Marrow

I'm a sucker for superheroes, so I cannot figure out why I waited so long after buying this Kindle book to actually read it. "Marrow" is a fast-paced superhero adventure that keeps you on your toes with frequent action and mind-blowing plot twists, but laughing the whole time with witty dialogue and snarky narration by Marrow, the book's teenage super-MC.Mr. Norton wastes no time at all in dropping readers straight into the action: it is the day of the final exam at Fantom Institute for Superheroes-in-Training, during which teams of would-be graduates face off against mechanical supervillains in a Danger-Room-style training arena. Marrow gets paired with his least favorite classmate, Nero, but things seem to be going fine despite his partner until the last minute, when Nero uses his telekinesis to prevent Marrow from striking the final blow to defeat their supervillain, instead stealing the glory for himself. Naturally Marrow is furious, and his socking Nero in the face lands him in some serious hot water. As punishment, he is assigned as the sidekick to disgraced superhero Flex, a lazy drunkard whose powers are basically identical to those of Mr. Fantastic or Elastigirl. At this point I should probably mention Marrow's powers: he can manipulate his bone density. This is great for delivering punches that are first super-sped up by reducing his hand's density and then, once his hand is up to speed, suddenly super-weighted by piling on the density at the last second for a heavy blow with none of the effort required to move a heavy object.Anyway, Marrow gets teamed with Flex, while Nero is given the honor of becoming Fantom's sidekick--Fantom being the founder of FIST and probably the most famous superhero in the world. Their first mission (which Flex refuses to take part in) is to investigate a supposed intruder spying on Oracle, who is this story's equivalent of Destiny from Marvel's Brotherhood of Evil Mutants--that is, a blind precog, although much more grandmotherly. Oh and by the way, she can read your mind.I don't want to give too much of the story away, but suffice it to say that pretty much nobody in this story is who they seem at first. That was one thing I really loved about "Marrow"--the way the plot twists kept surprising me. First you think the villain is A, and then B starts taking hostages and making threats to draw A out, and then B is defeated and C attacks and is subsequently defeated, and it isn't until you're almost 80% through the book that the *actual* criminal mastermind is revealed. I just loved the way I was kept guessing.At the beginning of my review I mentioned witty dialogue and snarky narration. Here are some of my favorite examples:"To put a lack of cleanliness in the ranking order, this apartment fell somewhere between filthy stinkin' disgusting and sweet-mother-of-Moses-what-poor-creature-died-in-here?""'You sure you don't want to go?' I asked, hopeful.'I would rather glue acorns to my naked body and be eaten alive by an army of rabid squirrels.'""I had endured every sick death ever conceived by man or nature. I was caught in a mudslide, eaten by a lion, got run over by a crappy purple Scion...Okay, okay, those are the lyrics to a Train song. But the first two really did happen. I was sure the Scion would be only a matter of time.""Specter was a tall, statuesque blonde with full lips and eyelashes that belonged on a camel. Okay, maybe that's not the best comparison in the world since she was a drop dead gorgeous cold hard ten, and camels are...camels. But seriously. Her eyelashes were huge."Seriously, the guy was like a smiley mutant hybrid between the Joker and the Cheshire Cat."Another reviewer said that "Marrow" is like a cross between Percy Jackson and The Avengers, and I think that's an apt description, especially in light of the outrageous and hilarious comparisons Marrow makes. If you crack up just reading the chapter titles in Percy Jackson like I do, Marrow's humor will be right up your alley.Another thing I liked about this book was the development of a relationship between Marrow and his father, Spine. For a good deal of the book Marrow hates Spine because he's a supervillain, but I thought the book sent a good message about second chances and the importance of family.Know what else is awesome about "Marrow"? It's, like, squeaky-clean. The edgiest word in the entire book is "heck", there is virtually no romance except for a teen crush and maybe a chaste kiss, and the violence (of course there's fighting; how do you expect to read a book about superheroes without it?) is easily suitable for middle schoolers, in my opinion.Really, the only thing I can think of that bothered me about this book was the characters' names. Not one of the supers, hero OR villain, seemed to have an alter ego--you know, a regular name like Peter Parker or Bruce Wayne or Jean Grey or Selina Kyle that their parents gave them at birth? And I thought that was weird. Did Marrow's parents just assume when he was born that his powers would be like his father's and name him Marrow accordingly? Kinda awkward if the only name you go by turns out not to match your abilities.All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. The ending definitely points toward a sequel, which I am looking forward to reading! Well done, Mr. Norton. *slow clap*

Marrow by Author Preston Norton is a superhero fantasy about a fourteen-year-old named Marrow who has the ability to control his bone density and his journey to becoming one of the greatest superheroes of all time.At the start of the novel we're given a glance at FIST (Fantom Institute for Superheroes-in-Training) - an X-Men-esque school for superpowered young teenagers who aspire to become mainstream superheroes. Marrow, the protagonist, is top of his class and prepared for the final test - the Sidekick Placement Assessment. Should he prove himself in the test, he shall be teamed up with the greatest hero of all: Fantom. But after an accident that may or may not have been staged against Marrow, he is forced to pair with Flex - a lazy disgraced hero with the power of elasticity whose only concern is his next drink.Together, they unwittingly unfold a plot by Cosmo City's greatest supervillain, all the while working through their own personal issues.This was a fascinating novel, in my opinion. The idea of a world where superheroes are so common you don't even blink when you see someone flying in the air is truly remarkable. It's very X-Men-like, but sets itself apart from that with its own set of rules. Heroes are accepted by society, even given sponsorship deals. They are celebrities; giants with red capes and millions of dollars at their disposal. To be the best hero is to be the one who has the most billboard ads with your face on it.Marrow wants it all, but is hindered by the stigma of his father. He is the son of the greatest supervillain yet, Spine, and Marrow aims to set himself apart from his dastardly father in the hopes of winning everyone's approval. But the lines of good and evil are twisted when Marrow learns more about his father and his possible return to Cosmo City, not to mention Flex - Marrow's hero mentor - sheds some more light on the actual person behind the mask of Spine.Through it all, Marrow's struggle is the best part of this whole novel. His struggle with his lot in life, mastering his powers, maintaining his cool when first meeting his bum of a mentor, and handling the weight of the world when everything starts falling apart.Unfortunately, the reason I give this a four star review is because of two reasons:1) At times the writing got a little simplistic, and I had to skim just a bit. Certain scenes felt rushed, and when I felt elaboration was needed none was given. A good editing job could fix this book up a bit.2) The big twist at the end was a little predictable.But, aside from those two issues, I did enjoy this novel and would suggest it to all those looking for a new superhero fantasy to excite!

If you like superhero stories, you'll probably like Marrow. The main character, Marrow, has the power of changing his bone density, which might seem like kind of a lame power, but he is actually able to do some pretty cool things with it - provided you can suspend your disbelief enough (more on that in a second). At the end of his schooling, he's placed with a superhero named Flex, a Stretch-Armstrong powered deadbeat. Together they end up having to save the world. I won't give away much more plot, since there's a twist about every chapter, and to say more would be to spoil more.My main complaint with the book would be that Marrow can do some very unrealistic things with his power. Like, when he minimizes his bone density, suddenly he's so light he can practically fly? But bone tissue only makes up about 15% of body mass, so a 200 lb. person who completely minimized their bone density would lose about 30 pounds, and... yes, I'm overthinking it badly, but I do like when there's either a logical explanation for breaking the rules of science, or at least a cursory effort to adhere to those rules.Marrow is a very plot-driven book, and while some of the twists were interesting and unexpected, it came at the expense of developing side characters. Sapphire, the main love interest in the book, is hardly explained as a character other than she's hot and she cries a lot. I would have preferred to sacrifice some of the twists for some character moments.One of the things Norton does best is combining Marrow's power with other superheroes' powers (like the slingshot). Marrow's power by itself is a little bit boring, but he works best when he's fighting with a teammate by his side.