Incredible Hulk and the Uncanny X-men, he spent his long and prolific career writing, editing, promoting and publishing comic books and the comic book industry.  

Stan Lee narrates his own life story with the same bouncy, conversational narrative style that he uses when talking to groups at comic book conventions:  big gestures, big ideas, and lots and lots of enthusiasm for the fun life he has had.  He doesn't skip over the sad stuff or the hard stuff, but he doesn't dwell there, either.  There are lots of little anecdotes from his life and plenty of unexpected stories too, like the time he worked on a WWII US Army campaign to combat venereal disease (give yourself a giggle and do a Google Image search for "VD Not Me" to see some of the vintage posters created by the campaign).

The narrative reads like a brag sheet splashed with copious amounts of super-radioactive slime:  it's not great literature, but it is great fun.  There are mentions of sex and sexual situations, references to comic book violence, and plenty of scantily-clad female superheros pictured.  Plus a few epic superheros who turn green or burst into flame periodically.

Highly recommended.  

Steelheart

Steelheart  by Brandon Sanderson

Ten years ago, Calamity burst in the sky and ordinary human beings were transformed into Epics.  Some control the weather.  Some can stop bullets.  Some can electrically charge entire cities with a touch.  

Sounds like an ordinary teen flying-capes-and-tights superhero novel, right?  Except there's a catch:  not one of the Epics is a "good guy."  There's just something about using their powers that makes Epics selfish, cruel, and power-hungry.

Almost all humans cower before the Epics, except for a group of rag-tag renegades known as the Reckoners.  Using technology, ingenuity, and a bit of luck, they fight against the Epics.  Eighteen year old David is obsessed with joining the Reckoners.  But when he does, he discovers that fighting the Epics is a lot more complicated than he had thought.

Superhero battles with excellent action sequences interspersed with fabulous character development, plenty of humorous banter, plus a touch of doomed romance equals fabulous.

The only thing better than the book is the audiobook read by MacLeod Andrews.  This story had me making excuses to drive places so I could listen.  First in a series; volume #2 Firefight will be released in January 2015, and I will be waiting in line.

Recommended for ages 10 to adult.

Americus

 

 

Americus  written by M.K. Reed, drawn by Jonathan Hill

 

8th-graders Neil and Daniel would rather read books in their favorite fantasy series The Chronicles of Apathea Ravenchilde than pay attention to their gossipy classmates or the adults in their small town of Americus. 

 

 

 

However, Daniel's mom is convinced that Apathea is the work of the devil and sends her son away to military school, leaving Neil alone to defend his favorite book.  However, it turns out that Neil isn't alone in loving the book....

 

Here is a great graphic novel depicting terrific friendships inspired by books.  Following the example of the main character in Apathea, Neil learns to stand up to bullies on behalf of other book-lovers, gains the confidence of classmates and the local library staff, and even starts a new romance with a fellow-bookworm.  Three cheers!

 

Highly recommended for readers ages 12 to adult.  No sex or cussing; there are depictions of bullying and some rather ugly adult behaviors towards books, children, and other adults.

Cat Girl's Day Off

Cat Girl's Day Off  by Kimberly Pauley

Natalie Ng's two sisters have "Class A Talents": Emmy is a chameleon, able to blend in perfectly with her surroundings.  Viv has X-ray vision and the gift of truth divination.

All Natalie can do is talk to cats.

Nat considers her Talent more of an embarrassment than a gift.  She has sworn her family and best friends to secrecy about the nature of her ability rather than face the shame of being known at school as "Cat Girl."  And yet, it is Natalie's unusual aptitude that leads her into a crime-fighting adventure complicated by a movie film crew and cast intent on re-making Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

Funny and fluffy, this breezy read will appeal to girls who like a little bit of humor and magic or fantasy mixed into normal high school romance stories. The talking cats almost entirely steal the second half of the book. 

No cussing, no sex, some kissing, a few threats of violence from the Talented villain.  Recommended for ages 14 and up.

Ready Player One

Ready Player One  by Ernest Cline


The year is 2044 and 18-year-old Wade Watts, like almost everyone else in the world, regularly escapes from grim reality to spend most of his waking time in OASIS, the online community that has grown up from early beginnings as a network of online video simulation games.  Wade is a "gunter", a game player dedicated to locating the elusive "Easter Egg" hidden somewhere in the nearly-infinite OASIS.  The creator of OASIS was obsessed with the pop culture of the 1980's, and left hundreds of clues for gunters hidden within 1980's movies, books, music, television shows and even commercials  The first to find the Egg will inherit a fortune in cash and controlling interest in the OASIS.  Unfortunately, there are some unscrupulous bad guys who don't mind cheating--or even killing--to win the Egg.

Anyone who has ever gotten immersed in a book, a movie, a video game, or a face-to-face session of Dungeons and Dragons will relate to Wade's experience in OASIS.  Anyone who can recite the entire script of Monty Python and the Holy Grail,  knows every line ever spoken on Star Trek (original series and/or any of the prequel/sequel/spin-off series), played PacMan or Joust for uncounted hours, or who ever rolled for damage to an imaginary monster will revel in the retro-geekiness of the narrative.  Anyone who wants a fun, action-filled dystopian adventure is advised to hide this book from family members who might grab it for themselves and demand a roll of the dice to determine ownership (as happened to this reviewer).

Comic book violence and some off-stage "real world" violence, cussing, and two paragraphs of non-graphic virtual sex with an ultimately unsatisfactory anatomically-correct haptic doll, plus some awesome friendships and a sweet romance.

Highly recommended for readers ages 14 to adult, maybe especially for adults who were teens in the 1980's...but since this book was given to me by a 16-year-old boy, I must recommend it also for those who weren't even a naughty notion in the 1980's.

All These Things I've Done

All These Things I've Done  by Gabrielle Zevin

16-year-old Anya is the heir to to the "family business":  chocolate. 

In the year 2083, chocolate is a controlled substance, and Anya's family is a modern mafia, importing chocolate and other prohibited luxuries to New York.   Her parents were both killed in mob hits, leaving Anya in charge of a younger sister, a brain-injured older brother, and a dying grandmother.  Anya considers herself the least romantic girl in the world...until she falls in love with Win Delacroix, the son of New York's new assistant DA.

Then Anya's ex-boyfriend nearly dies from eating a poisoned bar of Balanchine Chocolate, and the story begins to twist and turn and twist again.

Crime, drama, chocolate, forbidden romance...and this is only the first book!  At least two more in the Birthright series are already in the works. 

This book contains some sexual situations (including a steamy "near miss" scene in a hotel room) with no actual body parts on the page.  There is no cussing, some not-very-bloody mob violence, and several scenes of alcohol consumption by teens; in 2083, alcohol is legal for all ages, but coffee is not.

Recommended for ages 14 to adult.

After the Golden Age

After the Golden Age  by Carrie Vaughn

Forensic accountant Celia West is the daughter of superheroes Captain Olympus and Spark, but her only "talent" seems to be a gift for getting kidnapped and held for ransom.  When the insane supervillian Simon Sito (aka The Destructor) is captured and prosecuted for tax evasion, Celia finds her chance to help bring evil to justice.  However, her investigation uncovers a conspiracy that might be the key to the origin of Commerce City's superheroes...and more.

Fast action, excellent writing, great characters, a unique setting, a little romance, and some tactful off-page sexual situations.  This book is written and published for adults, but it will be welcomed by teen readers of superhero fiction. 

Highly recommended for ages 14 and up.