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Norma Howe
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The Adventures of Blue Avenger Hardcover – Bargain Price, April 15, 1999

by Norma Howe (Author)
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 27 ratings
See all formats and editions
These are big questions to discuss in a young-adult novel, but they are only a small part of what Norma Howe tackles in The Adventures of Blue Avenger. How did a normal sixteen-year-old boy become the hero of his own comic strip, fall in love with a girl named Omaha Nebraska Brown, and invent a recipe for perfect dripless lemon meringue pie? What does this have to do with the sixteenth-century heretic Giordano Bruno? How can we end the plague of handgun violence in America?

A thought-provoking combination of humor, philosophy, and romance, The Adventures of Blue Avenger has something for every teenage reader (and even for a few smart adults).
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  1. Reading age
    12 - 17 years
  2. Print length
    240 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Dimensions
    5.6 x 0.95 x 8.58 inches
  5. Publisher
    Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
  6. Publication date
    April 15, 1999
  7. See all details
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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

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.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B007PMY322
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Henry Holt and Co. (BYR); First Edition (April 15, 1999)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 240 pages
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 12 - 17 years
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.58 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.6 x 0.95 x 8.58 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 27 ratings

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Norma Howe

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Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
27 global ratings

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This is a *GREAT* book, definitely read it! Just don't buy from this listing.
1 out of 5 stars
This is a *GREAT* book, definitely read it! Just don't buy from this listing.
I have loved this book since my childhood and I wanted to purchase it as a gift. What I received isn't suitable to be sold as a used book, let alone a giftable new one. There was absolutely no indication that I was buying a used copy (and it was not priced as a used copy) and the order I received was damaged beyond being readable, with torn and ripped pages, writing inside and a damaged cover. This listing is selling absolute trash. I hope this doesn't put you off reading this excellent YA novel - just be sure to buy it somewhere else.
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Top reviews from the United States

  • Honest Reviewer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book
    Reviewed in the United States on May 27, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    My children go to a school where the "AR Points" they earn from reading dictate their ability to enjoy basic school time activities. Unfortunately, they're not able to acquire very many interesting books that have multiple "AR Points", so they're rarely able to amass the necessary levels of points to continually remain in the good graces of the school. However, I proactively dug around and found a tool that lets me find books that are AR compatible and the points they give. This book is on that list and it came highly recommended by a friend who reads nearly anything he can get his hands on. I ordered two books, so each will get the same review, but they both did a fantastic job because they were highly entertaining, taught a few things, and provided the needed points. Thank you!
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  • jubry
    5.0 out of 5 stars I have never read a better or more entertaining book that covered pre-destination and free ...
    Reviewed in the United States on May 24, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    Amazingly creative book. I have never read a better or more entertaining book that covered pre-destination and free will.
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  • Marge
    4.0 out of 5 stars ADVENTURES OF BLUE AVENGER.
    Reviewed in the United States on June 30, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    I enjoyed BLUE AVENGER, read it years ago and again recently. I didn't read the sequels but liked the first book. It's not great literature but nice comment on teenagerhood and the things kids think about. I did love the one item that carried him along through the story: a search for a perfect lemon meringue pie recipe. I recommend it.
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  • a student
    3.0 out of 5 stars A Book About a Superhero
    Reviewed in the United States on April 25, 2003
    THE ADVENTURES OF THE BLUE AVENGER is a book about a sixteen year old boy becoming the Blue Avenger. I gave my story three stars out of five, because I don't really like the idea of becoming a superhero. I didn't like reading this book, and it wasn't even close to the best book I've ever read. The only part that was interesting was a sixteen year old punk, becoming a hero. Other than that, I didn't like it. it's hard to follow, and it's way too long, it took forever to read. Three stars isn't bad, but it wasn't the best. I would have rather picked something else to read. What kind of name is the Blue Avenger? Overall I didn't like it, it's not even close to a four, or a five.
    One person found this helpful
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  • roberta mason
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in the United States on September 6, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    good!
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  • J. M. Grafton
    5.0 out of 5 stars Seriously Funny
    Reviewed in the United States on August 28, 2008
    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. Instead of waiting for something to happen, he takes on the name of his comic book alter ego, Blue Avenger, and makes things happen. Blue suffers all the usual problems of adolescence - depression, bewilderment, self-doubt, and social awkwardness - but his ability to move, to stay afloat, keeps him from being incapacitated by his problems. As well, Howe, with her light touch, achieves a major coup for Young Adult literature: despite a list of issues that includes suicide, abandonment, the ravages of acne, sexual frustration, and death, Howe manages to make readers laugh and to tell a heartfelt story, all at once.
    The major strengths of Norma Howe's novel are found in the way she plays with an effervescent brand of humour as she locates the extraordinary facts of everyday life and connect her characters, and by association, her readers, to the larger world. Feelings of isolation and depression are pitfalls common to everyone, but which are magnified in adolescence. Howe connects her characters and her readers to the world beyond their immediate experience. She gives a sense of the universe, of tragedy, of the natural and artificial, the geological and the astral, of timelines and bloodlines. And running through it all is sense of humour, whimsical and sometimes bittersweet. She approaches issues not head on, bit with a springing twist, as if from a trampoline. Lemon meringue pie will connect Blue to the larger world, as his special recipe will soon "be sweeping o'er the land, bringing lemon meringue bliss to young and old of every race and creed"(152). The sentiment is beautiful in its whimsy, and even silly, but in Howe's hands, silliness is not inconsequential; it is joyful and a bit magical and has the capacity to solve problems. It confirms that nothing is without meaning; nothing is separate. In heavier hands, this message could be didactic.

    #
    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. Instead of waiting for something to happen, he takes on the name of his comic book alter ego, Blue Avenger, and makes things happen. Blue suffers all the usual problems of adolescence - depression, bewilderment, self-doubt, and social awkwardness - but his ability to move, to stay afloat, keeps him from being incapacitated by his problems. As well, Howe, with her light touch, achieves a major coup for Young Adult literature: despite a list of issues that includes suicide, abandonment, the ravages of acne, sexual frustration, and death, Howe manages to make readers laugh and to tell a heartfelt story, all at once.
    The major strengths of Norma Howe's novel are found in the way she plays with an effervescent brand of humour as she locates the extraordinary facts of everyday life and connect her characters, and by association, her readers, to the larger world. Feelings of isolation and depression are pitfalls common to everyone, but which are magnified in adolescence. Howe connects her characters and her readers to the world beyond their immediate experience. She gives a sense of the universe, of tragedy, of the natural and artificial, the geological and the astral, of timelines and bloodlines. And running through it all is sense of humour, whimsical and sometimes bittersweet. She approaches issues not head on, bit with a springing twist, as if from a trampoline. Lemon meringue pie will connect Blue to the larger world, as his special recipe will soon "be sweeping o'er the land, bringing lemon meringue bliss to young and old of every race and creed"(152). The sentiment is beautiful in its whimsy, and even silly, but in Howe's hands, silliness is not inconsequential; it is joyful and a bit magical and has the capacity to solve problems. It confirms that nothing is without meaning; nothing is separate. In heavier hands, this message could be didactic.

    #
    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. Instead of waiting for something to happen, he takes on the name of his comic book alter ego, Blue Avenger, and makes things happen. Blue suffers all the usual problems of adolescence - depression, bewilderment, self-doubt, and social awkwardness - but his ability to move, to stay afloat, keeps him from being incapacitated by his problems. As well, Howe, with her light touch, achieves a major coup for Young Adult literature: despite a list of issues that includes suicide, abandonment, the ravages of acne, sexual frustration, and death, Howe manages to make readers laugh and to tell a heartfelt story, all at once.
    The major strengths of Norma Howe's novel are found in the way she plays with an effervescent brand of humour as she locates the extraordinary facts of everyday life and connect her characters, and by association, her readers, to the larger world. Feelings of isolation and depression are pitfalls common to everyone, but which are magnified in adolescence. Howe connects her characters and her readers to the world beyond their immediate experience. She gives a sense of the universe, of tragedy, of the natural and artificial, the geological and the astral, of timelines and bloodlines. And running through it all is sense of humour, whimsical and sometimes bittersweet. She approaches issues not head on, bit with a springing twist, as if from a trampoline. Lemon meringue pie will connect Blue to the larger world, as his special recipe will soon "be sweeping o'er the land, bringing lemon meringue bliss to young and old of every race and creed"(152). The sentiment is beautiful in its whimsy, and even silly, but in Howe's hands, silliness is not inconsequential; it is joyful and a bit magical and has the capacity to solve problems. It confirms that nothing is without meaning; nothing is separate. In heavier hands, this message could be didactic.
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  • Nate
    5.0 out of 5 stars have fun with philosophy, and a very cool superhero
    Reviewed in the United States on August 17, 2005
    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? And if we are not free, then how can we be held morally responsible? This book, more successful, I think, than the second in the series (though that was still far superior to most teen fiction out there), illustrates this problem extremely well at the same time as it introduces some very intriguing and likeable characters who face real world problems and solve them in real world ways, while managing at some level to feel like superheroes. While it touches on some themes (death and sex, both touched upon in a very sensitive and non-explicit fashion) that may be too mature for very young children, I think the book would be appropriate and enjoyable for anyone over 12 years old (and I mean anyone without age limit, since I bought this for my daughter and picked it up one night and couldn't put it down).
    4 people found this helpful
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