Spoonbenders (Gregory) - Book Reviews

Book Reviews
Daryl Gregory’s heartfelt and immensely entertaining novel takes us inside a wacky family endowed with psychic gifts. Maybe “gifts” is the wrong word — because not one of the family’s psychic powers is in good working order, nor does anyone in the family even want them. For the most part, the Telemachus family would prefer to be ordinary suburban folks left alone to live their lives in peace. But of course … that won’t happen. And we know it won’t because we’re told, right at the outset, that 14-year-old Mattie Telemachus has just taken his first astral-plane trip out of his body. What else would a kid do with such power but get into trouble? READ MORE …
P.J. Adler - LitLovers


[F]unny and charming.… Gregory writes with humor and charm, offering up a rollicking and quick-paced plot tailor-made for summer, but what makes the novel magical is his exploration of what it means to harbor these gifts, and to be the World’s Most Powerful Psychic.… At times, Gregory speeds us through moments that should be lingered over or leaves loose ends untied. Other ends he ties too tightly.… But as with all novels, choices must be made, and the danger of creating such an enjoyable world is that it leaves a reader longing for more.
Manuel Gonzales - New York Times Book Reivew


A family plagued with malfunctioning superpowers, persistent federal agents, and the mafia should make for a fast-paced and enthralling story, but a stalled plot grounds the [novel]…. Gregory seamlessly switches between different points of view, creating vivid voices for each Telemachus family member. But the intermittent bursts of incomplete information…result in a less-than-concrete understanding.
Publishers Weekly


(Starred review.) Masterful.… [G]racefully balances the outrageous melodrama of Chicago mobsters and shadowy government agencies with the ordinary mysteries of family dynamics.… Readers will emerge from the fray sure they know each Telemachus down to the smudges on their hearts. A skillfully written family drama that employs quirk and magic with grace.
Kirkus Reviews