My 5-Star review in entirety published at Amazon for 'The Tower' by J.S. Frankel:

I think that I shall never see/ A poem as lovely as a tree. (from ‘Trees’ by Joyce Kilmer).

Should you acquire ‘The Tower’ by J.S. Frankel, and I urge you to do so, the quote will take on a life of its own, as do the characters in this well-written and heart-wrenching novel.

Not the first book I’ve chosen to read by this author, in my mind, each subsequent read is better than the previous—and they’re all great!

True to the author’s signature main characters, the protagonist is one of society’s marginalized: Fifteen-year-old Linden Marshall Lampkin’s life sucks. His mother died of leukemia, and as a result, his father becomes a heavy drinker who neglects him. He’s constantly bullied at school and has no friends. Life takes a drastic turn when he sets off for the seedy side of town to purchase liquor for his dad. Beaten and left for dead in an alleyway, he unwittingly enters a portal to a parallel universe manned by superheroes.

I’ll leave the rest for potential readers to enter ‘The Tower’ and become an eye witness to Marshall’s noble transformation.

Superbly and sublimely heroic, the author brilliantly bridges Actu-uran fantasy and earthly reality with time-honored tenets from which the protagonists pivots:

*We are willing to jeopardize our well-being for the greater good.

* Light is what guides us, heals us, and protects us. It’s part of our psyche, our being.

*Sometimes hope is all a person has to sustain them.

I highly recommend this enthralling read infused with superheroes and soulful warmth.