Customer Reviews

Super What?

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Fifteen-year-old high school sophomore, Jessie Drummond, is not your average teenager. Sure, she likes guys, dreams of being kissed by Orlando Bloom, and worries about her big, crazy hair, and how it just never seems to want to cooperate. But most teenagers aren't part of a family of superheros like Jessie is. And most teenagers don't have to worry about why they never came into their superhero powers, but their genius seven-year-old sister did, and most teenagers didn't have their superhero Father killed while he was fighting evil villains for the League of Liberty, causing Jessie, and the rest of her family to leave Seattle and head to a tiny town in Florida called, get this, Skyville. But now, things are changing. Jessie's powers are suddenly coming on, very strong, and if that weren't enough, she has two super-cute guys vying for her attention. Now Jessie has to worry about saving the world, on top of choosing which guy she likes more, and wants to go to Mini Prom with. Of course, this is all in a day's work for a superhero.

Jax Abbott has proved that she has quite the imagination, as well as a way with words when writing for teenagers, and it shows in her effort with SUPER WHAT? Jessie is an exciting, wise-cracking character, filled with anger and anticipation when it comes to her superhero powers. Abbott proves that superheros, those with superstrength, who Normals depends on to save the world, go through the average emotions that any normal teenager would go through, only about 100 times worse, seeing as how so many people depend on them. Overall this is an amazing effort, that will be snatched up by fans of teen fiction, or those who enjoy a good, interesting story about a superhero, seeing as how it is done very originally here.

Erika Sorocco
Book Review Columnist for The Community Bugle Newspaper

Super heroes really exist although their existence is a big secret. Jessie is the daughter of two super heroes and the only one in the family not to have any sort of super power. But with her sixteenth birthday fast approaching and the move to a small town after her father's death, Jessie has to face a brand new school.

It is not bad enough being the new kid in a town where everyone has known everyone else since birth. To add to the awkwardness Jessie suddenly develops super powers on her first day at school and causes a bunch of windows to explode. Things begin to happen quickly and Jessie can't help feeling more and more the freak. Now she has to prepare for the mini prom, decide which of two different boys should take her, put up with her super grandmother who has come in to see her development and deal with the League of Liberty's new interest in her.

Although this is a coming of age super hero story, the super hero part is minor. Jessie has to deal with her own feelings and emotions and her powers will not help with that. Very well done as we see Jessie really is just a normal teenager with normal feelings even if she can hear a conversation on the other side of town. A good start to a promising series. The only problem is that Jessie seems ignorant of things a city kid should know, especially her vocabulary.

First of alll, I'd like to say that I enjoyed this book very much! If it wasn't for the fact that I decided not to judge a book by it's cover (because let's face it-the cover isn't exactly "super" cool in my opinion) I would of missed something really great. Because this book is just one of those things that definetly could of been bad like so many teen books but it suprised me! As you know Jesse is a super hero with problems to deal with like how to control her x-ray vision and super hearing but also has dilemmas (sp?) like how to deal with the "populars" like Kelli and problems with boys.Between dealing with her super hero powers and the hassles of every day teen life this book is enough to keep you reading from cover to cover.This book is hardly anything but corny from it's interesting plot to it's funny,sarcastic writing this is worth the money!

OK, I left teenhood behind in late '87, but still . . . I think this book is SO excellent! A teen superhero! A sparkling mix of realism and fantasy that will appeal to both chronological teens and the inner teen in everyone. And yes, I pre-ordered the sequel!!!

I met Alesia Holliday (aka Jax Abbott) at a Space Coast Writers' Guild conference several years ago and, after talking to her for quite a bit, bought her book because it looked fun and, well, that's what you do at conferences. Fortunately it really was fun, moreso than I had hoped. Jax uses a great first person "teenage" voice that inspired me to try using first person in some of my own books (If you read your own reviews, Alesia, thanks for the inspiration and advice.)

While this book is about a teenage girl who discovers she has super-powers, it also deals with many real-world issues. The main character, Jesse is dealing with the loss of her father, living in a new town, trying to fit in at a new school, being different (duh, she's a super hero), teenage relationships, and more. All-in-all a great book well worth reading.

Losing a parent, moving to a new town, having a precocious kid sister while you are just normal, and starting a new school are all crises, no matter what your age, and especially if you are a teen ager; add to the mix the fact that your parents are both super heroes, your kid sister becoming one, and you have no powers, life moves from routinely gray to dismally dark. Jessie's life is in the dismally dark category. Then, in a moment of blinding pain and exploding windows, her wish to have powers comes true, and then some. To all indications, she may be the most gifted of all the heroes, but she has little to no control of her talents. The logical thing to do would be to transfer her to the school for such special children, but the emphasis on that title is children. Jessie would be at least seven years older than all the other students, and that is so not cool with her. Besides, she would have to leave the two guys who are competing for her attention and who she is trial dating. Speaking of dating, her mother is desecrating the memory of her dad by starting to date the local top cop, and both of her own dates have a secret or two themselves.

**** Speaking as one who whirled herself dizzy wanting to turn into Wonder Girl but never considered the drawbacks to getting the wish, this is a laugh out loud fun read for all ages. If you are a more mature girl who has left the teen years behind, be sure and check out the book written by the author's "secret identity", American Idle. ****

Reviewed by Amanda Killgore for Huntress Reviews.

I loved this book!! I laughed through the whole thing!! Jesse is soo funny!! It is also a good book for you if you LOVE Orlando Bloom!! I highly suggest this book!!!

What a fun book! I finished this one in under twenty-four hours, because I was so interested in Jessie's plight. Abbott's voice makes the book fun and funny, and it was just what I was in the mood for. As soon as I finished, I ordered the second in the series. I can't wait until another comes out!

this was a cool book . Jessie may seem like an average teenager, but her parents and little sister are superheroes! Her dad is gone as a result of a super accident, and Jessie is the only one in her family without powers. When her mom decides to quit the SuperHero League and move her family to Florida, Jessie does not look forward to starting over. The first day is hard enough; and gets even worse when she accidentally shatters all the windows in one of her classrooms. Now her latent super powers are manifesting: several years behind schedule. As a super hero anomaly, Jessie is put under constant surveillance by the League. Jessie has to deal with her all new powers as she struggles to fit in, juggles two boys at once, and tries to avoid tangling with the Populars. Can she do it, or will her life end up a super mess?