Scan barcode
wathohuc's review
4.0
Wonderful first novel. Creative idea and interesting experimentations with narration chronology. Most of the time, the jumping back and forth in the story's chronology worked, but sometimes it was a bit confusing. The shift in perspective between Gwen/Sheila and Peter/Seth in the retelling of the same events was very revealing and well-done. But when an author shifts back and forth in the chronology, the difficulty in keeping events in sync becomes all the more salient. Although Bruni managed to keep these details mostly in order, I did find one problematic oversight. It is this: Jake Novak knows that Sheila is the kidnap victim in the news media, and one presumes that he saw the same media that Sheila saw. But Sheila recognizes the name "Novak" when she sees it sewn on Jake's work uniform as the same last name given by the news media to describe her own "abductor" Peter Parker (I.e. Seth Novak). Yet when Sheila encounters and kidnaps Jake, even though he knows who she is from the media reports, he somehow doesn't seem to know that her own kidnapper was his brother. This defies credibility. Nevertheless, I give the book mad props for creativity in conception and very good, tight writing.
444ivana's review
2.0
this book was boring for the most part, lowkey super problematic and has a really questionable ending that left me wondering what’s the point of it even being written
jenmccle's review
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I was enjoying this book at first, and it pulled me out of a reading rut. But starting with the last 50 or so pages - it’s just not good. It makes you feel like you read the book for no reason.
bookwormjimmy's review
2.0
I really wanted to like this, but there was just so much that was not happening for me. I picked this up as a freebie on California Bookstore Day among a shelf of a whole bunch of self-help and self-esteem books. This was one of the few that seemed interesting. After all, it references Spiderman's first love interest, Gwen Stacy. What could go wrong?
Don't get me wrong…this isn't an awful book. It has its own merits. I did like some of the parallels to the Spiderman comics that Sarah Bruni incorporated into the text. It was a nice touch. But there were a lot of points that I felt were really forced. Particularly at the end when Gwen somehow falls into the lake by a man in green pants…aka the Green Goblin. It's a plot development like this that make it seem like she didn't know where she was going with the story. At the very least, this could have been built up a little farther back in the plot, instead of this person's sudden appearance.
I can't really say I was a fan of the constant use of flashbacks. It really disrupted the flow of the story. As I was reading hoping for the story to go along, the characters would constantly flash back to a point in their lives. Once is okay. A few times. But this happened every single time. And more often than not, they didn't have much of a parallel with what was happening in the present, at least thematically. They were simply expository elements that told their back story. Again, no depth.
The characters choices often didn't make sense. And even more upsetting, I really didn't understand the point of the kidnapping even after I finished the book. Was it just so the brothers could get back together? What with Peter's "spidey-sense" I thought there were be a little more mythology going on. But again, it was just a simple plot device to get the story moving…nothing more than that.
I felt that this could have been a lot better in so many ways. At the very least, I now know the controversy pertaining around the night Gwen Stacy died.
Don't get me wrong…this isn't an awful book. It has its own merits. I did like some of the parallels to the Spiderman comics that Sarah Bruni incorporated into the text. It was a nice touch. But there were a lot of points that I felt were really forced. Particularly at the end when Gwen somehow falls into the lake by a man in green pants…aka the Green Goblin. It's a plot development like this that make it seem like she didn't know where she was going with the story. At the very least, this could have been built up a little farther back in the plot, instead of this person's sudden appearance.
I can't really say I was a fan of the constant use of flashbacks. It really disrupted the flow of the story. As I was reading hoping for the story to go along, the characters would constantly flash back to a point in their lives. Once is okay. A few times. But this happened every single time. And more often than not, they didn't have much of a parallel with what was happening in the present, at least thematically. They were simply expository elements that told their back story. Again, no depth.
The characters choices often didn't make sense. And even more upsetting, I really didn't understand the point of the kidnapping even after I finished the book. Was it just so the brothers could get back together? What with Peter's "spidey-sense" I thought there were be a little more mythology going on. But again, it was just a simple plot device to get the story moving…nothing more than that.
I felt that this could have been a lot better in so many ways. At the very least, I now know the controversy pertaining around the night Gwen Stacy died.
theartolater's review
3.0
This is a confusing book.
It's not confusing because it's difficult to read or anything like that, but because the point is a little lost. Those looking for a comic book analogy of sorts will probably be disappointed, because, at its surface, the book is a story about a teenage girl who meets a man, and they run off together after staging a kidnapping. The man has taken the name of Peter Parker, Spider-man's real name, and he sees Sheila, the teenager, as Gwen Stacy, Spider-man's love interest early on before she dies. The story is a lot of dealing with our two protagonists, as Parker had a rough childhood and thus uses the Parker name to distance himself from it, and Sheila forces herself to play along with it a bit.
If that's it, it's a perfectly serviceable story. It moves along quickly, doesn't try to do too too much. This might also be a story about mental illness, or about mental detachment from the past, or about teen angst if you see Sheila as the chief point. There's a lot of weird stuff to go along with the story, and it never becomes fully clear where it's going. There are often pros and cons to that sort of thinking, but it didn't always work here and I can't tell if it's me thinking too much about the story or if the story itself didn't 100% succeed at what it was trying to do.
Overall, an okay read. Not sad I finished it, not sure I'd recommend it, either.
It's not confusing because it's difficult to read or anything like that, but because the point is a little lost. Those looking for a comic book analogy of sorts will probably be disappointed, because, at its surface, the book is a story about a teenage girl who meets a man, and they run off together after staging a kidnapping. The man has taken the name of Peter Parker, Spider-man's real name, and he sees Sheila, the teenager, as Gwen Stacy, Spider-man's love interest early on before she dies. The story is a lot of dealing with our two protagonists, as Parker had a rough childhood and thus uses the Parker name to distance himself from it, and Sheila forces herself to play along with it a bit.
If that's it, it's a perfectly serviceable story. It moves along quickly, doesn't try to do too too much. This might also be a story about mental illness, or about mental detachment from the past, or about teen angst if you see Sheila as the chief point. There's a lot of weird stuff to go along with the story, and it never becomes fully clear where it's going. There are often pros and cons to that sort of thinking, but it didn't always work here and I can't tell if it's me thinking too much about the story or if the story itself didn't 100% succeed at what it was trying to do.
Overall, an okay read. Not sad I finished it, not sure I'd recommend it, either.
electraheart's review
2.0
I honestly don't have a lot of positive things to say about this book.
Shelia is a basic MPDG, and while she initially starts out strong, her character diminishes almost immediately after meeting Peter. She's hellbent on getting out of her small hometown and moving to France. I was a senior in high school once too, so I know that feeling all too well. I assumed I'd feel a strong connection to Shelia, but more than anything I was confused by the direction she goes in. You're telling me that someone who has been saving money for ages, along with tediously studying the language of the place she dreams of calling home, is perfectly okay with giving all of that up and getting in a vehicle with a man she only knows based off his cigarette preference and moves to Chicago without any complaints? I don't think so.
That leads me to Peter. I have so many problems with him and his relationship with Shelia. For starters, he's clearly someone suffering from a multitude of deep-rooted issues, and he's delusional enough to believe that he has a sense of Spiderman in him. Changing his drivers license so his name is Peter Parker? Constantly feeling the need to rescue people who aren't actually in any danger? Whisking a girl off her feet and falling madly in love because that's how it plays out in the comics? Nah.
And their relationship itself, because it's a wonderful mess. I had a really difficult time believing either of them would be okay with robbing the gas station Shelia works at and stealing a cab to get them to Chicago. Shelia expresses guilt maybe once, and even then Peter shrugs it off. Seriously? Then there's the fact that they just magically, suddenly fall in love overnight. Except not really. The author does such a terrible job at showing how their relationship develops and instead opts to tell us. For the record, they're only gone a few weeks (I believe), and I had to strain to not roll my eyes at how much their love apparently blossomed. They knew nothing about each other! From day one Shelia insisted he call her Gwen. She transforms herself into a fucking comic book character to fit the mold of his fantasy, throwing away every ounce of her that made her unique. Peter was purely in love with the idea he constructed of Shelia, and she was stupid enough to play into it. Their entire relationship is built entirely off a facade, and I can't back that. I just can't.
The writing itself, along with the plot, made it impossible for me to enjoy this story. I had no idea what direction the book would take, but it still wound up going somewhere completely unexpected - and that wasn't a good thing. A majority of the story exists as build up for the ending, and that would be great, if the ending hadn't been horribly expected. Ninety-nine percent of the story takes place over the span of a few weeks in which they...what, exactly? Move into a shitty place in Chicago, find boring jobs to keep a stable income and? There was no plot. Peter's dreams came off as a dull sub-plot that weren't strong enough to grasp the reader's attention. I didn't care about him drinking tap water in his sleep. I didn't care about Shelia buying a blue dress that he constantly begged her to wear for a few minutes.
Their relationship was stale. The writing was stale. The characters were stale. Also what the hell was with the coyote crap? Seriously.
Shelia is a basic MPDG, and while she initially starts out strong, her character diminishes almost immediately after meeting Peter. She's hellbent on getting out of her small hometown and moving to France. I was a senior in high school once too, so I know that feeling all too well. I assumed I'd feel a strong connection to Shelia, but more than anything I was confused by the direction she goes in. You're telling me that someone who has been saving money for ages, along with tediously studying the language of the place she dreams of calling home, is perfectly okay with giving all of that up and getting in a vehicle with a man she only knows based off his cigarette preference and moves to Chicago without any complaints? I don't think so.
That leads me to Peter. I have so many problems with him and his relationship with Shelia. For starters, he's clearly someone suffering from a multitude of deep-rooted issues, and he's delusional enough to believe that he has a sense of Spiderman in him. Changing his drivers license so his name is Peter Parker? Constantly feeling the need to rescue people who aren't actually in any danger? Whisking a girl off her feet and falling madly in love because that's how it plays out in the comics? Nah.
And their relationship itself, because it's a wonderful mess. I had a really difficult time believing either of them would be okay with robbing the gas station Shelia works at and stealing a cab to get them to Chicago. Shelia expresses guilt maybe once, and even then Peter shrugs it off. Seriously? Then there's the fact that they just magically, suddenly fall in love overnight. Except not really. The author does such a terrible job at showing how their relationship develops and instead opts to tell us. For the record, they're only gone a few weeks (I believe), and I had to strain to not roll my eyes at how much their love apparently blossomed. They knew nothing about each other! From day one Shelia insisted he call her Gwen. She transforms herself into a fucking comic book character to fit the mold of his fantasy, throwing away every ounce of her that made her unique. Peter was purely in love with the idea he constructed of Shelia, and she was stupid enough to play into it. Their entire relationship is built entirely off a facade, and I can't back that. I just can't.
The writing itself, along with the plot, made it impossible for me to enjoy this story. I had no idea what direction the book would take, but it still wound up going somewhere completely unexpected - and that wasn't a good thing. A majority of the story exists as build up for the ending, and that would be great, if the ending hadn't been horribly expected. Ninety-nine percent of the story takes place over the span of a few weeks in which they...what, exactly? Move into a shitty place in Chicago, find boring jobs to keep a stable income and? There was no plot. Peter's dreams came off as a dull sub-plot that weren't strong enough to grasp the reader's attention. I didn't care about him drinking tap water in his sleep. I didn't care about Shelia buying a blue dress that he constantly begged her to wear for a few minutes.
Their relationship was stale. The writing was stale. The characters were stale. Also what the hell was with the coyote crap? Seriously.
readbyryan's review
2.0
I really wanted to like this book for the title alone, but in the end, it was so disappointing. Towards the end I lost all interest in the book and just wanted to finish it.
This book is the story of 17-year old Sheila. Sheila only wants to escape her small Iowa town and dreams of moving to Paris. She meets a man named Peter Parker. The two end up in Chicago.
The book is narrated by Sheila and Peter in alternating chapters, sometimes overlapping the same events.
Overall, the book is decent and written well. However it felt like an MFA thesis project. The writing was good, but I wasn't interested in the characters and there was no substantial plot. Some call it a mystery, and there are some things the reader doesn't know, but I would hardly call it a mystery.
This book is the story of 17-year old Sheila. Sheila only wants to escape her small Iowa town and dreams of moving to Paris. She meets a man named Peter Parker. The two end up in Chicago.
The book is narrated by Sheila and Peter in alternating chapters, sometimes overlapping the same events.
Overall, the book is decent and written well. However it felt like an MFA thesis project. The writing was good, but I wasn't interested in the characters and there was no substantial plot. Some call it a mystery, and there are some things the reader doesn't know, but I would hardly call it a mystery.
glire's review
4.0
Hay varias cosas en la vida que no termino de entender: la teoría de la relatividad, los mapas, la letra de los doctores... y este libro.
Lo juro, no estoy segura de haber entendido la trama en realidad. Y esto se debe a que la historia es contada alternativamente por diferentes PV y cada uno nos cuenta es su versión de los hechos. La autora desaparece, no nos aclara cual es la realidad, y deja que los personajes realmente tomen el control. Esa, me parece, que es la verdadera magia de la historia.
Estoy bastante segura que los personajes tienen serios problemas mentales. Por lo que, lo que leemos es una historia de amor y misterio contada por dos locos.
Extraña, bizarra, maravillosa. Inolvidable.
Lo juro, no estoy segura de haber entendido la trama en realidad. Y esto se debe a que la historia es contada alternativamente por diferentes PV y cada uno nos cuenta es su versión de los hechos. La autora desaparece, no nos aclara cual es la realidad, y deja que los personajes realmente tomen el control. Esa, me parece, que es la verdadera magia de la historia.
Estoy bastante segura que los personajes tienen serios problemas mentales. Por lo que, lo que leemos es una historia de amor y misterio contada por dos locos.
Extraña, bizarra, maravillosa. Inolvidable.