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Faith Herbert Origin Story #1
Faith: Taking Flight
From Julie Murphy, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Dumplin’, comes the first in a two-book origin story of Faith, a groundbreaking, plus-sized superhero from the Valiant Entertainment comics.
Faith Herbert is a pretty regular teen. When she’s not hanging out with her two best friends, Matt and Ches, she’s volunteering at the local animal shelter or obsessing over the long-running teen drama The Grove.
So far, her senior year has been spent trying to sort out her feelings for her maybe-crush Johnny and making plans to stay close to Grandma Lou after graduation. Of course, there’s also that small matter of recently discovering she can fly….
When the fictional world of The Grove crashes into Faith’s reality as the show relocates to her town, she can’t believe it when TV heroine Dakota Ash takes a romantic interest in her.
But her fandom-fueled daydreams aren’t enough to distract Faith from the fact that first animals, then people, have begun to vanish from the town. Only Faith seems able to connect the dots to a new designer drug infiltrating her high school.
But when her investigation puts the people she loves in danger, she will have to confront her hidden past and use her newfound gifts—risking everything to save her friends and beloved town.
Plus don't miss the follow-up, Greater Heights!
Faith Herbert is a pretty regular teen. When she’s not hanging out with her two best friends, Matt and Ches, she’s volunteering at the local animal shelter or obsessing over the long-running teen drama The Grove.
So far, her senior year has been spent trying to sort out her feelings for her maybe-crush Johnny and making plans to stay close to Grandma Lou after graduation. Of course, there’s also that small matter of recently discovering she can fly….
When the fictional world of The Grove crashes into Faith’s reality as the show relocates to her town, she can’t believe it when TV heroine Dakota Ash takes a romantic interest in her.
But her fandom-fueled daydreams aren’t enough to distract Faith from the fact that first animals, then people, have begun to vanish from the town. Only Faith seems able to connect the dots to a new designer drug infiltrating her high school.
But when her investigation puts the people she loves in danger, she will have to confront her hidden past and use her newfound gifts—risking everything to save her friends and beloved town.
Plus don't miss the follow-up, Greater Heights!
Audible Audio
First published July 7, 2020
120 people are currently reading
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About the author
Julie Murphy
43 books6,751 followersJulie Murphy lives in North Texas with her husband who loves her and her cats who tolerate her. After several wonderful years in the library world, Julie now writes full-time.
When she’s not writing or reliving her reference desk glory days, she can be found watching made-for-TV movies, hunting for the perfect slice of cheese pizza, and planning her next great travel adventure.
She is also the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the young adult novels Dumplin’ (now a film on Netflix), Puddin’, Pumpkin, Ramona Blue, and Side Effects May Vary. Her middle grade novels include Dear Sweat Pea and a forthcoming 2023 title. She is also Disney's If The Shoe Fits, a modern day romcom retelling of Cinderella. Her writing partner is Sierra Simone and their romance debut is A Merry Little Meet Cute.
Julie has been featured in places liek Good Morning America, The New York Times, and Teen Vogue. Dumplin' was also named one of the best young adult books of all time by Time Magazine.
When she’s not writing or reliving her reference desk glory days, she can be found watching made-for-TV movies, hunting for the perfect slice of cheese pizza, and planning her next great travel adventure.
She is also the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the young adult novels Dumplin’ (now a film on Netflix), Puddin’, Pumpkin, Ramona Blue, and Side Effects May Vary. Her middle grade novels include Dear Sweat Pea and a forthcoming 2023 title. She is also Disney's If The Shoe Fits, a modern day romcom retelling of Cinderella. Her writing partner is Sierra Simone and their romance debut is A Merry Little Meet Cute.
Julie has been featured in places liek Good Morning America, The New York Times, and Teen Vogue. Dumplin' was also named one of the best young adult books of all time by Time Magazine.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 524 reviews
August 20, 2020
3 stars
There was a lot going on in Faith by Julie Murphy, and most of it I really enjoyed. This was a fast paced, action packed, and a wee bit suspenseful story about a plus-sized superhero and I was so here for it.
Faith Herbert is like any other teenager. At least that's what she thought. Then she realized she had superpowers. And her celebrity crush from her favorite show may be in town and have a thing for her. Like, is this real life? Faith doesn't know what to think. On top of all that there are a lot of weird things going on in the town she lives in...
Faith was a character I loved right away. She is strong and bad ass and I'm so happy to see this isn't her only story, that it's part 1 in a 2 part origin story. I love Julie Murphy's writing and I enjoyed reading about this cast of characters. The ending, when things started to come to light felt really rushed to me and even though there is another book coming, things were tied together in a weird way and I have lots of questions. I'm definitely looking forward to reading part 2 and hope it comes out sooner rather than later!
"The broken always have ways of finding each other."
And maybe that's how we heal, by finding one another.
There was a lot going on in Faith by Julie Murphy, and most of it I really enjoyed. This was a fast paced, action packed, and a wee bit suspenseful story about a plus-sized superhero and I was so here for it.
Faith Herbert is like any other teenager. At least that's what she thought. Then she realized she had superpowers. And her celebrity crush from her favorite show may be in town and have a thing for her. Like, is this real life? Faith doesn't know what to think. On top of all that there are a lot of weird things going on in the town she lives in...
Faith was a character I loved right away. She is strong and bad ass and I'm so happy to see this isn't her only story, that it's part 1 in a 2 part origin story. I love Julie Murphy's writing and I enjoyed reading about this cast of characters. The ending, when things started to come to light felt really rushed to me and even though there is another book coming, things were tied together in a weird way and I have lots of questions. I'm definitely looking forward to reading part 2 and hope it comes out sooner rather than later!
July 12, 2023
I spent so much of this book confused about the structure and all the random plot points that never could seem to come together, and once I reached the acknowledgments and saw this is based on a comic and not Julie's original character/story, I had an aha moment. I was really sad I wasn't enjoying this as much as Julie's other books but now that I realize this is a tie-in book and not something completely original, I feel less bad that I didn't love it.
First of all, I thought this was going to be a lot more paranormal (or whatever superhero books are. magical?)/non-contemporary based, but the parts that talk about her powers are soooo far and few in between, and the reason why she got powers and the forces of evil in the town were so convoluted. It felt like a bunch of random plot elements tied together with unrealistic jumps. Even though I liked the characters and the writing style, the story just did not make sense to me at all and was pretty rushed.
I think I would enjoy this more if I read the original comics because this book was so confusing and had me feeling like I was missing something. The characters were good one second then evil the next. It almost feels like a set up book to the second volume, but I'm really on the fence about if I care enough to want to know what happens next.
First of all, I thought this was going to be a lot more paranormal (or whatever superhero books are. magical?)/non-contemporary based, but the parts that talk about her powers are soooo far and few in between, and the reason why she got powers and the forces of evil in the town were so convoluted. It felt like a bunch of random plot elements tied together with unrealistic jumps. Even though I liked the characters and the writing style, the story just did not make sense to me at all and was pretty rushed.
I think I would enjoy this more if I read the original comics because this book was so confusing and had me feeling like I was missing something. The characters were good one second then evil the next. It almost feels like a set up book to the second volume, but I'm really on the fence about if I care enough to want to know what happens next.
July 3, 2020
With Faith: Taking Flight, Valiant Comics gets in on the YA prose novel craze. Faith is one of Valiant's best characters. She's an earnest, overweight fangirl who one day actually gains superpowers, now having the power of flight. Her bubbly, enthusiastic personality is infectious and if you at all like this, I encourage you to seek out some of the Faith comics by Jody Houser.
This takes place shortly after she gains her powers in the pages of Harbinger. She has returned home to see her grandmother and finish out her senior year. This story suffers from split personalities. The first half of the book is your typical YA fluff with Faith trying to determine her sexuality and maybe getting embroiled in a LGBTQ love triangle. Things on that front move at a glacially slow pace that I, like Faith, wasn't sure if it was just friendships or more than friendships going on here as well. Then it's like a flip switched and all of these problems drop into Faith's life at the same time, missing teenagers, kidnapped pets, family problems, friend problems, relationship problems, uncovered criminal conspiracies. The book goes from not enough going on to too much. What was going on with this criminal conspiracy was never sufficiently explained to my satisfaction. Hopefully, there will be a sequel that delves more into what was going on.
All in all though, this was a solid start for a prose novel series of Faith books. She is one of Valiant's best characters and there is a lot to like there between her personality and that Faith is not your typical big-boobed, tight-waisted superhero.
Received a review copy from Balzer + Bray and Edelweiss. All thoughts are my own and in no way influenced by the aforementioned.
This takes place shortly after she gains her powers in the pages of Harbinger. She has returned home to see her grandmother and finish out her senior year. This story suffers from split personalities. The first half of the book is your typical YA fluff with Faith trying to determine her sexuality and maybe getting embroiled in a LGBTQ love triangle. Things on that front move at a glacially slow pace that I, like Faith, wasn't sure if it was just friendships or more than friendships going on here as well. Then it's like a flip switched and all of these problems drop into Faith's life at the same time, missing teenagers, kidnapped pets, family problems, friend problems, relationship problems, uncovered criminal conspiracies. The book goes from not enough going on to too much. What was going on with this criminal conspiracy was never sufficiently explained to my satisfaction. Hopefully, there will be a sequel that delves more into what was going on.
All in all though, this was a solid start for a prose novel series of Faith books. She is one of Valiant's best characters and there is a lot to like there between her personality and that Faith is not your typical big-boobed, tight-waisted superhero.
Received a review copy from Balzer + Bray and Edelweiss. All thoughts are my own and in no way influenced by the aforementioned.
Read
May 24, 2020
June 28, 2020
An e-arc of the book was sent in exchange for an honest review that was originally posted on TheFandom
Julie Murphy has us flying through wild plot lines in FAITH: TAKING FLIGHT.
It wasn’t until I got towards the end Faith: Taking Flight by Julie Murphy that Google told me the story originated in the 90s. I was shocked and almost a bit relieved to find out that the main character, Faith Herbert, is a character from a comic series. This novel is the origin story in a prose format that follows the same story in the comics. Finding out this information made me change my review a bit because now I see it in a different light. That being said, my thoughts on the novel are still the same.
The novel follows the story of Faith Herbert who gets approached by a mysterious man who tells her he can give powers. With nothing to do during summer vacation, Faith, a self-described badass fat girl, takes the opportunity and ends the summer knowing how to fly. Within the first few pages, what the synopsis tells us is what we get. But then we seem to steer off course and into a different territory.
Let me start off by saying I enjoyed the book to a certain extent. While I did have fun reading the book, I did think it got a bit messy. I found myself flying through the pages, pun intended, because I wanted to know what would happen next. Murphy knows how to keep the readers engaged with the story. The problem with it was that there was too much going on.
Within the first fifty pages, we’re introduced to about six or seven different story lines. It was like every chapter we got to, it seemed to become a different book with a different plot. And at one point I thought that the plot lines could’ve easily been split into two books. With each change, the tone of the book seemed to change, from contemporary, to sci-fi, to romance, and mystery to name a few. And while the book seemed fun and fluffy in the beginning, it began to build into this sense of urgency and seriousness that threw me off.
It wasn’t until the end when the plot lines began to add up. The effect was definitely a eureka moment for me, but it would have been better if there weren’t too many things going on. Some of the story lines seemed a bit random until they were given a purpose. And it almost seemed like they were different ideas from multiple books. One thing that I was disappointed with was that the whole flying part seemed a bit forgotten.
The time she spent getting her powers was given to us briefly, which I’m hoping we get to see more of in the sequel. But it isn’t until the very end when that part of the story starts making sense and by then I wasn’t sure if it felt right in the book. I would definitely say it’s because of what felt like the constant genre shift.
I honestly enjoyed the characters and the way Murphy wrote them. Despite the story, she made sure that each one of the characters had their time to shine and were essential to the plot. I especially enjoyed Faith and how comfortable she was with her weight. She never made any excuses for herself and she never said anything that could be considered negative. Definitely an A+ on that.
And I really liked the last few chapters of the book when things started picking up. It made me want to read the second book, despite my trouble with the first, to find out what is going to happen. I want to know more about the guy and his group that gave Faith her powers. And I want to know more about everything else that came into the light by the end. Especially certain characters…(no spoilers here).
Earlier I mentioned how this is based off comics and that’s where it affects my review. In the beginning I thought, this book was super messy. It almost felt like it was a script for a television show that someone added more details too. But that’s when it hit me. After learning about the comics, I could see why the plot lines felt random. The book would definitely read better in comic form with multiple issues. Almost as if it’s not meant to be read in one shot, but little by little.
So while the book was a bit of a miss for me, Julie Murphy still has a way of wrapping you in her words and wanting more. With that being said, if you’re looking for something that’s just fun and a quick read, Faith is definitely the girl for you.
Julie Murphy has us flying through wild plot lines in FAITH: TAKING FLIGHT.
It wasn’t until I got towards the end Faith: Taking Flight by Julie Murphy that Google told me the story originated in the 90s. I was shocked and almost a bit relieved to find out that the main character, Faith Herbert, is a character from a comic series. This novel is the origin story in a prose format that follows the same story in the comics. Finding out this information made me change my review a bit because now I see it in a different light. That being said, my thoughts on the novel are still the same.
The novel follows the story of Faith Herbert who gets approached by a mysterious man who tells her he can give powers. With nothing to do during summer vacation, Faith, a self-described badass fat girl, takes the opportunity and ends the summer knowing how to fly. Within the first few pages, what the synopsis tells us is what we get. But then we seem to steer off course and into a different territory.
Let me start off by saying I enjoyed the book to a certain extent. While I did have fun reading the book, I did think it got a bit messy. I found myself flying through the pages, pun intended, because I wanted to know what would happen next. Murphy knows how to keep the readers engaged with the story. The problem with it was that there was too much going on.
Within the first fifty pages, we’re introduced to about six or seven different story lines. It was like every chapter we got to, it seemed to become a different book with a different plot. And at one point I thought that the plot lines could’ve easily been split into two books. With each change, the tone of the book seemed to change, from contemporary, to sci-fi, to romance, and mystery to name a few. And while the book seemed fun and fluffy in the beginning, it began to build into this sense of urgency and seriousness that threw me off.
It wasn’t until the end when the plot lines began to add up. The effect was definitely a eureka moment for me, but it would have been better if there weren’t too many things going on. Some of the story lines seemed a bit random until they were given a purpose. And it almost seemed like they were different ideas from multiple books. One thing that I was disappointed with was that the whole flying part seemed a bit forgotten.
The time she spent getting her powers was given to us briefly, which I’m hoping we get to see more of in the sequel. But it isn’t until the very end when that part of the story starts making sense and by then I wasn’t sure if it felt right in the book. I would definitely say it’s because of what felt like the constant genre shift.
I honestly enjoyed the characters and the way Murphy wrote them. Despite the story, she made sure that each one of the characters had their time to shine and were essential to the plot. I especially enjoyed Faith and how comfortable she was with her weight. She never made any excuses for herself and she never said anything that could be considered negative. Definitely an A+ on that.
And I really liked the last few chapters of the book when things started picking up. It made me want to read the second book, despite my trouble with the first, to find out what is going to happen. I want to know more about the guy and his group that gave Faith her powers. And I want to know more about everything else that came into the light by the end. Especially certain characters…(no spoilers here).
Earlier I mentioned how this is based off comics and that’s where it affects my review. In the beginning I thought, this book was super messy. It almost felt like it was a script for a television show that someone added more details too. But that’s when it hit me. After learning about the comics, I could see why the plot lines felt random. The book would definitely read better in comic form with multiple issues. Almost as if it’s not meant to be read in one shot, but little by little.
So while the book was a bit of a miss for me, Julie Murphy still has a way of wrapping you in her words and wanting more. With that being said, if you’re looking for something that’s just fun and a quick read, Faith is definitely the girl for you.
November 26, 2020
I like the premise of this book because I think having a plus size flying superhero is awesome but there was just too many things happening in this book.
I think if the focus was more about Faith learning about her powers and navigating her family and friend relationships then that could have been enough. Instead we get some of that coupled with a mystery about a new designer drug going around, missing animals in the neighbourhood, sexual identity discovery, high school graduation issues etc. It was a everything and the kitchen sink. With it trying to be everything at once, it barely allowed the read to become invested in anything or anyone much.
That’s why this book is getting a 2 star rating. I would not pick this book up again to re read and if the sequel comes out, I’d only read it if I needed something in between excellent reads.
I wish this was better.
Jo
I think if the focus was more about Faith learning about her powers and navigating her family and friend relationships then that could have been enough. Instead we get some of that coupled with a mystery about a new designer drug going around, missing animals in the neighbourhood, sexual identity discovery, high school graduation issues etc. It was a everything and the kitchen sink. With it trying to be everything at once, it barely allowed the read to become invested in anything or anyone much.
That’s why this book is getting a 2 star rating. I would not pick this book up again to re read and if the sequel comes out, I’d only read it if I needed something in between excellent reads.
I wish this was better.
Jo
March 24, 2020
***Thank you, Netgalley for the chance to review this title ahead of its release date***
The cover is what drew me to this book, the very first chapter completely sold me. This was everything I wanted!
FAITH starts out with 17 yo Faith Herbery being recruited into what she thinks is a school for superheroes. But when things go awry, she escapes the facility and attempts to go back to her old life, her two best friends and volunteering at an animal shelter. Although Faith has the special ability to actually FLY, she's totally down to earth about it. She lives with her grandma and obsesses over a tv drama called THE GROVE. When the show suddenly relocates to her town, she meets its star, Dakota Ashe, and plummets into a life of camera flashes and brings life to her fantasy. But the possible romance with a celebrity almost overshadows the real-world issues that threaten her existence. Can she hide her powers from her friends and save her town?
Never have I ever read a plus-sized queer superhero book. Ever. But this isn't just a superhero book. This isn't even about Faith's body type or her sexual orientation. In fact, I feel like that was all more of a side note to the real-world issues Faith encounters. She has a case of survivors guilt after her parents died in a car crash and she survived. Her grandmother is showing signs of dementia and all that on top of missing classmates and pets.
I could not put this book down. My husband literally had to pry it from my hands the other night. I showed him dominance by baring my fangs, but alas, I had to sleep at some point.
Julie Murphy brings heart into this story by showing us that life goes on, even though we can fly. Preorder now. Don't sit on this one, folks.
The cover is what drew me to this book, the very first chapter completely sold me. This was everything I wanted!
FAITH starts out with 17 yo Faith Herbery being recruited into what she thinks is a school for superheroes. But when things go awry, she escapes the facility and attempts to go back to her old life, her two best friends and volunteering at an animal shelter. Although Faith has the special ability to actually FLY, she's totally down to earth about it. She lives with her grandma and obsesses over a tv drama called THE GROVE. When the show suddenly relocates to her town, she meets its star, Dakota Ashe, and plummets into a life of camera flashes and brings life to her fantasy. But the possible romance with a celebrity almost overshadows the real-world issues that threaten her existence. Can she hide her powers from her friends and save her town?
Never have I ever read a plus-sized queer superhero book. Ever. But this isn't just a superhero book. This isn't even about Faith's body type or her sexual orientation. In fact, I feel like that was all more of a side note to the real-world issues Faith encounters. She has a case of survivors guilt after her parents died in a car crash and she survived. Her grandmother is showing signs of dementia and all that on top of missing classmates and pets.
I could not put this book down. My husband literally had to pry it from my hands the other night. I showed him dominance by baring my fangs, but alas, I had to sleep at some point.
Julie Murphy brings heart into this story by showing us that life goes on, even though we can fly. Preorder now. Don't sit on this one, folks.
June 25, 2020
Originally published on The Nerd Daily | Review by Mimi Koehler
Listen. I’m not the biggest fan of superhero origin stories. I know, I know, they’re so much fun as there’s tragedy and hardship to be overcome and we all root for that one character who suddenly gets superpowers. Still, I’ve always had a hard time getting with the program. And maybe that was because I was just going with the flow of the same old story being recycled over and over again. But then, Faith happened to show up at my doorstep and would you believe it, I apparently can very much get behind a dog-obsessed, funny, gorgeous, plus-sized, bisexual and overall cute as a button girl becoming a superhero to save her town and the world at large from unspeakable doom and maybe, just maybe get the girl. Even if that girl isn’t all she’s cracked up to be, either. But that’s another story.
Read the FULL REVIEW on The Nerd Daily
Listen. I’m not the biggest fan of superhero origin stories. I know, I know, they’re so much fun as there’s tragedy and hardship to be overcome and we all root for that one character who suddenly gets superpowers. Still, I’ve always had a hard time getting with the program. And maybe that was because I was just going with the flow of the same old story being recycled over and over again. But then, Faith happened to show up at my doorstep and would you believe it, I apparently can very much get behind a dog-obsessed, funny, gorgeous, plus-sized, bisexual and overall cute as a button girl becoming a superhero to save her town and the world at large from unspeakable doom and maybe, just maybe get the girl. Even if that girl isn’t all she’s cracked up to be, either. But that’s another story.
Read the FULL REVIEW on The Nerd Daily
July 25, 2020
it was quite a fun read except the annoying fact that Faith mentioned almost every page how she learned "super hero" stuff from books/movies/series.
March 28, 2021
4.5/5
This was such a fun contemporary! I love superheroes and after reading The Extraordinaries I need all the superhero books!
Faith Herbert was an ordinary girl, until she accidentally stumbles into a nefarious plot to awaken teens into people with superhuman abilities. After escaping from this "summer camp" from hell, Faith is determined to go back to her normal life. But now she can fly and she finds out her favorite teen drama is coming to her tiny town of Minnesota. Faith thinks all her dreams are coming true, but then neighborhood dogs and the townspeople start disappearing.
There was a lot going on in this book, and it first it was a bit confusing. Especially since Faith's "awakening" happens all in flashbacks. However, once the book started going I was invested. I loved Faith so much. She was so easy to relate to and I loved her friends. They both made me so happy, also Ches is pan and I live for pan rep.
I loved all the fandom references and Faith's love for The Grove was so adorable. I loved her interactions with all of the cast of the show, but especially Dakota. The ending was something else and I haven't recovered. I don't know if my heart will recover. I need the sequel ASAP!
This was such a fun contemporary! I love superheroes and after reading The Extraordinaries I need all the superhero books!
Faith Herbert was an ordinary girl, until she accidentally stumbles into a nefarious plot to awaken teens into people with superhuman abilities. After escaping from this "summer camp" from hell, Faith is determined to go back to her normal life. But now she can fly and she finds out her favorite teen drama is coming to her tiny town of Minnesota. Faith thinks all her dreams are coming true, but then neighborhood dogs and the townspeople start disappearing.
There was a lot going on in this book, and it first it was a bit confusing. Especially since Faith's "awakening" happens all in flashbacks. However, once the book started going I was invested. I loved Faith so much. She was so easy to relate to and I loved her friends. They both made me so happy, also Ches is pan and I live for pan rep.
I loved all the fandom references and Faith's love for The Grove was so adorable. I loved her interactions with all of the cast of the show, but especially Dakota. The ending was something else and I haven't recovered. I don't know if my heart will recover. I need the sequel ASAP!
July 7, 2020
Why you should read this book
🌟Fat Superhero MC
🌟MC has crushes on both genders , doesn't label herself (that's an important thing we don't see enough.)
🌟Small town trope
🌟WlW relationship
🌟Faith is a dog AND cat person
🌟Nerd rep
🌟Accurate high school rep (you'll see it when you read it)
Faith was a little intense than I thought it would be , but sets an amazing base for more books to come.
I received this book thru Edelweiss and Balzer & Bray , this has not affected my opinions. Review to come.
🌟Fat Superhero MC
🌟MC has crushes on both genders , doesn't label herself (that's an important thing we don't see enough.)
🌟Small town trope
🌟WlW relationship
🌟Faith is a dog AND cat person
🌟Nerd rep
🌟Accurate high school rep (you'll see it when you read it)
Faith was a little intense than I thought it would be , but sets an amazing base for more books to come.
I received this book thru Edelweiss and Balzer & Bray , this has not affected my opinions. Review to come.
May 13, 2020
[3.5/5 stars]
Faith is a plus sized superhero who is questioning her sexuality AND. I. AM. HERE. FOR. IT.
I thought the story was cute, and the characters were fun. I think it could have been just a smidge more fleshed out (her friends were so hard on her 😂). But overall it was a fun read, and I’ll definitely read the sequel because I want to know what happens!
Thanks to Harper Collins and Edelweiss for a copy of Faith: Taking Flight for review! This one won’t be out until July 7, 2020!
Faith is a plus sized superhero who is questioning her sexuality AND. I. AM. HERE. FOR. IT.
I thought the story was cute, and the characters were fun. I think it could have been just a smidge more fleshed out (her friends were so hard on her 😂). But overall it was a fun read, and I’ll definitely read the sequel because I want to know what happens!
Thanks to Harper Collins and Edelweiss for a copy of Faith: Taking Flight for review! This one won’t be out until July 7, 2020!
July 11, 2020
I'm really sad I didn't like it.
I'm kind of seeing a pattern in Murphy's books: mc has secrets, doesn't share them with closest friends, said friends who are supposedly best friends randomly decide they can't be bothered and just start ignoring the mc, unnecessary drama. I really really don't like this trope.
The book started promising but then got lost at some point and then became really random and rushed and then it was over.
I'm kind of seeing a pattern in Murphy's books: mc has secrets, doesn't share them with closest friends, said friends who are supposedly best friends randomly decide they can't be bothered and just start ignoring the mc, unnecessary drama. I really really don't like this trope.
The book started promising but then got lost at some point and then became really random and rushed and then it was over.
December 8, 2020
This story just didn't work out for me. It was dragging through the entire length of the book and seriously speaking, only started taking things a little seriously at 70% of the book. The entire time before that, I was reading; not out of interest but out of the need to complete it somehow. I'm so upset with the beginning part; it just felt boring. The remaining 30% was still better, though.
July 24, 2020
I decided to give this book the GoodReads "it was ok" rating because I have mixed feelings on this book. I would read a sequel and I liked the premise and Faith as a character. But ultimately this just wasn't the book for me.
*So don't let this low rating scare you from it.*
I am not a fan of love triangles and this book does revolve around that a bit if thats your thing read this book.
I hope in the next book Julie Murphy clears up a few things about Faith's activation because in places I didnt quite understand how it worked however that may be because I am unfamiliar with the comics Faith is from.
In contrast, I love how diverse the characters of the books were and all the fandom references. And the relationship between Faith & Grandma Lou.
*So don't let this low rating scare you from it.*
I am not a fan of love triangles and this book does revolve around that a bit if thats your thing read this book.
I hope in the next book Julie Murphy clears up a few things about Faith's activation because in places I didnt quite understand how it worked however that may be because I am unfamiliar with the comics Faith is from.
In contrast, I love how diverse the characters of the books were and all the fandom references. And the relationship between Faith & Grandma Lou.
April 14, 2020
Argh, this was kind of a disappointment! I love Faith, I've read the comics, and I think adapting comics to books and telling an original story is hard. How Faith's powers come about and why are told only when the overall plot needs exposition, which leaves the reader sort of lost. Faith isn't a great friend, and her friends aren't great either. It's very obviously meant to be a duology, because all of the action happens in the last 25 pages.
Want to read
May 28, 2020I remember freaking out so much when Julie Murphy announced this on Instagram. Because, hold on just a second, it's about a queer AND fat female superhero?! And the cover depicts her flying?!?!?!
Safe to say, I was already hooked. I can't wait to read this!
Find me elsewhere: Blog | Instagram | Twitter
Safe to say, I was already hooked. I can't wait to read this!
Find me elsewhere: Blog | Instagram | Twitter
July 12, 2023
3,5*
Faith als Protagonistin war super, leider haben mich einige der Nebencharaktere gestört. Vorallem Matt fand ich teilweise echt daneben. Außerdem hatte ich das Gefühl, dass Julie Murphy sich mit der Zusammensetzung von Contemporary und Superheldengeschichte etwas übernommen hat. Von beidem war mir zu wenig vorhanden. Trotzdem wurde ich gut unterhalten und vom Schreibstil bin ich sowieso ein großer Fan.
Faith als Protagonistin war super, leider haben mich einige der Nebencharaktere gestört. Vorallem Matt fand ich teilweise echt daneben. Außerdem hatte ich das Gefühl, dass Julie Murphy sich mit der Zusammensetzung von Contemporary und Superheldengeschichte etwas übernommen hat. Von beidem war mir zu wenig vorhanden. Trotzdem wurde ich gut unterhalten und vom Schreibstil bin ich sowieso ein großer Fan.
February 26, 2021
This was a student recommendation that was a lot of fun. There's teen angst, first romanceI, good friends, and autumn traditions in this novel length story about Faith Herbert, a high school senior who recently learned that she can fly and has superpowers. Whoever said that overweight girls couldn't be the heroine in the story? Inspired or based by the Faith comic book series, it seems obvious that author Julie Murphy is a fan.
If you like fan fiction or are looking for a story that promotes positive body image, this is the book for you.
If you like fan fiction or are looking for a story that promotes positive body image, this is the book for you.
October 17, 2022
Rep: plus size questioning sapphic MC, biracial (half-Latina) lesbian love interest with anxiety and depression, plus size Puerto Rican gay side character, sapphic Black side character, sapphic side character, Asian female side character, Latina side character
Hm, this was okay! It was lighthearted and fun. It isn't on the top of superhero books list but it was alright. I would recommend this book to people who read YA contemporary but want to try the YA SFF genre.
Hm, this was okay! It was lighthearted and fun. It isn't on the top of superhero books list but it was alright. I would recommend this book to people who read YA contemporary but want to try the YA SFF genre.
November 19, 2020
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This was really cute. It started off strong with brilliant characters and a great story line.
The ending was a little rushed though???
Bookstagram
Website
This was really cute. It started off strong with brilliant characters and a great story line.
The ending was a little rushed though???
July 28, 2020
one of the best books i've read this year, and one of the first in a while that's been able to truly hold my interest!
April 7, 2020
It was an ok read! Nothing more!
I enjoyed this book just because I love Julie’s writing but the story was a flop for me!
Faith is a good character but the world building in this book was non existent, confusing and kind of boring. The plot was meh, the characters boring and the romance predictable.
I think the only way you can understand it is if you’re a fan of the comics.
I enjoyed this book just because I love Julie’s writing but the story was a flop for me!
Faith is a good character but the world building in this book was non existent, confusing and kind of boring. The plot was meh, the characters boring and the romance predictable.
I think the only way you can understand it is if you’re a fan of the comics.
July 17, 2020
Faith is a steal of a book. Why? You really get 2, maybe 3 stories rolled up into 1. Or at least that's how it feels.
First, we start out with the story of Faith the superhero and her origin story. One day she is just a normal, self-proclaimed nerdy fat girl in a chatroom who meets a guy. She takes a leap of "faith" and meets this gamer guy at the mall. Until next time (book 2)...the end.
Second, we have fangirl drama romcom Faith. This Faith is an enormous fangirl of a TV show called The Grove and she is extremely popular on social media on the like--we all kind of know how that goes, right? Well Faith meets the star of The Grove, Dakota, and is shocked when the cast and crew are moving to her small town to shoot the next season. Soon after, strange things start happening. Animals in the area (Faith volunteers at the local shelter) start acting weird. Classmates are going missing. Faith's honor roll best friend is arrested on drug charges. But yet Faith finds solace in her new best friend Dakota who is so level-headed through all of the weirdness happening in her small town. To avoid spoilers, I will decist on this story line.
And finally, is the emotional family/best friend saga. This could tie in with the romcom, or it could be a third string. Faith lives with her Grandma Lou and cares for her deeply. Lou is a snappy character who, in the beginning seems to be one of the "strange things" happening because she is acting strangely and at one point she also disappears, but by the end its a medical condition and she's pretty ok. Its something everyone is dealing with. Faith and her Matt and Ches are also pretty dramatic. Again, in the beginning, they are all pretty tight but as time goes on and Faith grows close to Dakota, the friendlings rival themselves apart. Faith starts out a love triangle with Dakota and Johnny from Journalism class and its so shocking to Faith, and then all of a sudden, Johnny disappears into thin air.
So basically, this book is a web of story lines that are basically tangled together in one book. I had no idea why certain things were sequenced the way they were or why some characters had intentions as they did. Unfortunately, Faith very much did not live up to my expectations. It did have certain aspects I liked (positive body image--Julie Murphy is great with that, as well as fun pop culture references, and good bi- rep) but story-wise it just fell flat.
First, we start out with the story of Faith the superhero and her origin story. One day she is just a normal, self-proclaimed nerdy fat girl in a chatroom who meets a guy. She takes a leap of "faith" and meets this gamer guy at the mall. Until next time (book 2)...the end.
Second, we have fangirl drama romcom Faith. This Faith is an enormous fangirl of a TV show called The Grove and she is extremely popular on social media on the like--we all kind of know how that goes, right? Well Faith meets the star of The Grove, Dakota, and is shocked when the cast and crew are moving to her small town to shoot the next season. Soon after, strange things start happening. Animals in the area (Faith volunteers at the local shelter) start acting weird. Classmates are going missing. Faith's honor roll best friend is arrested on drug charges. But yet Faith finds solace in her new best friend Dakota who is so level-headed through all of the weirdness happening in her small town. To avoid spoilers, I will decist on this story line.
And finally, is the emotional family/best friend saga. This could tie in with the romcom, or it could be a third string. Faith lives with her Grandma Lou and cares for her deeply. Lou is a snappy character who, in the beginning seems to be one of the "strange things" happening because she is acting strangely and at one point she also disappears, but by the end its a medical condition and she's pretty ok. Its something everyone is dealing with. Faith and her Matt and Ches are also pretty dramatic. Again, in the beginning, they are all pretty tight but as time goes on and Faith grows close to Dakota, the friendlings rival themselves apart. Faith starts out a love triangle with Dakota and Johnny from Journalism class and its so shocking to Faith, and then all of a sudden, Johnny disappears into thin air.
So basically, this book is a web of story lines that are basically tangled together in one book. I had no idea why certain things were sequenced the way they were or why some characters had intentions as they did. Unfortunately, Faith very much did not live up to my expectations. It did have certain aspects I liked (positive body image--Julie Murphy is great with that, as well as fun pop culture references, and good bi- rep) but story-wise it just fell flat.
October 27, 2020
✨3.5 STARS✨RTC
ARC provided by author in exchange for an honest review
SPOILER FREE MINI REVIEW MAY ALSO BE VIEWED ON LAIR OF BOOKS
THE 411...
Faith Herbert in many ways is your average teenager living in a small town dealing with friendships, crushes, volunteer work & more. It’s easy to fall in love with Faith who is a plus size teen with a well known fan blog for The Grove, a popular tv series. Faith lives with her grandmother who she loves dearly & is one part of a trio of friends who are queer and super supportive of one another. This is her senior year in High School & things get a bit complicated when The Grove starts filming in her hometown. Faith finds herself having more than one crush, Johnny is very much the boy next door who is trying to get Dakota to notice him. Dakota Ash is the star of The Grove who also has her eyes on Faith & sets out to take her out on a date.
This was a cute superhero story that had its pacing issues & felt like two different books in one. The first half doesn’t see much plot movement, it really is just small town life as Faith goes about volunteer work at the Vet clinic & dating Dakota. The second half takes off at lightning speed with all sorts of new things introduced to the plot including missing teens, pets & a criminal operation. I’m still unsure about how Faith got a handle on her superhero powers & wished that we’d gotten more on that. What I loved about Faith is that she’s not your typical slim female superhero in tights. Faith is not only plus size but she also dates both genders & explores her sexuality, questioning herself at times but never labeling herself. I felt this came across as authentic for her age when really that’s exactly what is happening, self discovery. I did have some issues with how Faith handled her friends when consumed by her love life but I’m glad things get sorted out on the page. The friend trio itself is #Nerdgoals I LOVED them to pieces, especially Ches who is a queer witch that isn’t above lighting some sage to clear the room of negative energies! LOVED!
ARC provided by author in exchange for an honest review
SPOILER FREE MINI REVIEW MAY ALSO BE VIEWED ON LAIR OF BOOKS
THE 411...
Faith Herbert in many ways is your average teenager living in a small town dealing with friendships, crushes, volunteer work & more. It’s easy to fall in love with Faith who is a plus size teen with a well known fan blog for The Grove, a popular tv series. Faith lives with her grandmother who she loves dearly & is one part of a trio of friends who are queer and super supportive of one another. This is her senior year in High School & things get a bit complicated when The Grove starts filming in her hometown. Faith finds herself having more than one crush, Johnny is very much the boy next door who is trying to get Dakota to notice him. Dakota Ash is the star of The Grove who also has her eyes on Faith & sets out to take her out on a date.
This was a cute superhero story that had its pacing issues & felt like two different books in one. The first half doesn’t see much plot movement, it really is just small town life as Faith goes about volunteer work at the Vet clinic & dating Dakota. The second half takes off at lightning speed with all sorts of new things introduced to the plot including missing teens, pets & a criminal operation. I’m still unsure about how Faith got a handle on her superhero powers & wished that we’d gotten more on that. What I loved about Faith is that she’s not your typical slim female superhero in tights. Faith is not only plus size but she also dates both genders & explores her sexuality, questioning herself at times but never labeling herself. I felt this came across as authentic for her age when really that’s exactly what is happening, self discovery. I did have some issues with how Faith handled her friends when consumed by her love life but I’m glad things get sorted out on the page. The friend trio itself is #Nerdgoals I LOVED them to pieces, especially Ches who is a queer witch that isn’t above lighting some sage to clear the room of negative energies! LOVED!
January 18, 2020
Revolutionary! A fat superhero? Faith is an inspiration to us all. Superpowers were not what she expected out of life, but here she is with the ability to fly. As if her life wasn’t hard enough to balance! When her personal heroes from her favorite tv show relocate their set to her town no one is more excited than Faith. But at the same time something sinister starts to unfold in Glenwood. With so much going on Faith struggles to figure out what to do. She doesn’t see herself as a hero, she’s just trying to get by after a traumatic summer. Nothing is easy and she has to make some tough decisions but I am so proud of Faith. Getting to read about her becoming someone even more incredible than she already is gave me hope that I am capable of more. (Though I am 99% sure I cannot fly) I am more than my weight, more than others opinions about my body and my lifestyle. You don’t have to be skinny to be a good person, or to be a hero to others.
January 28, 2022
I didn’t think it was possible for Julie Murphy to write a book I wouldn’t enjoy, but here we are … I don’t know why, but this just didn’t work for me. Maybe it’s the fandom-element which is always kind of a no-go for me, or maybe it’s the fact that I didn’t feel like the characters were fleshed out enough to feel like real people.
I love the concept of a fat superhero, and I really wanted to love Faith, but I just didn’t. 😭
I love the concept of a fat superhero, and I really wanted to love Faith, but I just didn’t. 😭
September 17, 2020
Also Posted on For The Love of Fictional Worlds
Disclaimer: A physical ARC was provided via Harper Collins International in exchange for an honest review. The Thoughts, opinions & feelings expressed in the review are therefore, my own.
Faith: Taking Flight is apparently an origin story of Faith Herbert – a superhero from the Harbinger Universe (I still have to get my hands on the Comics; so I went in without even knowing the back story!) - a bubbly, overweight and enthusiastic teenager who is all geeky and nerdy and all in all a girl that the insecure teenager in all of us would not only recognise but also empathize with.
The book starts off with Faith being headhunted into believing that she has not only has the ability to bring forth her super powers; but will also spend the whole summer with other kids, just like her; a fact that excites her since her two best friends, Ches and Matt will be spending their summer together; away!
But soon enough, she finds herself back with her grandmother, and an absolute need NOT to talk about her summer; not with anyone at all. So, she decides that she will keep everything that happened during the summer under the wraps; especially the fact that she has the ability to fly. A normal school year; hanging out with her best friends; volunteering at the animal shelter and having fun with her favourite show of all times – the fan page for the show anyways.
Things start to look up when her favourite TV Star shows up; and somehow against all odds; seems to be interested in her; romantically – and with a boy she always had a crush on; seems to be finally catching up the nerve to asks her out – this school year seems to be shapi9ng up to be quite interesting!
I was really quite excited to read this one –and I did enjoy it; but the pacing of the plotline felt a little off – the first of the book was absolute fluff; and more than getting to know you part – a part that was honestly stretched far too long and only had sprinkles of what would suddenly bomb into a whole lot of issue in the second half of the book – where to be fair, everything starts happening all at once – and I do mean everything; all the action, the plot twists – the reader gets bombarded with information from all the sides; together.
In spite of this; if you are hankering for an overweight, bisexual teenager; because you are one or identify as one – then trust me; this tends to be an empowering read (hence, the reason for my rating) – and there are still loose threads to knot up; so I am gonna keep an eye out for the sequel as well!
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April 18, 2020
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s a book about superheroes. I think? Faith feels like 5 books mashed together. I have no idea how to place this book within a genre. Is it mystery? A thriller? There are people with superpowers, missing people, action, scary drugs and people doing scary things with those drugs. But it’s also a self-discovery novel. A book about a new relationship (LGBT+) with the contexts of fandom and tv series. It’s a book about family and the scary onset of dementia. And so this book could easily be science fiction, but it feels like a realistic contemporary novel, would fit within the action and adventure genre and could also sit alongside the mystery books in our collection. I was keen to discover just how the story would pan out, if it was going to stick to one focus or keep switching. And at the end, I’m still not sure.
Faith can fly. Last summer she attended a ‘camp’ that was more of a scary villain lab that awakened her powers. After she returned home, she focused on working at the animal shelter and finishing high school. She takes care of her grandma and sort of fits in with her two best-friends. Then she discovers that her most favourite TV show ever has moved to her small town to film its next season. After a chance meeting with her TV crush, Dakota, Faith wonders if there might be a chance for something more between them, but she’s not sure how she feels about her journalism partner. Then dogs and people start to go missing and Faith is forced to investigate.
Despite this being a ‘superhero’ book the powers thing is the least explained. No background for how the superhero thing even exists, that’s just backstory that you have to accept before more details are revealed later and so the main focus of the first half of the book is about faith’s friendship, family, fandom and possible LGBT+ status.
I didn’t really understand Faith. Okay, she’s attended a shady place where she had a not nice experience, but hey, she can fly now. She escaped. Yay. So what does she do now? Well, Faith just goes back to normal life, ignores everything that has happened, isn’t the least bit curious about the world she just stumbled into and DIDN’T EVEN TEST OUT HER FLYING SKILLS! Who is this girl? It’s not until she is forced back into that world of powers that she tries flying, and that I just couldn’t wrap my head around. I spent the majority of this book completely bemused, suffering whiplash from the constant change in focus and not sure what the whole thing was meant to be about. Seriously. If I get the power to fly I am flying first chance I get. Also, Faith makes lots of strange choices and totally does that whole, I’m all alone and haven’t called for backup so I’ll just walk into the scary building, shall I? stupid horror girl thing. Urgh.
Sorry the more I write about this book the more I’m discovering I didn’t actually like it. I’ll stop now.
The ending makes it very clear that this is just the first book in a series. The ending gives us no real answers and lots is left open.
If you usually read realistic fiction, you’ll like the writing in this book. It very much feels like a realistic fiction novel, in the same vein as Murphy’s previous books.
The publishers provided an advanced readers copy of this book for reviewing purposes. All opinions are my own.
Faith can fly. Last summer she attended a ‘camp’ that was more of a scary villain lab that awakened her powers. After she returned home, she focused on working at the animal shelter and finishing high school. She takes care of her grandma and sort of fits in with her two best-friends. Then she discovers that her most favourite TV show ever has moved to her small town to film its next season. After a chance meeting with her TV crush, Dakota, Faith wonders if there might be a chance for something more between them, but she’s not sure how she feels about her journalism partner. Then dogs and people start to go missing and Faith is forced to investigate.
Despite this being a ‘superhero’ book the powers thing is the least explained. No background for how the superhero thing even exists, that’s just backstory that you have to accept before more details are revealed later and so the main focus of the first half of the book is about faith’s friendship, family, fandom and possible LGBT+ status.
I didn’t really understand Faith. Okay, she’s attended a shady place where she had a not nice experience, but hey, she can fly now. She escaped. Yay. So what does she do now? Well, Faith just goes back to normal life, ignores everything that has happened, isn’t the least bit curious about the world she just stumbled into and DIDN’T EVEN TEST OUT HER FLYING SKILLS! Who is this girl? It’s not until she is forced back into that world of powers that she tries flying, and that I just couldn’t wrap my head around. I spent the majority of this book completely bemused, suffering whiplash from the constant change in focus and not sure what the whole thing was meant to be about. Seriously. If I get the power to fly I am flying first chance I get. Also, Faith makes lots of strange choices and totally does that whole, I’m all alone and haven’t called for backup so I’ll just walk into the scary building, shall I? stupid horror girl thing. Urgh.
Sorry the more I write about this book the more I’m discovering I didn’t actually like it. I’ll stop now.
The ending makes it very clear that this is just the first book in a series. The ending gives us no real answers and lots is left open.
If you usually read realistic fiction, you’ll like the writing in this book. It very much feels like a realistic fiction novel, in the same vein as Murphy’s previous books.
The publishers provided an advanced readers copy of this book for reviewing purposes. All opinions are my own.
July 2, 2020
4.5 stars
Anyone who knows me, knows that I am a superhero nut. I love all things marvel and DC. So, when I was given a chance to review and early copy of this book, I jumped on it. This book revolves around our main character Faith and her origin story as to how she got her powers. As far as origin stories go this one has be craftily adapted so it will appeal to a wider audience among young adult readers.
Faith is a very unique superhero in the fact that she is both struggling with her sexual identity and she is also, in her own words, fat. Throughout this book you get to see Faith try to understand her feelings for both Dakota and Johnny, and how those conflicting feelings affect her relationships with her friends. She struggles with how her eventual relationship with Dakota changes her relationship with her friends, and how she pulls away from them when they needed her most. This is so accurate to the actual struggles of teenagers and I'm glad this novel included it.
This story is so uniquely complex and multi-layered that it is hard to put it all down in a cohesive review, because so much happens in a very short amount of time/pages. One thing that I really was awed by though is that partway through this novel, it is revealed that Faith's Grandma Lou is suffering from dementia. This is not something you see discussed often enough in young adult fiction. I have had family members go through this and I feel like how it was portrayed in this book is very accurate and well done.
I honestly could gush and gush about how much I really enjoyed this book, but you might be wondering, if I liked it so much why the 4.5 rating. To be honest, I wanted more backstory about how Faith actually got her powers. Not much is explained about her "activation" or how she was deemed "normal" but then gained the power of flight. You only get sporadic bits and pieces of information in flashbacks, and I wanted something a bit more cohesive. Maybe in book 2, if there is a book two, we will get a bit more information.
Anyone who knows me, knows that I am a superhero nut. I love all things marvel and DC. So, when I was given a chance to review and early copy of this book, I jumped on it. This book revolves around our main character Faith and her origin story as to how she got her powers. As far as origin stories go this one has be craftily adapted so it will appeal to a wider audience among young adult readers.
Faith is a very unique superhero in the fact that she is both struggling with her sexual identity and she is also, in her own words, fat. Throughout this book you get to see Faith try to understand her feelings for both Dakota and Johnny, and how those conflicting feelings affect her relationships with her friends. She struggles with how her eventual relationship with Dakota changes her relationship with her friends, and how she pulls away from them when they needed her most. This is so accurate to the actual struggles of teenagers and I'm glad this novel included it.
This story is so uniquely complex and multi-layered that it is hard to put it all down in a cohesive review, because so much happens in a very short amount of time/pages. One thing that I really was awed by though is that partway through this novel, it is revealed that Faith's Grandma Lou is suffering from dementia. This is not something you see discussed often enough in young adult fiction. I have had family members go through this and I feel like how it was portrayed in this book is very accurate and well done.
I honestly could gush and gush about how much I really enjoyed this book, but you might be wondering, if I liked it so much why the 4.5 rating. To be honest, I wanted more backstory about how Faith actually got her powers. Not much is explained about her "activation" or how she was deemed "normal" but then gained the power of flight. You only get sporadic bits and pieces of information in flashbacks, and I wanted something a bit more cohesive. Maybe in book 2, if there is a book two, we will get a bit more information.
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