Faith: Greater Heights
Common Sense is a nonprofit organization. Your purchase helps us remain independent and ad-free.
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.
Suggest an Update
A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this book.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Julie Murphy's Faith: Greater Heights continues the superhero-origin story begun in Faith: Taking Flight. It begins soon after the events of the first book, so reading them in order is recommended to make understanding the characters and events easier. There are some superhero-type fights with fire, flight, and ear-splitting-scream powers. Someone's lifted off the ground by the throat, and characters run into each other at high speeds and throw each other into furniture and walls. Blood and pain are mentioned but not described in detail. Same-sex couples kiss and hold hands. One couple sleeps in the same bed -- once they fall asleep after brief kissing and caressing; the second time sex is vaguely implied. Strong language is rare but includes "f--k," "s--t," and "ass." Faith is an orphan who lives with her grandmother, so parental loss is a minor theme. A much stronger theme is her grandmother's gradual decline from dementia.
Community Reviews
There aren't any reviews yet. Be the first to review this title.
What's the Story?
FAITH: GREATER HEIGHTS picks up just after spring break of Faith's senior year. Although she still isn't 100 percent comfortable with her newly gained super powers, or what it might mean to be a psiot, Faith's looking forward to all the long-awaited, traditional, end-of-high-school activities and events. She's especially looking forward to experiencing them all with her best friends Matt and Ches. Faith needs her two anchors now more than ever as her Grandma Lou's dementia symptoms become more frequent. Mysterious fires start cropping up around town right when her fellow psiot Colleen, missing for months, shows up back at school out of the blue. And there's definitely something strange going on at Grandma Lou's assisted living facility. Can Faith put all the pieces together in time to keep everyone she loves safe? And in time to get to prom looking gorgeous?
Is It Any Good?
This continuation of the entertaining superhero origin story teamimg popular author Julie Murphy with the Valiant Comics franchise keeps the fun and positivity going strong. Body size, sexual orientation, and good old-fashioned upbeat optimism make Faith: Greater Heights as refreshing and inclusive as the first volume. As with Faith: Taking Flight, some of the plot and the characters are pretty transparent. Some twists and turns are easier to spot than others, but they build to a large-scale confrontation toward the end that keep the pages turning. Fans of the first book will enjoy reuniting with some favorite old characters while being intruduced to mysterious new ones. Superhero fans and fans of Julie Murphy will enjoy the upbeat tone, action, and mystery without all the violence and brooding that define so many superhero stories.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the positive role models in Faith: Greater Heights. What are Faith's character strengths and weaknesses? Do you like or admire her? What about any other characters?
Why is it important for books, movies, TV, and other media to have diverse, positive representation of different types of people?
Why are superhero franchises so popular? What do we love about them?
Book Details
- Author: Julie Murphy
- Genre: Fantasy
- Topics: Superheroes, Friendship, Great Girl Role Models, High School
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: Balzer + Bray
- Publication date: November 2, 2021
- Publisher's recommended age(s): 13 - 17
- Number of pages: 352
- Available on: Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, iBooks, Kindle
- Last updated: December 2, 2021
Our Editors Recommend
-
Faith: Taking Flight
Fun superhero origin story is body and LGBTQ+ positive.
-
Renegades, Book 1
Slow start, but much intrigue in supervillain/hero tale.
-
Muse
Teen comes into power in suspenseful alternative history.
For kids who love superheroes and LGBTQ+ stories
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate