BOOK REVIEW: The Night Gwen Stacy Died

If you know the name Gwen Stacy then you are at least vaguely familiar with the Marvel comic superhero Spiderman.

In the comics Gwen was the first and true love of Peter Parker. Her death was one of the most heart-wrenching moments I have ever read in a comic book (issue #121-122 of The Amazing Spiderman). And the trade Spiderman Blue has been one of my favorite comic books ever.

So when I picked up this novel by Sarah Bruni I was thrilled and excited for a novel interpretation of this amazing comic story. However, The Night Gwen Stacy Died was not at all what I had expected. The novel itself is well written however I had a lot of issues with the storyline.

We are introduced to a young girl-- Sheila Gower-- who is just about to graduate high school and is desperate to get far far away from her small hometown, specifically to Paris. She is a loner on purpose it would seem, and works at the local gas station. She becomes intrigued by a patron of the gas station whose ID states his name is Peter Parker.

The story continues as the two flee together after quickly staging a robbery and stay hidden within the city of Chicago under the false identities Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy. They cut themselves off from anyone they previously knew and fall into this alternate version of their own lives. But for those of us who know the story line... we know it is only a matter of time for these star-crossed lovers to fall apart.

Here is what i loved: I love that the story incorporated elements of a story from a comic book and applied it to real human beings (or at least they are real within the context of the story). The writing style made it a quick and easy read and the story itself wasn't significantly heavy, meaning that its not something that is long and drawn out and super complex.

HOWEVER, I wasn't a huge fan of the story line. Even being a crazy and impulsive 17 year old I wouldn't just stage a robbery and take off with some much older guy who I barely know and then so quickly dive into being in a "relationship" with him. In particular, she seems more desperate to dive into the role of Gwen Stacy and give up these other dreams she was so adamant about pursuing in the beginning of the novel. And I really had issues with some of the actions she took because it just didn't seem within character of a 17 year old girl.

I felt like there was a lot of obsession over the night Gwen Stacy died and it was getting repetitive.
There also seemed to be an idea of supernatural powers developing for the Peter Parker in the story (like he might have spider senses) and yet, it never amount to anything and seemed out of place overall.

I'm not saying it wasn't an enjoyable read, but sadly it will not be making my "favorite list".