Faith: Taking Flight
By Andrea Beach,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Fun superhero origin story is body and LGBTQ+ positive.
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What's the Story?
In FAITH: TAKING FLIGHT, Faith Herbert seems like an ordinary teen, and she pretty much is until, you know, she takes flight. As in superhero flight, for real. Faith keeps pretty busy between work, school, and totally geeking out over the fact that her favorite TV show, The Grove, has started filming in her own hometown. But even with all that going on, Faith soon notices that animals, and then people, are starting to go missing all over town. And the few who are seen again are found in a catatonic state. Something strange is clearly going on, and the more Faith digs into it, the more it looks as if her crush, Dakota, and other members of The Grove production team may be involved.
Is It Any Good?
This entertaining superhero origin story teams popular author Julie Murphy with the Valiant Comics franchise to bring lots of positivity to the genre. Body size, sexual orientation, and good old-fashioned upbeat optimism are the order of the day and make Faith: Taking Flight a refreshing and inclusive superhero story. Even though it's the first of a planned duology, the story wraps up nicely while leaving room for further adventures. Some of the plot and the characters are pretty transparent, and it takes a while for the mystery to deepen and build. But superhero fans and fans of Julie Murphy will enjoy the upbeat tone, along with the 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: Taking Flight. 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: Magic and Fantasy , Superheroes , Friendship , Great Girl Role Models , High School
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: Balzer + Bray
- Publication date: July 7, 2020
- Publisher's recommended age(s): 13 - 17
- Number of pages: 352
- Available on: Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, iBooks, Kindle
- Last updated: June 27, 2020
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