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The Night Gwen Stacy Died
An offbeat love story about the adventures and mutual rescue of a young woman out of place in her hometown and a mysterious stranger who calls himself Peter Parker (and begins to cast her in the role of Spider-Man’s first sweetheart), The Night Gwen Stacy Died is about first loss, first love, and finding our real identities.
278 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2013
About the author
Sarah Bruni
1 book20 followersSarah Bruni is a graduate of the University of Iowa and the MFA program at Washington University in St. Louis. She has roots in Chicago, has taught creative writing in St. Louis, volunteered as a writing and English tutor in San Francisco, and Montevideo, Uruguay, and currently lives in Brooklyn. The Night Gwen Stacy Died is her first novel.
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June 24, 2013
As a long time Spider-Man fan, the title of Sarah Bruni's first novel caught my attention.
And while it would be easy to assume that The Night Gwen Stacy Died is another in the long trend of tie-in novels, retelling a classic comic book story line, that is not the case here.
Seventeen-year-old Sheila Gower doesn't quite fit into her small town. Taking a job at a local convenience store to save up money to escape town by going to France, she meets a man who refers to himself as Peter Parker. And while Peter does have a secret identity, it's not necessarily that of everyone's favorite wall-crawler. Instead, it's to hide the fact that his life is just as mundane and doesn't quite fit into the small town life as Sheila does.
The two have a budding flirtation which gets taken up to the next level when Peter and Sheila decide to run off together and hit the road to Chicago with Peter even referring to Sheila by the name of Gwen. To add some zest to the story, Peter pretends to hold up the convenience store and kidnap Sheila (the store's surveillance system only captures video, not audio).
With a lot of references and examination of classic Spider-Man storylines, The Night Gwen Stacy Died is a fascinating character novel for the first two-thirds of its run. It's one the novel hits the final third that things begin to derail a bit, keeping what could have been a great book merely a good one. I can see what Bruni is trying to do here, but it feels like the final third of the novel works too hard to drive the point home and it all ends up feeling a bit less than satisfying.
And while it would be easy to assume that The Night Gwen Stacy Died is another in the long trend of tie-in novels, retelling a classic comic book story line, that is not the case here.
Seventeen-year-old Sheila Gower doesn't quite fit into her small town. Taking a job at a local convenience store to save up money to escape town by going to France, she meets a man who refers to himself as Peter Parker. And while Peter does have a secret identity, it's not necessarily that of everyone's favorite wall-crawler. Instead, it's to hide the fact that his life is just as mundane and doesn't quite fit into the small town life as Sheila does.
The two have a budding flirtation which gets taken up to the next level when Peter and Sheila decide to run off together and hit the road to Chicago with Peter even referring to Sheila by the name of Gwen. To add some zest to the story, Peter pretends to hold up the convenience store and kidnap Sheila (the store's surveillance system only captures video, not audio).
With a lot of references and examination of classic Spider-Man storylines, The Night Gwen Stacy Died is a fascinating character novel for the first two-thirds of its run. It's one the novel hits the final third that things begin to derail a bit, keeping what could have been a great book merely a good one. I can see what Bruni is trying to do here, but it feels like the final third of the novel works too hard to drive the point home and it all ends up feeling a bit less than satisfying.
August 29, 2013
What a surprisingly delightful book.
I got this, as is my wont, off the proof shelf at the Strand. I knew nothing about it, not even the pop-culture reference so obvious that it would make most people roll their eyes: turns out that Gwen Stacy is the name of Spiderman's first love, who is killed either before or as he tries to save her.
Apparently this is her:
I didn't know that; in fact, I was surprised that the protagonist is named Sheila, and I was at least thirty pages in before I stopped waiting for there to be a character named Gwen. I also didn't get it when the other protagonist showed up, named Peter Parker.
Apparently this is him:
I never read comic books, okay?
Let me tell you a bit about the book itself. Sheila is finishing high school in Iowa, working at a gas station, learning French and dreaming of moving to Paris as soon as she graduates. Peter Parker is a cute older cab driver who comes into Sheila's station to buy cigarettes with some regularity, and they sometimes flirt innocently and sometimes don't.
Then one day Peter comes in and calls her Gwen and asks if she'd like him to kidnap her, because he has something unspecified but urgent to do in Chicago and could use some company. I won't tell you what she says but I bet you can guess.
The rest of the book is a somewhat twisty story of falling into a strange and shimmery kind of love, and also of creating a life and a reality out of nothing, and also about just who saves whom and when and why, all with a fizzy overlay of a slightly blurred reality boundary, which has a lot to do with the story of Spiderman.
There's also coyotes who (maybe?) talk, dreams that (maybe?) predict semi-comprehensible bits of the future, a (maybe?) dead brother, and other puzzlings.
It's all really quite lovely.
I got this, as is my wont, off the proof shelf at the Strand. I knew nothing about it, not even the pop-culture reference so obvious that it would make most people roll their eyes: turns out that Gwen Stacy is the name of Spiderman's first love, who is killed either before or as he tries to save her.
Apparently this is her:
I didn't know that; in fact, I was surprised that the protagonist is named Sheila, and I was at least thirty pages in before I stopped waiting for there to be a character named Gwen. I also didn't get it when the other protagonist showed up, named Peter Parker.
Apparently this is him:
I never read comic books, okay?
Let me tell you a bit about the book itself. Sheila is finishing high school in Iowa, working at a gas station, learning French and dreaming of moving to Paris as soon as she graduates. Peter Parker is a cute older cab driver who comes into Sheila's station to buy cigarettes with some regularity, and they sometimes flirt innocently and sometimes don't.
Then one day Peter comes in and calls her Gwen and asks if she'd like him to kidnap her, because he has something unspecified but urgent to do in Chicago and could use some company. I won't tell you what she says but I bet you can guess.
The rest of the book is a somewhat twisty story of falling into a strange and shimmery kind of love, and also of creating a life and a reality out of nothing, and also about just who saves whom and when and why, all with a fizzy overlay of a slightly blurred reality boundary, which has a lot to do with the story of Spiderman.
There's also coyotes who (maybe?) talk, dreams that (maybe?) predict semi-comprehensible bits of the future, a (maybe?) dead brother, and other puzzlings.
It's all really quite lovely.
January 8, 2015
Guys, I don't even know? I picked this up because I was intrigued by the title, as a comics fan, but... okay. So I liked the start of the story. It's set in Iowa City/Coralville, which I liked, because I like Iowa City. The protagonists are a 17-year-old girl named Sheila, who works at a gas station, and a 20-something dude named Peter Parker, who frequents the gas station to buy cigarettes. Sheila suspects Peter Parker's ID is fake, because who would name their child after Spider-Man, right?
Anyway, at first I liked Sheila a lot. High school misfit, saving up her money to go to France after high school with no set plan because she doesn't want to go straight to college and she wants to get out of Iowa. So she listens to French CDs and practices while she works at the gas station. Get it, Sheila.
But then she lets herself be voluntarily kidnapped by Peter Parker and goes with him to Chicago? And he gives her a fake ID with the name Gwen Stacy, aka Peter Parker's first girlfriend who dies?? Again... I'm still interested, here. Is Peter going to kill her, or what.
Then... okay, I described the plot of this to a co-worker and she said it sounded like it was written as an exquisite corpse story. (You know, where you fold over the page and pass it to the next person and they write something without having seen your part.) I agree, or maybe like it were part of an improv scene where the author just kept saying "Yes, and."
???
Also it seemed like the Spider-Man thing was kind of used as a hook and then dropped?
I'd be way into reading a book that used comic book characters/archetypes as a way to explore relationships but I just found this very confusing and weird.
I'm seeing a lot of great reviews for it so it's totes possible that it just all went over my head. If anyone else I know has read it, I'd LOVE to talk about it.
Anyway, at first I liked Sheila a lot. High school misfit, saving up her money to go to France after high school with no set plan because she doesn't want to go straight to college and she wants to get out of Iowa. So she listens to French CDs and practices while she works at the gas station. Get it, Sheila.
But then she lets herself be voluntarily kidnapped by Peter Parker and goes with him to Chicago? And he gives her a fake ID with the name Gwen Stacy, aka Peter Parker's first girlfriend who dies?? Again... I'm still interested, here. Is Peter going to kill her, or what.
Then... okay, I described the plot of this to a co-worker and she said it sounded like it was written as an exquisite corpse story. (You know, where you fold over the page and pass it to the next person and they write something without having seen your part.) I agree, or maybe like it were part of an improv scene where the author just kept saying "Yes, and."
???
Also it seemed like the Spider-Man thing was kind of used as a hook and then dropped?
I'd be way into reading a book that used comic book characters/archetypes as a way to explore relationships but I just found this very confusing and weird.
I'm seeing a lot of great reviews for it so it's totes possible that it just all went over my head. If anyone else I know has read it, I'd LOVE to talk about it.
March 12, 2014
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.
September 14, 2015
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.
Read
January 17, 2018This book started off okay, but then it just got weird. I read reviews that the end sucked, so I skipped to the end and it made no sense whatsoever. Yeah.
August 1, 2013
Gwen Stacy is the name of the ill-fated first girlfriend of Peter Parker/Spider-Man. Unlike the film versions, which totally botches that relationships, the comic book series took possibly the most dramatic arc of any to date when in issue #121 of The Amazing Spider-Man, Gwen Stacy is killed at the hands of Spider-Man's arch rival (and father of his best friend) the Green Goblin. Ironically, those who remember this issue will recognize the irony that Gwen Stacy may actually have been killed by Spider-Man's attempt to save her rather than the fall she suffered at the hands of the Goblin.
It is this fictional back-story that author Sarah Bruni uses as the center-piece for her brilliantly conceived novel ---- THE NIGHT GWEN STACY DIED. It is a tale of love, fantasy and rescuing those who are need of saving. When a 26-year-old cab driver named 'Peter Parker' takes off with a young gas station attendant in Iowa named Sheila the story truly begins. They head towards the nearest big city, Chicago, and make the journey appear to be a kidnapping at gunpoint.
Sheila is, in fact, a more than willing participant in this adventure as she sees something in Peter that makes her want to save him. She allows herself to answer to the name of 'Gwen Stacy' and they try to begin a new life --- albeit primarily a fantasy one --- in the Chicago suburbs. However, like the comic books, their union may not be fated to end happily and there are other hidden reasons why Peter wanted to head to Chicago.
Sarah Bruni is a refreshing new literary voice who has taken one of the most famous pop culture events of the last 40 years and used it as the jumping off point for a truly original tale.
It is this fictional back-story that author Sarah Bruni uses as the center-piece for her brilliantly conceived novel ---- THE NIGHT GWEN STACY DIED. It is a tale of love, fantasy and rescuing those who are need of saving. When a 26-year-old cab driver named 'Peter Parker' takes off with a young gas station attendant in Iowa named Sheila the story truly begins. They head towards the nearest big city, Chicago, and make the journey appear to be a kidnapping at gunpoint.
Sheila is, in fact, a more than willing participant in this adventure as she sees something in Peter that makes her want to save him. She allows herself to answer to the name of 'Gwen Stacy' and they try to begin a new life --- albeit primarily a fantasy one --- in the Chicago suburbs. However, like the comic books, their union may not be fated to end happily and there are other hidden reasons why Peter wanted to head to Chicago.
Sarah Bruni is a refreshing new literary voice who has taken one of the most famous pop culture events of the last 40 years and used it as the jumping off point for a truly original tale.
September 6, 2013
This is a well written and entertaining book that plays around with the Gwen Stacy/Peter Parker romance, and blurs the line between the real world and the world of fictional characters. It has shifting perspectives, all of which are smoothly done, and is basically a thriller set against the backdrop of silver age comics.
The best part of the story is the way that it works the idea of perpetual reinvention. The idea of places shaping people, languages shaping people and places, and chosen identities mingling with the secrets of our own pasts. I also liked the menacing whimsy of the coyotes, but wish more would have happened with them.
It's full of interesting conceits, and I enjoyed reading it, but I felt that it lacked a lot of real emotion. And it relied so heavily on the known mythology of Peter and Gwen, that the actual characters (Peter/Seth much moreso than Sheila/Gwen) wind up seeming a bit flat. I believe this is the author's first novel, however, and the overall vision for this book is so intriguing that I would be very eager to see what she comes up with next.
The best part of the story is the way that it works the idea of perpetual reinvention. The idea of places shaping people, languages shaping people and places, and chosen identities mingling with the secrets of our own pasts. I also liked the menacing whimsy of the coyotes, but wish more would have happened with them.
It's full of interesting conceits, and I enjoyed reading it, but I felt that it lacked a lot of real emotion. And it relied so heavily on the known mythology of Peter and Gwen, that the actual characters (Peter/Seth much moreso than Sheila/Gwen) wind up seeming a bit flat. I believe this is the author's first novel, however, and the overall vision for this book is so intriguing that I would be very eager to see what she comes up with next.
September 13, 2013
First Reads Review - The Night Gwen Stacy Died by Sarah Bruni
So I was really psyched when I won this through the Goodreads First Reads program, because it is literary fiction, which I probably don't read all that much of, and also because it pulls in some comic book stuffs into it, which is interesting and I think, in this case, really does work into the narrative and the themes that the author creates. It is a great book, filled with flawed people navigating a flawed world, and I found myself hungrily tearing through it, wanting to plunge down into its cool depths and join the coyotes there.
This is a bit of a strange book, though, because at first glance or in the hands of another writer I would probably have found it much more problematic. As it is there are still some aspects that I'm not sure I can full support, but by and large this is a story about people creating narratives of their lives. I feel that most people deal with this, that we all, in some way, create a narrative for ourselves that makes our lives worth something, that gives our actions significance. In this story of Sheila and Seth, Gwen and Peter, their narratives are to overcome the rather oppressive environments that they were brought up in. Not opressive in the traditional sense where they were beaten or otherwise physically abused, but more that they were oppressed through absence. Peter by the absence of his father and brother and mother, Sheila through a similar absence of her family.
Perhaps it is that these characters are a product of their times, because they do seem to be modern characters, people born and raised to believe in their own narrative while being denied real access to the tools to realize it. Neither are from wealthy homes, and both live now that the dream of going to college and being "successful" is not something they can believe in despite the adults in their lives thinking that is still the only way to do well. Basically, the narrative that their parents, that the world creates for them is stifling, oppressive. And to combat this they strive to create alternative narratives, Seth with comic books, with the story of Peter Parker, and Sheila with first her vision of Paris and later with Seth's narrative, though even as she adopts his narrative she demands equal authorship of it, which was refreshing, which gave her as Gwen much more agency than the actual comic book character ever had.
The story of the book and their personal narratives make them seek escape from the one imposed on them and they travel together to Chicago to try and make some sort of change, to try and save someone even as they try to save themselves. Along the way they start a relationship that is both not healthy at all and at the same time exactly what each person needs. They create their own sort of fantasy, their own story, as they search for meaning, as they try to avoid being pulled back in. For Sheila, the coyote comes to be a sort of totem animal, the way that they wander into the fringes of human society, the way they get lost in the maze, the way they adapt. The book is very artful in how it sets all this up, and I find myself wanting to go back and reread to catch everything.
The writing is excellent, though, and the story moves right along, everything interesting, powerful. While there are problematic aspects of the relationship, I was more comfortable with it considering that these were consenting adults (mostly) and that the problems didn't spring from them as much as they sprang from the dissonance between their preferred world and the one they had to move through. This comes to a head in the ending of the book, which is surreal and moving. I couldn't help but feel, though, that the ending wasn't quite as complete as I would have liked. I understand the choice to end where it does, with the sort of dissolution of the narratives they had chosen, the fantasies, with the two characters taking steps to leave behind the layers of story and make a more real connection, and I get that not everything needs to be wrapped up or explained. Still, there was something about the ending that struck me as needing a little more time, a final meeting or thought. For the later part of the book the characters are apart, always missing each other, and I just wanted some final feeling of confrontation to get a truer feeling of how they had changed to each other.
But perhaps it isn't necessary. And it definitely isn't needed to make the book good, because the book is very good. It is deep and moving and I liked it a great deal. As a comic book fan I found myself nodding along at certain parts, and the depiction of the comic book shop was a bit painful to read because it does seem fairly accurate to many places which is sad. But I liked the book, and recommend it for anyone who is a fan of books, a fan of comic books, or anything in between. That al said, I'll give it four and a half stars out of five.
So I was really psyched when I won this through the Goodreads First Reads program, because it is literary fiction, which I probably don't read all that much of, and also because it pulls in some comic book stuffs into it, which is interesting and I think, in this case, really does work into the narrative and the themes that the author creates. It is a great book, filled with flawed people navigating a flawed world, and I found myself hungrily tearing through it, wanting to plunge down into its cool depths and join the coyotes there.
This is a bit of a strange book, though, because at first glance or in the hands of another writer I would probably have found it much more problematic. As it is there are still some aspects that I'm not sure I can full support, but by and large this is a story about people creating narratives of their lives. I feel that most people deal with this, that we all, in some way, create a narrative for ourselves that makes our lives worth something, that gives our actions significance. In this story of Sheila and Seth, Gwen and Peter, their narratives are to overcome the rather oppressive environments that they were brought up in. Not opressive in the traditional sense where they were beaten or otherwise physically abused, but more that they were oppressed through absence. Peter by the absence of his father and brother and mother, Sheila through a similar absence of her family.
Perhaps it is that these characters are a product of their times, because they do seem to be modern characters, people born and raised to believe in their own narrative while being denied real access to the tools to realize it. Neither are from wealthy homes, and both live now that the dream of going to college and being "successful" is not something they can believe in despite the adults in their lives thinking that is still the only way to do well. Basically, the narrative that their parents, that the world creates for them is stifling, oppressive. And to combat this they strive to create alternative narratives, Seth with comic books, with the story of Peter Parker, and Sheila with first her vision of Paris and later with Seth's narrative, though even as she adopts his narrative she demands equal authorship of it, which was refreshing, which gave her as Gwen much more agency than the actual comic book character ever had.
The story of the book and their personal narratives make them seek escape from the one imposed on them and they travel together to Chicago to try and make some sort of change, to try and save someone even as they try to save themselves. Along the way they start a relationship that is both not healthy at all and at the same time exactly what each person needs. They create their own sort of fantasy, their own story, as they search for meaning, as they try to avoid being pulled back in. For Sheila, the coyote comes to be a sort of totem animal, the way that they wander into the fringes of human society, the way they get lost in the maze, the way they adapt. The book is very artful in how it sets all this up, and I find myself wanting to go back and reread to catch everything.
The writing is excellent, though, and the story moves right along, everything interesting, powerful. While there are problematic aspects of the relationship, I was more comfortable with it considering that these were consenting adults (mostly) and that the problems didn't spring from them as much as they sprang from the dissonance between their preferred world and the one they had to move through. This comes to a head in the ending of the book, which is surreal and moving. I couldn't help but feel, though, that the ending wasn't quite as complete as I would have liked. I understand the choice to end where it does, with the sort of dissolution of the narratives they had chosen, the fantasies, with the two characters taking steps to leave behind the layers of story and make a more real connection, and I get that not everything needs to be wrapped up or explained. Still, there was something about the ending that struck me as needing a little more time, a final meeting or thought. For the later part of the book the characters are apart, always missing each other, and I just wanted some final feeling of confrontation to get a truer feeling of how they had changed to each other.
But perhaps it isn't necessary. And it definitely isn't needed to make the book good, because the book is very good. It is deep and moving and I liked it a great deal. As a comic book fan I found myself nodding along at certain parts, and the depiction of the comic book shop was a bit painful to read because it does seem fairly accurate to many places which is sad. But I liked the book, and recommend it for anyone who is a fan of books, a fan of comic books, or anything in between. That al said, I'll give it four and a half stars out of five.
August 12, 2013
NOTE: This is really a 3.5 star review.
The Night Gwen Stacy Died is the story and Sheila Gower, a 17 year old from Iowa who dreams of going to France in order to find her place in the world and a 26 year old who has decided to call himself Peter Parker, a lonely man who is taking care of his not quite elderly mother. He suffers from premonitions, an infliction he's had since his older Jake died 20 years previously.
It is because of one premonition that Peter decides to kidnap Sheila at the gas station she works at and he frequents quite regularly. Sheila, wanting to escape Iowa, goes along with it. There they head to Chicago where Peter gives Sheila the name of Gwendolyn Stacy, Spider-Man's first love. There is another motive to Peter's impulsive action: he's had another premonition of a man swallowing an obscene amount of pills in Sheila's presence that he wants to stop from happening.
There are also lots of coyotes.
I liked The Night Gwen Stacy Died. As a sort of comic book fan, I giggled at the references a-plenty that occurred in this novel. Especially at the fans' reaction letters to when the real Gwen Stacy died. They were an awesome part of history. I liked the love story between Sheila and Peter. It was quirky but never bothersome. I believe that this kind of fast and crazy love could happen.
It reminded me of the movie Nurse Betty. The titled character suffers a traumatic loss while she has a soap opera on and mentally becomes a character in that world while functioning in the real world. Peter loses his brother and his only link to him is his extensive comic book collection featuring Spider-Man. Peter's able to slip into that world by identifying with it and then assimilating into it. Peter is mysterious and charismatic in his own way and he's able to suck in aimless people, like Sheila, into his world.
But it's impossible to steal someone else's story and claim it as your own for long. Sooner or later reality seeps in. A person's story needs to be forged on their own. Sheila learns this lesson toward the end. I liked how that this was the moral, so-to-speak, of The Night Gwen Stacy Died.
I liked the twist toward the middle of the book. It definitely gave me the "Oh!" moment and gave another distinctive POV besides the narratives of Sheila and Peter. I loved the coyotes throughout the book. They served numerous purposes. They were messengers, confidants, saviors, odd friends. They were pretty cool.
Sarah Bruni is a first time novelist and I thought she did a really good job. I saw her speak at a book event and she read from this novel. It's what made me pick it up. It was humorous, sarcastic, poignant, and sad. Plus, I like how she chose to designate the different POVs and the different acts with little illustrations. They were truly boss and I can't wait for more from this author.
And the coyotes.
The Night Gwen Stacy Died is the story and Sheila Gower, a 17 year old from Iowa who dreams of going to France in order to find her place in the world and a 26 year old who has decided to call himself Peter Parker, a lonely man who is taking care of his not quite elderly mother. He suffers from premonitions, an infliction he's had since his older Jake died 20 years previously.
It is because of one premonition that Peter decides to kidnap Sheila at the gas station she works at and he frequents quite regularly. Sheila, wanting to escape Iowa, goes along with it. There they head to Chicago where Peter gives Sheila the name of Gwendolyn Stacy, Spider-Man's first love. There is another motive to Peter's impulsive action: he's had another premonition of a man swallowing an obscene amount of pills in Sheila's presence that he wants to stop from happening.
There are also lots of coyotes.
I liked The Night Gwen Stacy Died. As a sort of comic book fan, I giggled at the references a-plenty that occurred in this novel. Especially at the fans' reaction letters to when the real Gwen Stacy died. They were an awesome part of history. I liked the love story between Sheila and Peter. It was quirky but never bothersome. I believe that this kind of fast and crazy love could happen.
It reminded me of the movie Nurse Betty. The titled character suffers a traumatic loss while she has a soap opera on and mentally becomes a character in that world while functioning in the real world. Peter loses his brother and his only link to him is his extensive comic book collection featuring Spider-Man. Peter's able to slip into that world by identifying with it and then assimilating into it. Peter is mysterious and charismatic in his own way and he's able to suck in aimless people, like Sheila, into his world.
But it's impossible to steal someone else's story and claim it as your own for long. Sooner or later reality seeps in. A person's story needs to be forged on their own. Sheila learns this lesson toward the end. I liked how that this was the moral, so-to-speak, of The Night Gwen Stacy Died.
I liked the twist toward the middle of the book. It definitely gave me the "Oh!" moment and gave another distinctive POV besides the narratives of Sheila and Peter. I loved the coyotes throughout the book. They served numerous purposes. They were messengers, confidants, saviors, odd friends. They were pretty cool.
Sarah Bruni is a first time novelist and I thought she did a really good job. I saw her speak at a book event and she read from this novel. It's what made me pick it up. It was humorous, sarcastic, poignant, and sad. Plus, I like how she chose to designate the different POVs and the different acts with little illustrations. They were truly boss and I can't wait for more from this author.
And the coyotes.
January 1, 2016
I wanted a superhero book that wasn't a graphic novel and it wasn't typical. And I think that's exactly what this book is.
There's this girl named Sheila. She's a run of the mill high school student with good grades, a job as a gas station attendant and a big dream of leaving Iowa behind for Paris when she graduates. In comes Peter Parker, a twenty-six year old cab driver in their Iowa town.
Life is boring, humdrum. She wants big things, he wants the strange, bad dreams to stop. His goal is to leave the town in search of this man from his who is trying to kill himself with pills. But, the girl from his dreams, Sheila, is who he worries about more.
After he asks her to go, she tells him to point his gun at her. She cleans out the register. He drives them to Chicago on this mission. Along the way, he starts to refer to her as Gwen Stacy. She loves the idea of them, Peter and Gwen.
And they just belong, though they're eight years apart in age. He gives her the adventure she craves, she gives him a sense of belonging he needs. Together, they are adorable, yet sometimes infuriating. They grow together and yet fall apart. All the while, they're trying to make money to live, hide out from the law as they're wanted--him for robbery and kidnapping, her for being the victim--and solve the mystery of his dreams before Gwen Stacy can die.
This story was very cute, sort of building and expanding and taking the tale of Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy to a place they hadn't been before. There were parts that felt muddled and confusing, like when this third person perspective would change main characters and regress or progress without too much warning. The coyotes, while at the end make sense, make no sense through half the book. And the ending...I'm left with more questions than answers. Which isn't bothersome so much as I want to know, what's going to happen next to Peter and Gwen.
Other than that, which is the reason I deducted a star, it was a great story. There are some major pieces I left out of the review, but it keeps this review spoiler free.
This would make a great read for a rainy weekend, especially if you adore the original Marvel storyline. Very cute, but not something I think is for everyone.
There's this girl named Sheila. She's a run of the mill high school student with good grades, a job as a gas station attendant and a big dream of leaving Iowa behind for Paris when she graduates. In comes Peter Parker, a twenty-six year old cab driver in their Iowa town.
Life is boring, humdrum. She wants big things, he wants the strange, bad dreams to stop. His goal is to leave the town in search of this man from his who is trying to kill himself with pills. But, the girl from his dreams, Sheila, is who he worries about more.
After he asks her to go, she tells him to point his gun at her. She cleans out the register. He drives them to Chicago on this mission. Along the way, he starts to refer to her as Gwen Stacy. She loves the idea of them, Peter and Gwen.
And they just belong, though they're eight years apart in age. He gives her the adventure she craves, she gives him a sense of belonging he needs. Together, they are adorable, yet sometimes infuriating. They grow together and yet fall apart. All the while, they're trying to make money to live, hide out from the law as they're wanted--him for robbery and kidnapping, her for being the victim--and solve the mystery of his dreams before Gwen Stacy can die.
This story was very cute, sort of building and expanding and taking the tale of Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy to a place they hadn't been before. There were parts that felt muddled and confusing, like when this third person perspective would change main characters and regress or progress without too much warning. The coyotes, while at the end make sense, make no sense through half the book. And the ending...I'm left with more questions than answers. Which isn't bothersome so much as I want to know, what's going to happen next to Peter and Gwen.
Other than that, which is the reason I deducted a star, it was a great story. There are some major pieces I left out of the review, but it keeps this review spoiler free.
This would make a great read for a rainy weekend, especially if you adore the original Marvel storyline. Very cute, but not something I think is for everyone.
January 22, 2014
I noticed a lot of reviewers giving this book low stars and complaining about the book's "plausibility." In my opinion, these reviewers are completely missing the point of the book.
The book's two protagonists take on the identities of comic book characters, and in many ways, begin to become them. The line between reality and fiction blurs for the characters and the reader. Coyotes serve as messengers, guides, friends. Things get a little weird. The prose gets slippery. The writing is a journey in and of itself, but one well worth taking--whether you come into it liking comics or not.
The author explores identity and our places in the world, and how we inhabit them or refuse them and go out in search of different, perhaps better (but perhaps not) places. The characters reject the identities they were given by their parents and the people around them and become new people, and while they set out to save another person, they wind up saving themselves -- even if it looks like they are getting into a giant mess. The author explores place as not just a physical thing, but a thing made up of the people and objects around us.
I thought the ending brought all of the books disparate strands together beautifully, with one exception -- we're left wondering what exactly happened to Sheila/Gwen's coyote companion. Perhaps this was on purpose. The author does not wrap things up neatly, there are many questions for the characters that don't get answered, and I'm fine with that. Bringing things together doesn't necessarily mean tying them up into a nice package. I like a book that leaves me wondering, even if I hate it at the same time.
The book's two protagonists take on the identities of comic book characters, and in many ways, begin to become them. The line between reality and fiction blurs for the characters and the reader. Coyotes serve as messengers, guides, friends. Things get a little weird. The prose gets slippery. The writing is a journey in and of itself, but one well worth taking--whether you come into it liking comics or not.
The author explores identity and our places in the world, and how we inhabit them or refuse them and go out in search of different, perhaps better (but perhaps not) places. The characters reject the identities they were given by their parents and the people around them and become new people, and while they set out to save another person, they wind up saving themselves -- even if it looks like they are getting into a giant mess. The author explores place as not just a physical thing, but a thing made up of the people and objects around us.
I thought the ending brought all of the books disparate strands together beautifully, with one exception -- we're left wondering what exactly happened to Sheila/Gwen's coyote companion. Perhaps this was on purpose. The author does not wrap things up neatly, there are many questions for the characters that don't get answered, and I'm fine with that. Bringing things together doesn't necessarily mean tying them up into a nice package. I like a book that leaves me wondering, even if I hate it at the same time.
September 8, 2013
Sheila Gower is almost an adult. She is seventeen. she lives in a small town in Iowa. She dreams of someday leaving and going to Paris. She is preparing by learning French. So when a mysterious man comes into Sheila's place of employment, she shows the man attention. The man is older and he is a little odd. His name is Peter Parker. Yes, just like Spiderman. Peter likes Sheila. He even starts calling her Gwen Stacy, Peter's girlfriend. Peter and Sheila decide to run away together. They come up with a plan. Peter fakes a robbery and together Peter and Sheila aka Gwen drive off together. Will they have a happy ending?
You could say that my interest was high when I read the summary for this book. I wanted to see what author, Sarah Bruni would do with this concept of Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy. I have to say that this book is unique in a good way. while I was never over excited about Peter and Sheila, I did find their story appealing. Sheila's naiveness grew old quickly after a while. Than there was Peter. Let's just say he is nothing like the "real" Peter Parker. This book is more about what happens to two people who are different from each other and live in their own world. Not a lot of excitement. I was expecting more humor to be featured in this book and there was hardly any moment that I was laughing. Overall a book that deserves a look but you might want to check it out at your local library.
You could say that my interest was high when I read the summary for this book. I wanted to see what author, Sarah Bruni would do with this concept of Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy. I have to say that this book is unique in a good way. while I was never over excited about Peter and Sheila, I did find their story appealing. Sheila's naiveness grew old quickly after a while. Than there was Peter. Let's just say he is nothing like the "real" Peter Parker. This book is more about what happens to two people who are different from each other and live in their own world. Not a lot of excitement. I was expecting more humor to be featured in this book and there was hardly any moment that I was laughing. Overall a book that deserves a look but you might want to check it out at your local library.
July 15, 2013
I bought this on a lark. The cover caught my eye while I was stocking the bookstore shelves. Having a soft spot for Spiderman, a purchase felt necessary.
At it's core, this novel is a love story between a girl who yearns to escape her very ordinary hometown life and an older, mysterious guy. What lurks underneath speaks volumes about how we create identities around ourselves and others.
It's a delight to see this weird and peculiar tale unfold, when Sheila runs off with Peter Parker (as his fake ID reads) to assist in a mission he doesn't explain. Along the way, she more than happily goes along with his desire to think of her as comic book character Gwen Stacy, Perter Parker's doomed girlfriend.
The very idea of people relating to each other in terms of a constructed identity is fascinating, as we all do this in varying degrees. The way Sarah Bruni uses this as a framework to tell her story is quite entertaining.
The book is a clever, occasionally charming, and unpredictable love story that reads like a mystery thriller. It's a tale I was quite surprised with and one I recommend checking out.
At it's core, this novel is a love story between a girl who yearns to escape her very ordinary hometown life and an older, mysterious guy. What lurks underneath speaks volumes about how we create identities around ourselves and others.
It's a delight to see this weird and peculiar tale unfold, when Sheila runs off with Peter Parker (as his fake ID reads) to assist in a mission he doesn't explain. Along the way, she more than happily goes along with his desire to think of her as comic book character Gwen Stacy, Perter Parker's doomed girlfriend.
The very idea of people relating to each other in terms of a constructed identity is fascinating, as we all do this in varying degrees. The way Sarah Bruni uses this as a framework to tell her story is quite entertaining.
The book is a clever, occasionally charming, and unpredictable love story that reads like a mystery thriller. It's a tale I was quite surprised with and one I recommend checking out.
October 31, 2013
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.
August 25, 2013
Though this book uses the names of Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy as means of escape for its main duo, this is not a book for Spiderman fans. I'm not really sure who this book is for, to be honest. It's mostly a vehicle for a meditation on identity: how it's defined, how it's changed by where we are and who we're with, why we feel the need to charge it with meaning beyond our day to day lives. But that idea is not enough to sustain this story, nor are its character or their experiences. It all fell a bit flat. I think this would have been better suited to a short story or a novella. As it was, most of this novel felt like filler.
So...a 1.5ish stars? Let's clock it in around there.
So...a 1.5ish stars? Let's clock it in around there.
July 17, 2013
Good till the end where I felt it spiraled into this sort of pseudo-artsy territory in lieu of a well planned conclusion, especially given the emphasis on fate and destiny versus individual choice. When I read in the acknowledgments that it was written over many years in many different places I felt this was sort of reflected in the last few chapters- sort of like, "let's get this over with, already." That said, it was still entertaining, and I spent a huge portion of the book trying to decide if the main character was mentally ill or actually in possession of some "super power" or both.
July 27, 2013
What a truely unique and enjoyable read. Probably 3.5 stars, but cute enough to round up. Comic book lovers will enjoy this "coming of age" tale about a seventeen year old Iowa loner who sets on an adventure with a young man living under the persona Peter Parker. Our protaganist takes on the persona of Peter's first girl friend, Gwen Stacy. Through in a couple coyotes - one stuffed and one live, although, the second one may just be a stray dog, and you have a good easy to read story. If you like the Big Bang Theory, you will enjoy The Night Gwen Stacy Died.
August 21, 2013
An amazing debut. It took a few pages to draw me in, but once it took off, I couldn't quit. It's one of those rare books that works as both adult and YA fiction. So many levels. So much blurring of lines between reality and imagination, between simply observing and having a stake in the outcome. I am from the Midwest, and so much of the apathy and passion rings true. Lovely book, worthy of a second read ...
August 10, 2013
I had super high expectations and the book just fell short for me. I would say that I would agree with some of the other reviews that stated it falls apart at the end. I definitely felt strongly about the book in the beginning but as it progressed I was less and less interested in the characters and the plausibility of the story.
January 14, 2015
The plot was a bit frenetic. The coyote bit DID tie into the end, but the ending was so strange and the story just seemed to stop abruptly. I think I understand what the author was trying to say, but it left some things unanswered, like Peter's future-seeing dreams. I just wished that the Spider-Man premise was given more explanation, and that the characters were given more satisfying epilogues.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 4, 2013
The conceit of the title felt a little precious at first but by the end of the novel it was remarkably gripping and moving. An astonishing, tough-minded coming of age novel that slips out of preconceptions and cliche, knowing exactly what it's doing.
August 6, 2013
This was a little too weird for me, but I give the author a lot of credit; the plot was very clever. I think if I were more of a comic book or graphic novel fan, I'd have enjoyed it more.
November 24, 2015
Meh. I am willing to suspend disbelief for a good story, but this story wasn't really about anything at all.
November 1, 2020
Such a bland and shallow book. If it wasn't a required read, I doubt I would've read it otherwise. It's like a really, really bad fanfiction. And to be honest, I think I didn't understand the ending.
September 9, 2018
I'll be honest with you. I picked this book up because I judged it by its cover. Cool title. Cool cover art. Looking at the back, the plot outline worked for me, the reviews from other authors I've enjoyed was promising, and it was written by a newcomer with an MFA. I'm on board.
I was excited! But it wasn't until about page 40 that I realized I was probably not going to like The Night Gwen Stacy Died. The book feels like a first book because of its ambitions: quirky characters, youngsters in romance, a man with a mysterious past, parallels to pop culture, ambiguous prose that seeks to be deep, multiple character perspectives (sometimes competing), inexplicable forces of nature (coyotes). It feels very much like the author, Sarah Bruni, took a note of many critically-heralded contemporary novels, and then tried to fashion a novel that included all of those touch-points in some way. She bit off more than she could chew in what would otherwise be a pretty straightforward story.
So here are the two things that made me dislike The Night Gwen Stacy Died: vague plotting and unbelievable character motivations. I'll give you an example of each without spoiling anything. Early in the novel, our two main characters are driving to Chicago. Along the way, they discover a wrecked car, one of the characters gets out and tries to rescue the injured only to find that they are already dead. Then our two main characters continue their trip to Chicago, and those (fairly traumatic) events are never really mentioned again until near the end of the book, when it's clear the author is trying to establish a theme. But the whole event is portrayed in such a vague way, that I had to step back a few paragraphs just to make sure I wasn't missing something. Then I had to assume that this was either a late addition to the novel, or several pages were cut.
The second gripe, the unbelievable character motivations, is hard to deal with. The inciting incident -- the two characters traveling to Chicago -- is fair enough. I was willing to buy that, even though the motivations Sheila (our main perspective) were tenuous at best. However, the decisions she and other characters make through the book just don't feel human. I can recall several moments where I was reading this novel and shaking my head thinking "no, no, no, don't do that." These thoughts weren't directed at the characters, but at the author: "don't take us there... it's not going to work!" I had the same feeling while watching the movie Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, where there were choices made at the script level that I just wondered: "Surely someone told Bruni / Bresson that this wasn't really going to work, right?"
I thought I would love this book. It seemed right up my alley, but it ultimately feels like an MFA thesis that was molded to fit a paperback.
I was excited! But it wasn't until about page 40 that I realized I was probably not going to like The Night Gwen Stacy Died. The book feels like a first book because of its ambitions: quirky characters, youngsters in romance, a man with a mysterious past, parallels to pop culture, ambiguous prose that seeks to be deep, multiple character perspectives (sometimes competing), inexplicable forces of nature (coyotes). It feels very much like the author, Sarah Bruni, took a note of many critically-heralded contemporary novels, and then tried to fashion a novel that included all of those touch-points in some way. She bit off more than she could chew in what would otherwise be a pretty straightforward story.
So here are the two things that made me dislike The Night Gwen Stacy Died: vague plotting and unbelievable character motivations. I'll give you an example of each without spoiling anything. Early in the novel, our two main characters are driving to Chicago. Along the way, they discover a wrecked car, one of the characters gets out and tries to rescue the injured only to find that they are already dead. Then our two main characters continue their trip to Chicago, and those (fairly traumatic) events are never really mentioned again until near the end of the book, when it's clear the author is trying to establish a theme. But the whole event is portrayed in such a vague way, that I had to step back a few paragraphs just to make sure I wasn't missing something. Then I had to assume that this was either a late addition to the novel, or several pages were cut.
The second gripe, the unbelievable character motivations, is hard to deal with. The inciting incident -- the two characters traveling to Chicago -- is fair enough. I was willing to buy that, even though the motivations Sheila (our main perspective) were tenuous at best. However, the decisions she and other characters make through the book just don't feel human. I can recall several moments where I was reading this novel and shaking my head thinking "no, no, no, don't do that." These thoughts weren't directed at the characters, but at the author: "don't take us there... it's not going to work!" I had the same feeling while watching the movie Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, where there were choices made at the script level that I just wondered: "Surely someone told Bruni / Bresson that this wasn't really going to work, right?"
I thought I would love this book. It seemed right up my alley, but it ultimately feels like an MFA thesis that was molded to fit a paperback.
June 2, 2019
The Night Gwen Stacy died is a book whose premise and plot are difficult to explain. It hugs a plane that at times is based in reality and at other times seems stuck in the strange delusional world of would-be kidnapper Seth Novak.
On its face, the story is sort of about a girl bored to death in her Iowa town with dreams of getting away to Paris and, eventually, to Chicago. It is also about the repressed memories of a young adult who has to confront the fact that he was misled about a critical component of his formative years. But there are so many off-the-wall and hard to believe elements thrown in by author Sara Bruni that it is a challenge to take this book as anything besides breezy reading.
Bruni certainly showed readers she had done her homework when it came to the Spiderman comic book-verse. Much about the book, including the girl's name in the title, revolve around references to the Marvel comic hero. Gwen Stacy is not, however, even the real name of the story's main protagonist; she is a seventeen-year old Iowa girl named Sheila Gower.
So why is Sheila referred to as Gwen Stacy throughout the book?
Well, like much of this mind-bending novel, it's an absurdly complex story: Gwen Stacy was Peter Parker's love interest prior to meeting her demise at the hands of the Green Goblin in the controversial Amazing Spiderman #121 issue. What does this have to do with Sheila Gower, one might logically ask again? Well, nothing, except that Seth Novak-the at-times protagonist who refers to himself as Peter Parker and experiences what can charitably be labeled vivid and frightening dreams-enters the thick of the story when he "kidnaps" Sheila (if one can call it a kidnapping when the gas station attendant "victim" is so bored with everyday life that she actually wants him to abduct her one state over into Illinois). The outlandishness of scenes like this and the one involving Sheila's run-in with coyotes later in the book, do not do it any favors in the recommended review department.
Few of the characters are penned with much in the way of personality. Sheila and Seth aside, there is not really anyone else in the book who registers-positively or negatively-with reads.
Yet the Night Gwen Stacy Died is still difficult to put down despite its weirdness. The book just unfolds in a way that keeps it readable, and at times the humor in the writing comes through with a sharpness that gives the novel some redemptive traits.
The whole Spiderman tie-in honestly seemed a little pointless, as if Bruni tossed that in there just for the heck of it. It could have been a stronger book without the randomness of that comic book aspect. Despite a few funny scenes, The Night Gwen Stacy died is nothing special. It seems destined to be forgotten soon after it has been read once, a fate the writer's strengths can never entirely rescue it from.
-Andrew Canfield Denver, Colorado
On its face, the story is sort of about a girl bored to death in her Iowa town with dreams of getting away to Paris and, eventually, to Chicago. It is also about the repressed memories of a young adult who has to confront the fact that he was misled about a critical component of his formative years. But there are so many off-the-wall and hard to believe elements thrown in by author Sara Bruni that it is a challenge to take this book as anything besides breezy reading.
Bruni certainly showed readers she had done her homework when it came to the Spiderman comic book-verse. Much about the book, including the girl's name in the title, revolve around references to the Marvel comic hero. Gwen Stacy is not, however, even the real name of the story's main protagonist; she is a seventeen-year old Iowa girl named Sheila Gower.
So why is Sheila referred to as Gwen Stacy throughout the book?
Well, like much of this mind-bending novel, it's an absurdly complex story: Gwen Stacy was Peter Parker's love interest prior to meeting her demise at the hands of the Green Goblin in the controversial Amazing Spiderman #121 issue. What does this have to do with Sheila Gower, one might logically ask again? Well, nothing, except that Seth Novak-the at-times protagonist who refers to himself as Peter Parker and experiences what can charitably be labeled vivid and frightening dreams-enters the thick of the story when he "kidnaps" Sheila (if one can call it a kidnapping when the gas station attendant "victim" is so bored with everyday life that she actually wants him to abduct her one state over into Illinois). The outlandishness of scenes like this and the one involving Sheila's run-in with coyotes later in the book, do not do it any favors in the recommended review department.
Few of the characters are penned with much in the way of personality. Sheila and Seth aside, there is not really anyone else in the book who registers-positively or negatively-with reads.
Yet the Night Gwen Stacy Died is still difficult to put down despite its weirdness. The book just unfolds in a way that keeps it readable, and at times the humor in the writing comes through with a sharpness that gives the novel some redemptive traits.
The whole Spiderman tie-in honestly seemed a little pointless, as if Bruni tossed that in there just for the heck of it. It could have been a stronger book without the randomness of that comic book aspect. Despite a few funny scenes, The Night Gwen Stacy died is nothing special. It seems destined to be forgotten soon after it has been read once, a fate the writer's strengths can never entirely rescue it from.
-Andrew Canfield Denver, Colorado
February 29, 2024
I picked up this book because it's set where I live--Coralville, Iowa. More on that later.
There's some good stuff here—nice use of phrases, and some interesting metaphors. The story overall is not my favorite kind; 17-year-old Sheila is basically kidnapped by a delusional 26-year-old who calls himself "Peter Parker," decides Sheila is "Gwen Stacy" and has prophetic dreams--but it's okay because she chose to go! No, really! She can make her own decisions and she obviously wanted an adventure, based on the fact that she was studying French and planning to go to Paris! 17, nearly 18, is a good age to make her, I suppose, since the author has plausible deniability that she is an adult (but I still don't like it). I'm a little surprised this was written by a woman; the "girl was mature and she really was into it" trope is more often in men's fiction.
On to the Coralville setting. I understand artistic license--I don't mind that she made the high school mascot a Cougar; I understand she had a motif with big cats, dogs, and wild animals. Name-checking Mormon Trek Blvd is nice. She visits the coyote in McBride Hall, all good stuff.
And then there's the stuff that just hits wrong. Like the fact that she implies Coralville is a sleepy small town (it really isn't). Or saying that she saw the carousel in the parking lot of the Coral Ridge Mall--the carousel is inside, and this doesn't change the story at all. Perhaps most egregiously, she writes that people come into Sheila's gas station for "soda." Excuse me, but no Iowan calls it "soda," it's "pop."
Also--and this is a case where it's a nice metaphor, but weirdly placed--she writes about the blurred edges between state lines, and how you don't know you've entered another state without seeing the "welcome" sign. This is shortly after her characters have driven from Iowa to Illinois on Interstate 80--Illinois is separated from Iowa on I-80 by a mile-long bridge over the Mississippi River, so not amorphous at all.
There's some good stuff here—nice use of phrases, and some interesting metaphors. The story overall is not my favorite kind; 17-year-old Sheila is basically kidnapped by a delusional 26-year-old who calls himself "Peter Parker," decides Sheila is "Gwen Stacy" and has prophetic dreams--but it's okay because she chose to go! No, really! She can make her own decisions and she obviously wanted an adventure, based on the fact that she was studying French and planning to go to Paris! 17, nearly 18, is a good age to make her, I suppose, since the author has plausible deniability that she is an adult (but I still don't like it). I'm a little surprised this was written by a woman; the "girl was mature and she really was into it" trope is more often in men's fiction.
On to the Coralville setting. I understand artistic license--I don't mind that she made the high school mascot a Cougar; I understand she had a motif with big cats, dogs, and wild animals. Name-checking Mormon Trek Blvd is nice. She visits the coyote in McBride Hall, all good stuff.
And then there's the stuff that just hits wrong. Like the fact that she implies Coralville is a sleepy small town (it really isn't). Or saying that she saw the carousel in the parking lot of the Coral Ridge Mall--the carousel is inside, and this doesn't change the story at all. Perhaps most egregiously, she writes that people come into Sheila's gas station for "soda." Excuse me, but no Iowan calls it "soda," it's "pop."
Also--and this is a case where it's a nice metaphor, but weirdly placed--she writes about the blurred edges between state lines, and how you don't know you've entered another state without seeing the "welcome" sign. This is shortly after her characters have driven from Iowa to Illinois on Interstate 80--Illinois is separated from Iowa on I-80 by a mile-long bridge over the Mississippi River, so not amorphous at all.
August 21, 2019
So, this wasn't a bad book. I had a little trouble getting into it, both because it's a change of pace from what I've been reading lately, and because the whole way I was under the suspicion that the Spider-Man influence was primarily a gimmick to get people like me to read the book in the first place. I don't necessarily feel that, now that I've finished the book; but, it's real close on that score. Do the Spider-Man parallels play a role in the book? Yes, they do. However, I'm not 100% certain they were truly necessary, for how big a role they play (if that makes any sense). This question i feel further compounded by the surreal qualities of the ending, which unfortunately takes one a bit out of the reality of the book as a whole, in a fairly jarring way--though it's possible that I just missed the relevance of coyotes entirely, as I was too focused on the Spider-Man thing.
This book kind of reads like a teencentric indie romance movie, which I can't say that I minded too much. However, if we're being fully honest, the age discrepancy between Peter and Gwen was a bit off-putting, made more by the fact that in the grand scheme of things, Peter never acts like he's particularly older than Gwen, so there really isn't any real reason why the age gap should be so severe. I may have been able to ignore it entirely, if it wasn't for the creepy and gross "You don't look a day over sixteen" line he has right before they have sex for the first time. That line, by itself, kind of tainted my ability to really invest in the book or its characters.
This book kind of reads like a teencentric indie romance movie, which I can't say that I minded too much. However, if we're being fully honest, the age discrepancy between Peter and Gwen was a bit off-putting, made more by the fact that in the grand scheme of things, Peter never acts like he's particularly older than Gwen, so there really isn't any real reason why the age gap should be so severe. I may have been able to ignore it entirely, if it wasn't for the creepy and gross "You don't look a day over sixteen" line he has right before they have sex for the first time. That line, by itself, kind of tainted my ability to really invest in the book or its characters.
October 16, 2021
(disclaimer: this is more of a 3.5 actually) (also spoiler tags aren't working so you have been warned)
Reading through some of the other reviews I feel like...some of us were reading different books. "Cute love story"...are you okay, guys? Where did you get that from?
I personally found this book unsettling. The character of Peter works well because he honestly is quite creepy, but the way the author portrays him is so uniquely weird. I also LOVE the final page of his POV--I think it tied up his story perfectly. Sheila's storyline is a bit murkier. Again, I like her ending (I'm very glad she did not die). But that being said, while her story had a strong start and finish, along the way I felt like I kind of lost sense of her as a character. Perhaps that was intentional, as she is actually losing her sense of self trying to become Gwen. I don't know...regardless, her character was a bit unsatisfyingly inscrutable for a while there.
I'm not sure I agree with the decision to make Peter literally psychic. I could see why the idea appealed to the author, but it kind of just throws off what's mainly a grounded story.
Parallels between Novak's high school "relationship" and Peter and Gwen...well done.
Overall, not what I expected, but strange and compelling regardless.
Reading through some of the other reviews I feel like...some of us were reading different books. "Cute love story"...are you okay, guys? Where did you get that from?
I personally found this book unsettling. The character of Peter works well because he honestly is quite creepy, but the way the author portrays him is so uniquely weird. I also LOVE the final page of his POV--I think it tied up his story perfectly. Sheila's storyline is a bit murkier. Again, I like her ending (I'm very glad she did not die). But that being said, while her story had a strong start and finish, along the way I felt like I kind of lost sense of her as a character. Perhaps that was intentional, as she is actually losing her sense of self trying to become Gwen. I don't know...regardless, her character was a bit unsatisfyingly inscrutable for a while there.
I'm not sure I agree with the decision to make Peter literally psychic. I could see why the idea appealed to the author, but it kind of just throws off what's mainly a grounded story.
Parallels between Novak's high school "relationship" and Peter and Gwen...well done.
Overall, not what I expected, but strange and compelling regardless.
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