by Sarah Bruni
Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Jul 2013
288 pages
Genre: Literary Fiction
Publication Information
An offbeat love story about the adventures and mutual rescue of a young woman out of place in her hometown and a mysterious stranger who calls himself Peter Parker (and begins to cast her in the role of Spider-Man's first sweetheart), The Night Gwen Stacy Died is about first loss, first love, and finding our real identities.
"Engaging… The novel's quirky tone and accessible themes of rescue and recovery make for a likeable read." – Publishers Weekly
"Starred Review. Bruni writes dark passages and playful moments with equal aplomb. The world is her oyster." - Kirkus
"Rough with dark psychology, rich with introspection and emotion, this beautifully written book will appeal to fans of Spider-Man comics as well as coming-of-age fiction." - Library Journal
"Bruni drops us into a dreamy world where comic book characters and psychic visions are as real as teenage boredom and young love. Strange, funny, sexy, and full of insights you'll want to revisit, Bruni's debut is a magical story, a white-knuckle thrill ride." - Diana Spechler, author of Who by Fire and Skinny
"Sarah Bruni's fiercely smart and delectably unpredictable first novel delivers again and again that most sought-after shiver up the spine, the chill that comes when you realize the world you thought you knew and understood is newer and stranger than you ever dared imagine. The Night Gwen Stacy Died is a genuine page-turner." - Kathryn Davis, author of The Walking Tour
"Bruni's debut novel gave me the sort of reading experience I always hope for but almost never find: a world that somehow both resembles the one in which I live and is also unlike any other I've ever seen or read." - Stefan Merrill Block, author of The Story of Forgetting
This information about The Night Gwen Stacy Died was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Sarah Bruni is a graduate of the MFA program in Fiction Writing at Washington University in St. Louis and holds a degree in English Literature from the Univeristity of Iowa. Since growing up in and around Chicago, she has taught creative writing in St. Louis, volunteered as a writing and English tutor with youth in San Francisco and Montevideo, Uruguay, and currently lives in Brooklyn. The Night Gwen Stacy Died is her first novel.
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