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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
A super fun book centering around an ordinary boy who befriends a group of preteen superheroes in his new town. There is a mystery afoot, though! Each pint size hero loses his or her powers and all memories of their special abilities on their thirteenth birthday. The plot is full of twists and red herrings -- I, as a grown up, was fooled. I admit. Cody's take on the superhero adventure story is grounded by its ordinary Joe perspective. I liked the characters a lot, with their mistakes, realistic tempers, and near nerdiness. The bullies in the story turned me off a little as they weren't especially well done -- more like the caricature of the bad kids in schools. This wraps up in one book, but hints at a sequel. Tons of fun -- to be recommended to reluctant readers for sure.
I learned about Matthew's book before its publication when I stumbled upon Wordpress blog a couple years ago. While I'm not quite the comic book fan he is, I could still connect to and appreciate every bit. Loved his take on the super hero genre. While the target audience is of course younger, I completely went on the ride through the twists and turns and "Gotchas!" As a writer, it was interesting to experience a bit of "boy-lit" from the YA shelf. Good inspiration.
A few notes up front: I listened to this on audiobook. Also, I give this a three for me, but a four for teen readers.
Basically, this is a superhero story wrapped in a mystery, with a bit of Bildungsroman and romance sprinkled in for good measure. Daniel is an easy character to like, as are some of the others, but I felt like the Gram thread of the tale was too underwritten. I also feel like Louisa and Rose are almost invisible (no pun intended) in the plot, but maybe they'll be bigger in the next book, coming out in September. I know the kids in my classes will be pulled in by the superhero stuff, and stay for the mystery. If they give it three chapters, they'll be hooked.
Basically, this is a superhero story wrapped in a mystery, with a bit of Bildungsroman and romance sprinkled in for good measure. Daniel is an easy character to like, as are some of the others, but I felt like the Gram thread of the tale was too underwritten. I also feel like Louisa and Rose are almost invisible (no pun intended) in the plot, but maybe they'll be bigger in the next book, coming out in September. I know the kids in my classes will be pulled in by the superhero stuff, and stay for the mystery. If they give it three chapters, they'll be hooked.
An enjoyable mix of kid superheroes and detectives. Not quite YA, but middle grade.