Calamity

How it reads

Calamity is science fiction (young-adult superhero science fiction, specifically), and its dominant mood is adventurous. It's driven by momentum, discovery and getting into trouble. It moves fast: plot-driven and hard to put down, the kind of book that carries you along even when you're tired.

It's set in an invented world, in the future, told in the first person by a single narrator. Its central concerns are coming of age, friendship and redemption. In weight it's light and escapist — easy to fall into.

It's a later book in a series — you'll usually want to start earlier. The ending resolves happily. At 424 pages it's an ordinary novel's length. It's a mega-bestseller — the book everyone seems to have read.