Just Call Me Superhero

An atmospheric evocation of modern Berlin, a vivid portrait of youth under pressure, and a moving story about learning to love, this new novel from the author of Broken Glass Park is an irreverent look at the sometimes difficult work of self-acceptance.

Badly disfigured as a result of an encounter with a dog, seventeen-year-old Marek begins attending a support group for young people with physical disabilities, which he dubs "the cripple group," led by an eccentric older man known only as The Guru. Marek is dismissive of the other members of the support group, seeing little connection between their misfortunes and his own. The one exception to this is Janne, the beautiful wheelchair-bound girl with whom he has fallen in love.

When a family crisis forces Marek to face his demons, with or without the group, he finds himself in dire need of support. But the distance he has put between himself and The Guru's misshapen acolytes may well be too great to bridge.

Just Call Me Superhero is destined to consolidate Alina Bronsky's reputation as one of her generation's most compelling and stylish young authors.