Geoffrey Wood Leaper: The Misadventures of a Not-Necessarily-Sup

Leaper: The Misadventures of a Not-Necessarily-Super Hero

Geoffrey Wood

WaterBrook, Jun 2007, $13.99

ISBN 140007343X

Thirtyish recently divorced James is undergoing acupuncture when he thinks of his ex-wife's latest demand of him. Meg wants him to return her cutting board to her. He suddenly realizes where it is: in her garage. In a blink or a leap he finds himself naked except for acupuncture pins and a towel inside the family garage now owned by Meg. He lives in affluent poverty except for caffeine as he is a barista at Starbucks.

When he leaps again, he begins to wonder about the source of his sudden skills especially whether it is divine or devilish; he knows what Meg would say. He grew up on comic books wearing superhero costumes so he ponders how he would look in tights and a cape. However, leaping without notice causes problems as soon he is fired for disappearing on the job, kicked out of his apartment for disturbing the neighbors with his abrupt comings and goings at all hours, and loses his potential girlfriend Monica Oates who thinks he is crazier than her family. All James wants is to go back to his normal caffeine impoverished existence before anymore misadventures at inopportune moments occur.

This is a terrific inspirational tale that satirizes superheroes with amusing odd sidebars that leave James embarrassed and wondering why God picked him to have this power (Jonah of the whale fame). The story line is lighthearted leaps of action in which the superhero ends up in several humiliating situations as he leaps in and out of trouble. Geoffrey Wood has a refreshing unique style that proves there is plenty of room for creativity inside the Christian thriller tent.

Harriet Klausner