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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Two 20-somethings with special powers join forces for a wave of antiestablishment activism in this big kid's parable for the electronic age, a talky, caffeine-fueled Canadian debut novel celebrating difference and peddling self-empowerment for a new generation of disaffected youth. Ryan Slint, a quirky, mildly histrionic and altogether affable University of Toronto undergraduate with a penchant for entomology falls for Cassandra, a bisexual punk rocker turned waitress who works at a diner near campus. Their increasing intimacy precipitates a string of outrageous confessions: Cass reveals that she was impregnated by an extraterrestrial and gave birth to a clairvoyant alien-human hybrid; Ryan confides he can turn into a fly at will; not to be outdone, Cass discloses that she harbors the power to make things disappear, a talent she first discovered when she was six and "disappeared" her uncle after he tried to rape her. Having come to terms with their superpowers, Ryan and Cass invent the alter egos "Flyboy" and "Ms. Place" and set out to convert their idiosyncrasies into tools for social improvement. As the Superheroes for Social Justice, they embark on a media-savvy crusade to deface cigarette billboards (Ryan's mother, a smoker, has recently been diagnosed with breast cancer), fight for the right to peacefully assemble for feminist causes and lobby for the legalization of marijuana. By the end, the Superheroes and their ragtag crew emerge from a m?lange of puerile pranks, sophomoric insights and escapist stunts still young but with a good deal more direction. Munroe's exuberant, often original phrasings rescue the prose from tediously earnest heart-to-hearts and dialogue that can read like a press release. But for all their efforts, the Superheroes cannot save themselves from the excessive moralizing that makes this novel resemble a slightly less wholesome after-school special. (Nov.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Munroe's splashy debut is the story of an average college student who can, uh, turn into a fly. Ryan has refrained from mentioning his peculiar power, being keenly aware of the scorn and disbelief such mention would receive. He just plugs away at his classes, alternately slams and supports his roommates, and nurses a crush on the waitress at the local diner. Finally, he chats her up, asks her out, then kisses her. Fortunately, she, Cassandra, is one of the most interesting young women in fiction: smart, tough, roundly sexy, and possessed of some secrets of her own--such as her toddler daughter, Jess, the charming product of a very odd coupling, and her ability to make things disappear. Eventually, Cass and Ryan put their heads together and use their powers to subvert authority in amusing and high-profile ways; for instance, they rewrite cigarette billboards and make newspaper-vending boxes vanish overnight. Like many other college students, they do have other things on their minds, though, such as discovering sex, coping with a dying parent, helping a gay friend come out, and finding a great vintage clothing store. Witty without being acid, sensitive without being goopy, this is a Gen-X novel to treasure. Roberta Johnson
See all Editorial Reviews
Two 20-somethings with special powers join forces for a wave of antiestablishment activism in this big kid's parable for the electronic age, a talky, caffeine-fueled Canadian debut novel celebrating difference and peddling self-empowerment for a new generation of disaffected youth. Ryan Slint, a quirky, mildly histrionic and altogether affable University of Toronto undergraduate with a penchant for entomology falls for Cassandra, a bisexual punk rocker turned waitress who works at a diner near campus. Their increasing intimacy precipitates a string of outrageous confessions: Cass reveals that she was impregnated by an extraterrestrial and gave birth to a clairvoyant alien-human hybrid; Ryan confides he can turn into a fly at will; not to be outdone, Cass discloses that she harbors the power to make things disappear, a talent she first discovered when she was six and "disappeared" her uncle after he tried to rape her. Having come to terms with their superpowers, Ryan and Cass invent the alter egos "Flyboy" and "Ms. Place" and set out to convert their idiosyncrasies into tools for social improvement. As the Superheroes for Social Justice, they embark on a media-savvy crusade to deface cigarette billboards (Ryan's mother, a smoker, has recently been diagnosed with breast cancer), fight for the right to peacefully assemble for feminist causes and lobby for the legalization of marijuana. By the end, the Superheroes and their ragtag crew emerge from a m?lange of puerile pranks, sophomoric insights and escapist stunts still young but with a good deal more direction. Munroe's exuberant, often original phrasings rescue the prose from tediously earnest heart-to-hearts and dialogue that can read like a press release. But for all their efforts, the Superheroes cannot save themselves from the excessive moralizing that makes this novel resemble a slightly less wholesome after-school special. (Nov.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Munroe's splashy debut is the story of an average college student who can, uh, turn into a fly. Ryan has refrained from mentioning his peculiar power, being keenly aware of the scorn and disbelief such mention would receive. He just plugs away at his classes, alternately slams and supports his roommates, and nurses a crush on the waitress at the local diner. Finally, he chats her up, asks her out, then kisses her. Fortunately, she, Cassandra, is one of the most interesting young women in fiction: smart, tough, roundly sexy, and possessed of some secrets of her own--such as her toddler daughter, Jess, the charming product of a very odd coupling, and her ability to make things disappear. Eventually, Cass and Ryan put their heads together and use their powers to subvert authority in amusing and high-profile ways; for instance, they rewrite cigarette billboards and make newspaper-vending boxes vanish overnight. Like many other college students, they do have other things on their minds, though, such as discovering sex, coping with a dying parent, helping a gay friend come out, and finding a great vintage clothing store. Witty without being acid, sensitive without being goopy, this is a Gen-X novel to treasure. Roberta Johnson
See all Editorial Reviews
Product Details
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