Book Reviews
Book Reviews - "Smallville" Young Adults Series
Smallville: Flight
Writer: Cherie Bennett and Jeff GottesfeldPublished by: Little, Brown, and Company (December 2002)
Reviewed by: Aaron Thall
At a school fundraiser, Pete and Lana win skydiving lessions and soon rope Clark in on the action. Subsequently, Clark makes the accquaintance of Tia Haines and, unfortunately, her racist and abusive father.
Hoping to raise some money to pay for his own lessons, Clark takes a job at the pizza place Tia works, and soon discovers that Tia has WINGS. Clark agrees to help her learn to fly, forcing him to confront his fear of heights.
However, when Whitney is robbed by someone with wings, Clark must figure out if Tia's behind the crime, or if her family's hiding more secrets than just an abusive attitude...
Story - 5: Believe it or not, a perfect score. The secret the family is hiding is obvious. There's no mystery to it. And the novel knows this. It doesn't try to hide the truth. I always appreciate it when a novel doesn't insult the intelligence of the reader.
More to the point, this novel also takes the preceeding one, "See No Evil", to task for using invisibility after the show already had. That alone earns it bonus points. That Chloe actually INVESTIGATES before coming to any conclusions at all is a breath of fresh air.
It's entertaining to see Clark confronting his supremely ironic fear, and even more so to see him trying to help Tia fly. Lana's reaction to Tia's wings is absolutely priceless... She shrugs and they bond.
In only 160 pages, this novel makes you care about Tia's plight. A stunning contribution to the Smallville novel series. "Flight" gets my highest recommendation. It's Smallville done RIGHT.
Cover Art - 1: To be honest, they really didn't have any promo images of flight to use back when they made this novel, so I can understand putting in a Clana image. But don't let a bad cover image spoil this novel.
Book Reviews
Comic Book Novelizations: Movie Novelizations: Non-Fiction/Reference Books:- The Gospel According to the World's Greatest Superhero
- The Man From Krypton
- The Original Encyclopedia of Comic Book Heroes - Volume 3: Superman
- Superman on Film, Television, Radio and Broadway
- Beyond Lois Lane
- The DC Comics Action Figure Archive
- Superman vs. Hollywood
- Boys of Steel: The Creators of Superman
- Flights of Fantasy: The Unauthorized but True Story of Radio & TV's Adventures of Superman by Michael J. Hayde
- Our Hero: Superman on Earth by Tom De Haven
- Superman On Earth: Reflections of a Fan by Gary D. Robinson
- DC Super Heroes: The Ultimate Pop-Up Book by Matthew Reinhart
- The True Adventures of the World's Greatest Stuntman by Vic Armstrong
- The Ages of Superman: Essays on the Man of Steel in Changing Times
- Superman: The High-Flying History of America's Most Enduring Hero by Larry Tye
- Superman is an Arab by Joumana Haddad
- Superman is Jewish? by Harry Brod
- 100 Things Superman Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die by Joseph McCabe
- Superman: The Persistence of an American Icon by Ian Gordon
- DC: Women of Action by Shea Fontana
- Is Superman Circumcised?: The Complete Jewish History of the World's Greatest Hero by Roy Schwartz
- Adapting Superman: Essays on the Transmedia Man of Steel by John Darowski (Editor)
- Superman: Last Son of Krypton
- Superman: Miracle Monday
- The Further Adventures of Superman
- It's Superman! by Tom De Haven
- DC Universe: Last Sons
- DC Universe: Trail of Time
- Last Days of Krypton by Kevin J. Anderson
- Enemies & Allies by Kevin J. Anderson
- DC Super-Pets! by Picture Window Books
- Dear Justice League by Michael Northrop
- Dear Super-Villains by Michael Northrop
- Fallout (Lois Lane) by Gwenda Bond
- Double Down (Lois Lane) by Gwenda Bond
- Triple Threat (Lois Lane) by Gwenda Bond
- Superman: Dawnbreaker by Matt De La Pena
- Super Sons: Escape to Landis by author Ridley Pearson and illustrator Ileana Gonzales
- House of El - Book One: Shadow Threat by author Claudia Gray and illustrator Eric Zawadzki
- House of El - Book Two: The Enemy Delusion by author Claudia Gray and illustrator Eric Zawadzki
- Smallville: Strange Visitors
- Smallville: Dragon
- Smallville: Hauntings
- Smallville: Whodunnit
- Smallville: Shadows
- Smallville: Silence
- Smallville: Curse
- Smallville: City
- Smallville: Arrival
- Smallville: See No Evil
- Smallville: Flight
- Smallville: Animal Rage
- Smallville: Speed
- Smallville: Buried Secrets
- Smallville: Greed
- Smallville: Temptation
- Smallville: Sparks
- JLA: Batman - The Stone King
- JLA: Wonder Woman - Mythos
- JLA: The Flash - Stop Motion
- JLA: JLA - Exterminators
- JLA: Green Lantern - Hero's Quest
- JLA: Superman - The Never-Ending Battle
- Superman Returns: Strange Visitor
- Superman Returns: Novelization
- Superman Returns: Coming Home
- Superman Returns: Earthquake in Metropolis!
- Superman Returns: I am Superman!
- Superman Returns: Be A Hero!
- Superman Returns: Thank You, Superman!
- Superman Returns: The Movie Storybook
- Superman Returns: The Visual Guide
- Superman Returns: The Official Movie Guide