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The Adventures of Blue Avenger
 
 
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The Adventures of Blue Avenger (Paperback)

~ (Author) "Scientists say that in human males, a single seminal emission contains something in the neighborhood of 300 million spermatozoa..." (more)
Key Phrases: lemon filling, lemon meringue pie, Blue Avenger, San Pablo High, Johnny Brown (more...)
4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Irony, silliness, and the deepest questions of the human soul blend together delightfully in this funny, original novel by Norma Howe. The day David Schumacher turns 16, he decides to ease the pain of his father's death by legally changing his name to "Blue Avenger," after a comic book hero he created when he was 13. Armed with his new nom de plume, David hopes to abolish handguns, win the love of Omaha Nebraska Brown (the new girl at school), and create the first guaranteed weepless lemon meringue pie. He also wouldn't mind discovering the answer to the mystery of all mysteries: "Are we truly the masters of our fate or merely actors on a stage, playing our parts in a predetermined cosmic drama over which we have no control?" Through a crazy course of coincidences (or perhaps predestined circumstances) Blue Avenger ends up accomplishing almost all of the monumental tasks he has set for himself. Yet he never quite answers that question of free will, a conundrum that Howe leaves the reader to wrestle with until the very last page. The text is peppered with "facts," such as the detailed death of a particular sow bug and the prediction of an earthquake in a certain California subdivision, which seemingly have no bearing on the story. But Howe ties all of these factoids and statistics together in the finale with a flourish reminiscent of Louis Sachar's Newbery award-winning Holes. Teens who enjoyed the mental jigsaw puzzles in Sachar's excellent novel will no doubt also dig The Adventures of Blue Avenger. (Ages 12 to 15) --Jennifer Hubert --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.


From Publishers Weekly

David Bruce Schumacher has been drawing comic books featuring a superhero for three years, but on his 16th birthday he decides that it's high time that someone actually do something about the world's problems. Accordingly, he dons his late father's fishing vest, puts a towel on his head, ? la Lawrence of Arabia, and renames himself Blue Avenger after his creation ("The" is a lousy first name, he decides). Almost instantly the skinny redhead becomes a hero, first by saving the high school principal from killer bees, then by secretly arranging treatment for an acne-ravaged friend and ultimately effecting an end to handgun violence in Oakland, Calif.Amaybe even the entire U.S. In this canny and sophisticated fable, Howe (The Game of Life) interpolates her loopy plot with serious discussions of philosophy, teen romance, a recipe for "weepless" lemon meringue pie and finely honed characterizations. Especially endearing are the hero and Omaha Nebraska Brown, the feisty gal he's drawn to by his own free willAor is it determinism? Throughout, Howe edgily challenges the reader to decide whether the events related therein (allegedly with the help of an extraterrestrial) are due to chance or fate. The story's teasingly open ending will inspire delighted conjecture. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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Product Details

  • Reading level: Young Adult
  • Paperback: 229 pages
  • Publisher: HarperTeen (August 8, 2000)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0064472256
  • ISBN-13: 978-0064472258
  • Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.9 x 0.8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #713,687 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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First Sentence:
Scientists say that in human males, a single seminal emission contains something in the neighborhood of 300 million spermatozoa. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
lemon filling, lemon meringue pie
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Blue Avenger, San Pablo High, Johnny Brown, Mike Fennell, Omaha Nebraska Brown, Walla Walla, Rod Wilkins, David Bruce Schumacher, Ask Auntie Annie, David Schumacher, Don Broomo, Sally Schumacher, Wayne's Samwich Wagon, Mary Ann Olson, Officer Schumacher, Giordano Bruno, José Alvarez, Oakland City Council, Kit Kat, Los Angeles, Washington State Penitentiary, Winger Stinger
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Customer Reviews

35 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.3 out of 5 stars (35 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful, inventive book for young teens, June 15, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: The Adventures of Blue Avenger (Hardcover)
This is a wonderful book, which is fairly well described by the reviews above. It is a kind of real-life fantasy, where the main character adopts a comic-book superhero persona and immediately starts living a comic-book superhero type existence, where he is instantly popular at school and nothing serious goes wrong. (In some ways, this book is like a teen version of Laurie Colwin's Happy All the Time. There is no traditional conflict, not among peers, not between kids and parents or teachers or society. There are tragedies, but they are all in the past.) The themes are mature: sexuality (a very sweet version of it), personal responsibility, the ways in which people advance themselves at a cost to others. The author is very ambitious, and not all of what she tries works, but a great deal does. One issue: my wife mistakenly bought this for our 10-year-old son, for whom it is clearly inappropriate. It is not so clear what group of kids should read it. Kids old enough to appreciate a condom-buying scene (a high point in the book that is clearly, if coyly, divorced from the conventional reasons for buying condoms) and smart enough to like the frequent philosophical discussions and ironic authorial intrusions will generally have moved beyond Young Adult fiction. They may resent the undercurrent of goody-goody preachiness (the protagonists predictably and enthusiastically opt for chastity; there is a lot of anti-vulgarity propaganda) and the odd reticence that produces a great deal of very unspecific talk about sex ("He pondered the difference between love and lust." "Their hormones were raging.") Basically, this is a book that has to fit into a narrow window of opportunity in which kids have enough interest and information to care about the themes but will find the coyness comforting. Also, although it is not a "girls' book" per se, girls will probably like it a lot more than boys - it is really a girls' fantasy about the perfect boyfriend.
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars A great book that you _really_ can't put down!, July 1, 1999
This review is from: The Adventures of Blue Avenger (Hardcover)
The Adventures of Blue Avenger is overall a very good read. It starts off fairly intriguing, and the plot continues to develope chapter after chapter. This is not a book where you will skip parts, as I... er... well, tend to do.

This novel has great character development. The main characters are lively, intelligent, and people who you'd like to be friends with. An interesting thing about this book is how the social life of Blue (the main character) is portrayed. It seems as if there really isn't any teenage nastiness, or at least not much of it. I think this makes it better than the average book, even though it may not be that realistic. It's refreshing to not read about teen social problems every single page.

Another great thing about this book is the way it works through philosophical questions, mainly the ever-lasting predestination versus free will question. The author brings the questions up throughout the story just enough to keep it largely interesting, but not overkill.

I would say that this book is more appropriate for ages 12 and up. Some of the subjects in it are not something you'd want an eight year-old to read, despite the cover.

All in all, I would recomend it to anyone who is looking for great summer reading. I know that sounds really vague, but it's the truth. I was skeptical when it arrived, but as soon as I started reading it, I was hooked!

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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Who would have thought..., November 25, 2000
By arkm (Kendall Park, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
that a book on such a serious topic could be so much fun to read? If someone had come up to me and asked "Would you like to read a book about free will?", I probably would have just said "No way." But Blue Avenger turned out to be one of the funniest things I've read in a while. It all starts on his 16th birthday, when David Schumacher decides to change his name to Blue Avenger after a character he created. In doing so he becomes a unique sort of superhero, simply solving everyday problems, like finding the perfect lemon meringue pie recipe. (I tried it, and it really honestly doesn't weep.)There's plenty of humor along the way, as in the memorable condom-buying scene and classroom discussion. There's a romantic side, thanks to his close friend Omaha Nebraska Brown. There are small seemingly meaningless moments that come back in the end, somewhat like Harry Potter. And of course, there's the free will issue- it really makes you think without taking over the story or getting boring and technical. I knew very little about free will before reading this, but now I can honestly say I have an opinion on it.

Is it realistic? Not really. But will it make you think and laugh out loud? You bet. And that's the whole point anyway.

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 		 Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Seriously Funny

The Adventures of Blue Avenger, written by Norma Howe, is a quirky collection of possibilities and solutions. Young protagonist David needs his life to change. Read more
Published 14 months ago by J. M. Grafton

4.0 out of 5 stars Slightly Surreal Superhero
It is on David's sixteenth birthday that he decides to make his name change official--he is now to be known as Blue Avenger, and he hopes that he will be able to live up to this... Read more
Published on July 3, 2007 by A. Luciano

5.0 out of 5 stars One of my favorite books
See the thing about this book, is that it's not exactly like most young adult books. It really makes you think. Read more
Published on June 21, 2006 by Jeanette Santori

2.0 out of 5 stars Dun DUN DUN Da!! Blue!!!
"The Adventures of Blue Avenger" is a book about a highschool boy who changes his name to Blue Avenger so he can be a local hero and do the world some good. Read more
Published on December 7, 2005

5.0 out of 5 stars have fun with philosophy, and a very cool superhero
An excellent book about a remarkable young hero, who is grappling with the old philosophical problem of free will. If every event has a cause, then how can we be free? Read more
Published on August 17, 2005 by Nathan Andersen

4.0 out of 5 stars great book for all ages...
This little book is a great read for all ages. There is philosophy, fame and fortune, family issues, and fun facts and descriptions, not to mention a great pie recipe! Read more
Published on May 3, 2005 by Ilene Porter

5.0 out of 5 stars Want a Book That Keeps You Reading More
I like the book The Adventures of Blue Avenger because ,like it says in the title, it keeps me reading more. Plus you never know whats going to happen next. Read more
Published on April 4, 2005

4.0 out of 5 stars The Adventures of Blue Avenger is OK
To enjoy a book such as "The Adventures of Blue Avenger", you really need to have an open mind. You can't address the topic of "Do we really make our own decisions? Read more
Published on February 14, 2005 by Homework

1.0 out of 5 stars "THE ADVENTURES OF BLUE AVENGER" Stinks bad.
This book was one of the worst books that I have ever read in my entire life. Having a story about a kid that doesn't like his name so he changes it to "Blue Avenger" is stupid... Read more
Published on October 24, 2004 by Randy

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book to read
The Adventures of The Blue Avenger is a Fictional Book Written by Norma Howe. I enjoyed this book. I enjoyed this book because of many reasons. Read more
Published on March 13, 2004 by Nancy Rogers

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