Member Reviews

I liked this one! I will say it is geared more toward teens than adults who enjoy YA, which is an observation not a critique. I found myself happily wrapped back up in Faith's life and love life. It's a fun book that's different from a lot of the options out there. I appreciate that the romance was not the heart of the story as so many books tend to veer towards.

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Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

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The second installment of the Faith Herbert series picks up right where Faith: Taking Flight left off. It's the second semester of her senior year and she still coping with the events from the first book, her heart being broken by her ex-Dakota, and dealing with her Grandma Lou's worsening dementia. Oh, and she is still learning how to fly.

This book was fun and entertaining. It is a quick read and I thoroughly enjoy the character of Faith. I find her very realistic with plenty of self-doubts but extremely capable with a loving group of friends and family. Things are wrapped up a little too quickly and it is my favorite Julie Murphy book but overall it was an enjoyable read.

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Received a digital ARC of this book via NetGalley.

Julie Murphy is amazing at pooling the reader into her works. This one picks up right where the previous leaves off but with enough detail for those who don’t want read this duology back to back. I’m one who has also read the comics and felt that the way this one ends fits nicely with how the comics depict Faith’s life after high school. I’m so glad Julie was the one who got to write the Faith novelizations.

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A beautifully drawn and plotted graphic novel that managed to inter splice strong thematic elements and keep up great entertainment value.

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Thank you netgalley for the chance to review! I absolutely loved it. It's a story about Faith, who is a teenager with super powers. She also has to deal with normal teenage issues. I would definitely recommend to a friend.

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Ultimately, I didn't like the first book enough to read the second one. I shouldn't have requested this.

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Julie Murphy creates a sequel to an awesome series! The characters are fun and relatable and make an impact on readers!

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Faith: Greater Heights picks up immediately where book 1 left off. I would describe it as very approachable, even for those who are not used to reading superhero stories (like myself) but who just like feel-good stories and don't mind some humor mixed with some action. Faith has learned to embrace her power to fly and is attempting to get back living her "regular life" and dealing with the challenges that come with that. Meanwhile her grandmother decides that her episodes of dementia have made it necessary to move into a facility where she can have around-the-clock care. Faith is not ready for this change, and she must balance even bigger problems when classmate and fellow psiot Colleen takes to starting fires all over town and ex-girlfriend Dakota reappears in her life, Faith must figure out who she can and cannot trust.

Hats off to Julie Murphy once again for a great job of promoting body positivity in her books and doing it so organically. Faith embraces her plus-size figure and remains fabulous. My favorite part of this book was definitely the characters. Faith is a lovely protagonist and has some really lovely moments with her grandmother and her friends.

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Faith Greater Heights picks up right at the end of the first book. Faith's friends are now in on her secret. She is still dealing with her grandmother moving into an assisted living home. Fires are popping up all over. There is a new journalism substitute teacher. Her love is missing and their is prom and graduation coming up. Faith has a full plate.

I was highly interested in this series because I love positive fat main characters. The story itself though just feels flat. I have many questions that were left unanswered due to things being dropped and never addressed. The ending also felt super rushed.

Thank you Netgalley for an e-arc of this book.

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I wasn't expecting a novel because I discovered this book listed with the graphic novels. I am a fan of the "Dumplin," and I hoped to enjoy Julie Murphy's venture into comic territory. Since the publisher approved my request, I gave it a shot anyway. A plus-sized queer superhero sounds like a great premise. Unlike reading "Dumplin," it was difficult to get into this story. I didn't find it engaging. I still think there is an audience for this, and I would like to see a Netflix adaption. We need more diverse superheroes.

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Julie Murphy does it again! I loved Faith: Taking Flight and was majorly anticipating the follow-up. Of course, Julie Murphy did not disappoint! This book takes place a few months after the events in the first book. Faith is getting used to her powers, she's still processing what happened, and still missing Dakota.

What I appreciate most about this series is that although Faith is a budding superhero, she's also still just a normal teenage girl. She's struggling to know what her future looks like, and she's also dealing with her grandmother's dementia worsening. She's trying to maintain her friendships in the face of change, and she's also juggling crushes. I love how relatable she is despite the fact that she can fly!

In this book, we get to see the softer, more vulnerable side of Dakota, which I loved. We get to see Faith getting ready for prom and being a real teen. I loved this one just as much as the first book. My only complaint is that I missed seeing more of the animal shelter where Faith works! All in all, a perfect read for comics fans and I will always love that Faith stars a bi fat teen. I'm sad this duology is over and I already miss Faith.

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Faith: Greater Heights is the second novel in Julie Murphy's Faith Herbert Origin Story series. If you don't know who Faith is, I would strongly recommend going and checking out the graphic novel series (by Valiant) surrounding the character.

That being said, you don't need to be up to date in her story to appreciate these novels – they're origin stories, after all. They're designed to be approachable and fun. So this would be the perfect starting point for new readers! To be super clear - Faith: Greater Heights is not a graphic novel. It's a regular novel based on the graphic novel character! And it is still absolutely worth the read!

Frank Herbert is not a typical teenager; that much is clear. She's actually a secret superhero! Though her closest friends are in on the secret. Faith's senior year is already proving to not be the calm year she had hoped. Not when a classmate goes missing...and it looks like it might be because of an old-classmate-turned-villain!

If you love the vibes from Faith's comic series and have always wanted to see more of her, then you're going to love Faith: Greater Heights. Honestly, even if you haven't read the graphic series but are looking for a chill and different sort of hero, Faith is your girl.

Faith: Greater Heights is such a delightful read, from start to finish. I love how different yet familiar this origin story feels. It's very much grounded in all of the elements I love about Faith's character.

It's also a really approachable series for those that don't usually love superhero stories, as it very much feels like a class all of its own. Though I should be clear here: the series is a good starting point. So go back and grab the first novel (Taking Flight) first. It's worth it, I promise!

This is a fantastic follow-up, one that I really enjoyed. I'm already looking forward to seeing where her adventures go next. Naturally, this means that I am once again motivated to get caught up in her comic series (I've been terrible about that).

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Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book.

Faith: Greater Heights picks up right where Faith: Taking Flight leaves off! This book is fun and exciting with teenage love, friendship, suspense, mystery, evil geniuses, and super powers! The story is engaging and keeps the reader guessing. I enjoyed following Faith as she solved a mystery as well as the heart-pounding anticipation of her blossoming romance with Dakota Ash, teen heartthrob. I enjoyed the tender moments of her time with her grandmother and I also wanted to see her find her place in the world. Faith is a strong, smart, caring main character and she proves herself over and over again as a friend, as a classmate, as a grand daughter and as a superhero. This is an uplifting read and quick read. I recommend this book to everyone!

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Faith: Greater Heights (Faith Herbert Origin Story #2) by Julie Murphy

MY RATING: 3.5/5 stars

This is the first title I've read by Julie Murphy but I have seen the movie adaptation of her book, Dumplin’. This book is the second and final book in the Faith Herbert series. I've read that there is a standalone movie set to be released about the Faith Herbert character. I had not read the first book of the series before reading this one but I don't think you need to read the first in order to read this book. Faith is finally starting to accept her life as a plus-size, body-positive super-heroine but she is still determined to have those iconic high school moments like prom and graduation with her besties, Matt & Ches.

Check out Faith: Greater Heights by Julie Murphy and be sure to get this YA lgtbqia+ contemporary romance wherever you buy books!

✦ Goodreads ➜ https://bit.ly/3Cqtvl9
✦ Amazon ➜ https://amzn.to/3lHc2Ov
✦ Apple ➜ https://apple.co/3nJO9Zz
✦ Google ➜ https://bit.ly/3Exwx9a
✦ Kobo ➜ https://bit.ly/3kkec7w
✦ Nook ➜ https://bit.ly/3hMP7QG

TAGS: fiction, romance, contemporary, young adult, paranormal, fantasy, super hero, queer, lgbtqia+, body positivity, body positive

*Thanks to NetGalley, HarperCollins Children's Books & Julie Murphy for providing a free eARC in exchange for my honest review #NetGalley @NetGalley #HarperChildrens @HarperChildrens #harperkids @harperkids #JulieMurphy @andimJULIE @andimjulie

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I have to admit to not being at all familiar with the character of Faith Herbert before reading Faith: Taking Flight. I'm sure having some insight into the character prior to reading this two-part origin story would be useful. That said, I thoroughly enjoyed learning about Faith and her friends while reading the first book. I'm always happy to see a young person embracing their body as it is, and the world just needs more female superheroes.

While the first Faith book was action-packed as we were introduced to Faith's world and met all of the wonderful side characters, Faith: Greater Heights had less action and had a lot more focus on her relationships with her grandmother and her friends. I was touched by struggles Faith went through after her grandmother's dementia diagnosis, and felt her grapple with the new reality that she may technically be an adult, but she still longs for someone to care for her.

As I said, there is significantly less action in this book compared to the first. And I feel that anyone looking for a straight-up action-packed superhero story may come away a bit disappointed. But if you're open to some really tough emotional stuff with your caped crusaders, this may be the book for you.

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Faith is now in the last semester of her senior year of high school. She has told her best friends, Matt and Ches, everything that happened to her last summer and showed them her powers. Grandma Lou has decided that she needs to go to assisted living sooner than planned, and an old flame gives her a place in his exclusive and expensive senior community. Just as things seem to be getting back to normal, Dakota reappears in Faith's life. Apparently, Margaret was not the boss behind A+, so Faith does some investigating to find Dr. Silk. Things get crazy with the reemergence of Colleen and a hot substitute journalism teacher. Faith must ultimately decide what she wants to do with her future.

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I love Faith! I have always adored the Faith comics so I was so excited when I heard about these books. I really enjoyed the first book so I knew I would love this one.
Faith is such an amazing hero! She is queer, she's plus sized, and she is probably one of the most relatable heroes out there.
I obviously won't say much about the plot because it's a sequel and I don't want to spoil anything. What I will say is this was the perfect wrap up of this story. It left room for the comics while also wrapping up the story of Faith as written in these two books. I would definitely respect this one. In fact I can't wait to recommend it to everyone!

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Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's Books for the opportunity to review an ARC of this title.

Faith: Greater Heights by Julie Murphy is the sequel to Faith: Taking Flight. This book is the continuation of Faith's story. She's learned to embrace her power to fly and is attempting to get back living her "regular life" and dealing with the challenges that come with that. However, things quickly take a turn as Faith's grandmother decides to move into an assisted living facility, the new journalism teacher seems a bit off, and Faith's nemesis, Colleen, reappears. It soon becomes obvious that Faith's senior year of high school will be far from normal as blasts from the past reappear and new challenges arise.

I did not read Taking Flight prior to reading Greater Heights, but managed to piece together enough backstory for the storyline to make sense. This book does a great job of promoting body positivity. Faith embraces her plus-size figure and remains fabulous. Murphy does a great job of portraying Faith as a "normal teenager" that just happens to have the power to fly. I would recommend this title to teenagers that are interested in action, adventure, and just a little bit of drama and romance.

#NetGalley #FaithGreatHeights #bookreview

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Thank you to netgalley for providing an e-galley for review. Usually I can't put Julie Murphy's books down, but I couldn't wait for this one to end. I was bored with the superhero plot line halfway through the book. I just wasn't feeling it. I do have readers in mind for this book. Particularly those who enjoyed T.J. Klune's Extraordianries series and those who are looking for superheros without too much violence.

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