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Super Normal
As they grapple with unemployment, their mother's terminal illness, and their father's death, Beth, Taylor, and Denise find themselves back in their childhood home after years of being apart. When a precocious fourth-grader discovers Denise's superpower and then goes missing, it's up to these three floundering siblings to bring him home. Their unique abilities have never, ever helped them before-can they make a difference now?
- GenresFantasy
Kindle Edition
Published November 7, 2023
1 person is currently reading
146 people want to read
About the author
Josh Denslow
6 books47 followersI live outside Austin, TX with my wife, my mother-in-law, and my three sons. To keep things interesting, we also have four dogs and three cats, plus a bunch of scorpions hiding just out of sight.
My short stories have appeared in print and online in such fine places as Barrelhouse, Third Coast, Cutbank, Wigleaf, and Black Clock, among many others. NOT EVERYONE IS SPECIAL, my debut short story collection will be published in 2019 by 7.13 Books.
My short stories have appeared in print and online in such fine places as Barrelhouse, Third Coast, Cutbank, Wigleaf, and Black Clock, among many others. NOT EVERYONE IS SPECIAL, my debut short story collection will be published in 2019 by 7.13 Books.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
December 19, 2023
This was such an interesting read! Three adult siblings have superpowers? Sign me up.
The characters in this book did not disappoint; I expected a lot from people with supernatural abilities (in particular, I expected them to struggle with this emotionally) and they certainly delivered. This was the most overt with Taylor, when he uses his powers to further his music career but it doesn’t end in the way he expects it to. Denise is somewhat in the same boat as Taylor, but Beth hasn’t used her powers in years. This created a really interesting dynamic between the siblings, especially when all three of them reunited and their feelings toward each other and their powers were complicated by the grief of their mother Edna’s illness.
The plot of this book surprised me in its complexity. Though there are dozens of characters, the author effortlessly connected them to each other. The most prominent example of this is Phillip, who first appears as a student in Edna’s class but ends up being connected to Denise through his father. Philip was one of the most interesting characters to me—he is just a young kid but the author puts us right in his mind. We understand the complex feelings he has toward his father, his mother who he has never met, and the knowledge that his teach is dying of cancer. Later, We understand exactly why he is feeling the way he is when he disappears.
I loved the format the author chose to write this book in. Separated into three distinct parts (for each day that transpires), each part is named as a recognizable superhero movie part. Part one is titled “Day One: The Heroes Assemble.” This is made even more clear in the third part when Beth uses her “superhero voice,” which made me laugh. On top of that, each of the chapters are split into various points of view. This made the book so compelling—I wanted to know what was going on in each character’s life!
The one thing I wish we had seen more of was Denise and John together. They came together under somewhat strange circumstances, and she literally stole money from him but it’s never mentioned again? The man is not exactly financially well-off, I doubt he didn’t notice. How did they work through that? Did Denise return the money? Did they connect over financial hardship?? I have so many questions.
Thank you to Stillhouse Press for the ARC!
The characters in this book did not disappoint; I expected a lot from people with supernatural abilities (in particular, I expected them to struggle with this emotionally) and they certainly delivered. This was the most overt with Taylor, when he uses his powers to further his music career but it doesn’t end in the way he expects it to. Denise is somewhat in the same boat as Taylor, but Beth hasn’t used her powers in years. This created a really interesting dynamic between the siblings, especially when all three of them reunited and their feelings toward each other and their powers were complicated by the grief of their mother Edna’s illness.
The plot of this book surprised me in its complexity. Though there are dozens of characters, the author effortlessly connected them to each other. The most prominent example of this is Phillip, who first appears as a student in Edna’s class but ends up being connected to Denise through his father. Philip was one of the most interesting characters to me—he is just a young kid but the author puts us right in his mind. We understand the complex feelings he has toward his father, his mother who he has never met, and the knowledge that his teach is dying of cancer. Later, We understand exactly why he is feeling the way he is when he disappears.
I loved the format the author chose to write this book in. Separated into three distinct parts (for each day that transpires), each part is named as a recognizable superhero movie part. Part one is titled “Day One: The Heroes Assemble.” This is made even more clear in the third part when Beth uses her “superhero voice,” which made me laugh. On top of that, each of the chapters are split into various points of view. This made the book so compelling—I wanted to know what was going on in each character’s life!
The one thing I wish we had seen more of was Denise and John together. They came together under somewhat strange circumstances, and she literally stole money from him but it’s never mentioned again? The man is not exactly financially well-off, I doubt he didn’t notice. How did they work through that? Did Denise return the money? Did they connect over financial hardship?? I have so many questions.
Thank you to Stillhouse Press for the ARC!
August 12, 2023
I really loved Josh Denslow's collection Not Everyone is Special... so much so that I did the publicity for it back in 2019. He has a knack for writing fun, quirky characters and plopping them into familiar but slightly off-kilter situations. And in his debut full length novel Super Normal, he definitely kicks it up a notch!
This was such a cute book.
Beth, Taylor, and Denise are siblings who have grown apart. They are each not exactly living their best lives at the moment. Beth, for example, just slunk back to her mom Edna's house after running away from her live-in girlfriend Fran. Taylor is trying to make it big as a musician but can't seem to catch a break. And Denise was just caught coming out of the bathroom naked by her one-night-stand John's fourth grade son Phillip, who also happens to be one of Edna's students.
In the middle of all this, the three of them are suddenly pulled back together again due to their mother's recent terminal diagnosis. While this might sound like a very conventional start to a story, these three characters are anything but typical. Their father, who passed tragically after a deadly reaction to a bee sting, had super strength - like the "pull a tree right out of the ground roots and all, and pick up a car so he can fetch his daughter's ball from under it" kind of super strength - and he passed some pretty wild super powers on to his children.
Though they've spent most of their lives hiding those abilities, they find themselves in a situation where maybe, just maybe, if they work together, they can help John locate his son Phillip who has gone missing shortly after accidently discovering Denise's super power.
It's like Disney's The Incredibles, only for adults. Slighty less comedic, steeped in familial turmoil where the humor counterbalances the heaviness, yet still fun enough to have us imagining who might be cast to play the role of each character on the big screen. Because without a doubt, this needs to be made into a movie!
This was such a cute book.
Beth, Taylor, and Denise are siblings who have grown apart. They are each not exactly living their best lives at the moment. Beth, for example, just slunk back to her mom Edna's house after running away from her live-in girlfriend Fran. Taylor is trying to make it big as a musician but can't seem to catch a break. And Denise was just caught coming out of the bathroom naked by her one-night-stand John's fourth grade son Phillip, who also happens to be one of Edna's students.
In the middle of all this, the three of them are suddenly pulled back together again due to their mother's recent terminal diagnosis. While this might sound like a very conventional start to a story, these three characters are anything but typical. Their father, who passed tragically after a deadly reaction to a bee sting, had super strength - like the "pull a tree right out of the ground roots and all, and pick up a car so he can fetch his daughter's ball from under it" kind of super strength - and he passed some pretty wild super powers on to his children.
Though they've spent most of their lives hiding those abilities, they find themselves in a situation where maybe, just maybe, if they work together, they can help John locate his son Phillip who has gone missing shortly after accidently discovering Denise's super power.
It's like Disney's The Incredibles, only for adults. Slighty less comedic, steeped in familial turmoil where the humor counterbalances the heaviness, yet still fun enough to have us imagining who might be cast to play the role of each character on the big screen. Because without a doubt, this needs to be made into a movie!
November 26, 2023
An "E-ticket" ride if there ever was one. Rarely, have I enjoyed a book so much. A fast-paced, fun read with characters as quirky as they are endearing. I felt emphathy and rooted for each one. That three of the characters have super powers -- flight, invisibility, healing -- and that readers are just asked to accept that premise without explanation works because they are rich, full, multi-layered people in every other way and because of Denslow's talent in weaving those powers into the story such that it's organic rather than becoming a gimmick. Two adult sisters and a brother whose lives have sunk to "misfit" status after the death of their father, are reunited when their mother becomes ill and they all return home. Toss in a precocious nine-year-old whose disappearance challenges them to become their better selves and you've got a book that is laugh out funny, while still tugging at the heart. I'm hoping for a sequel. Read this book. You'll love it.
April 29, 2024
I love to try genre stretching books and this was so good. Siblings with super powers and super issues. Their mother is dying and that brings them all home to work out their relationships and to reunite them. Hard to explain but a great read. Josh Denslow has created a truly original story. Read it!
April 4, 2024
Wow I loved the pacing and the plot in this book. I read it before bed and as soon as I woke up each morning!
May 3, 2025
This book is much more about family than it is about super powers, to its credit. Makes you very excited for what the author does next.
September 20, 2025
Thank you for this weird trip. I loved it. I have no idea how I found it.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews