Chris Priestley

A wryly funny and heartbreaking story of growing up ... and superpowers

Superpowerless

Eleanor Luhar

I've quite liked Chris Priestley's work in the past, but this was... odd. It wasn't quite what I'd thought it was going to be. I appreciated the comic book references - David's coping mechanism, if you will, is his superpowered alter-ego. I liked David's character in this sense, and in several others, but I couldn't get past one main factor: he spies on girls from his bedroom window using his telescope. Okay, he does acknowledge that it's wrong, and it started out as an accident, and he even admits to the girl he watches that he watches her. But I still found it weird.
There's a lot going on in this book (besides David spying on Holly, his neighbour). David actually begins to care for Holly after learning about her personal life, and David himself is still grieving his father. He has some girl problems, too, and ends up falling out with his closest friend, Joe. Amongst all the semi-normal adolescent problems, David also finally comes to term with a huge reality that he already knew, but could never bring himself to accept. It's the reason he visualises himself as a superhero who can never quite save the car - or the people in it.
This was pretty unique in its own right, and touching, too. David's relationships are all quite strained, and it takes some effort to repair things - effort that David has been neglecting to give up until now. 3.5 stars.

Superpowerless

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