Exploring the realities of being a non-powered kid in a world of superheroes isn't an unheard of concept in kid's fiction. As is the idea of having limited or strange powers. Authors ask us to consider if having super powers automatically makes you better than others. James approaches the subject with a fair dose of humor, making this quite reeadable in spite of being ultimately predictable.

A quirky superhero story. I loved the core group of kids. And the illustrations are fantastic - really added to the story. Some pretty typical features for a hero school - kids using powers to bully, teachers using position to belittle, weird villains created in science experiments gone wrong. There are some nice twists to the formula with the brains behind the villain and a potential traitor. Great message that anyone can be a hero. My only complaint is that it felt like the authors were trying too hard to be funny. Some techniques were more annoying than amusing to me. Most kids will roll with it, though, and probably think it's perfect.

I was so excited to read this book. A normal kid who accidentally ends up in a real-life super hero school-sounds amazing. Unfortunately, it just didn't quite work. As a youth librarian, there were too many problematic phrases for me to feel comfortable handing it to a child. I don't feel children should read about grown men in power telling others, especially women and especially in front of children, to keep their panties on. There were also too many references to drunken businessmen and sea lions.
The book did a good job describing Murph's frustration with the constant moving and stress of living with a very limited budget. I think that is something that a lot of kids could relate to.
I think it has great potential, but it as it is now, I wouldn't purchase it.

Smart and Sly

I was very much taken by this book, mostly because, while the premise seems a bit tired at first, the authors do a magnificent job of creating appealing characters, writing witty dialogue, and telling their tale with style.

Our hero, Murph, ends up accidentally enrolled at a secret school for kids with special, super capabilities, (capes). Murph has no special cape and ends up with the dismissive nickname "Kid Normal". Here's where the book takes a huge zag. SPOILER, BUT A SMALL ONE - usually in books like this every other kid has a super duper cape and the hero is left alone, with maybe one unexpected friend. Not so here. In this book most of the kids have silly or useless capes, (one's teeth make noises, one can conjure two miniature horses, one can inflate a body part, and so on). Most of the kids are there in order to learn how to hide their worthless capes so they don't give away the secret that capes exist. What you end up with, then, is a strict pecking order with a few potential heroes at the top but everyone else trying to make the best with the cards they've been dealt.

You see where this can go. Murph, who has nothing, befriends lots of kids who have just a little bit more than nothing. You know that by the end Murph and his crew of zeroes will have a shot at being heroes. This is just so much more clever and fun than having Murph being the odd-man out loner. It allows for a wide range of characters to play big roles in the book, and it invites the reader to get invested in the progress and heroics of many different appealing kids. It's a group effort and all the kids in the group have their parts to play and bits about themselves to reveal.

All of this only works, though, if the authors can keep it all in the air, and these two do. As is often the case, there is a chatty, arch and sometimes silly narrator who tells the story in an engaging, but sometimes ironic, manner that is particularly inviting for a young reader. A lot of sly humor gets tucked into the narration, and adults, older readers, and quick studies will probably appreciate that. Murph is the classic deadpan hero who keeps his composure no matter how oddly things are falling apart around him. His dry and deadpan responses to the nuttiness put the whole story into relief and add a reliable and amiable frame. The rest of the zeroes are a fine mix of kid types, and each one gets some good lines.

On top of this the action bits are first rate and rather suspenseful for a silly book. The villains are in the dumb, oblivious mold, but that works for this sort of story. In that reliable Dahl/Walliams style, adults are either idiots or possessed of hearts of gold, and as you might imagine that's also just right for this book. Finally, the illustrations are crisp, amusing, and likely to aid younger readers in appreciating what's going on, which is a nice touch.

So, for me, this was just top drawer across the board and most entertaining. This is a huge recommend.

(Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

Funny, age appropriate story perfect for boys and girls ages 8-13. Spot on humor and hijinks. One of my favorite aspects of the book is the illustrations.

My students love books that make them laugh, and this one hit the mark. The jokes are middle school appropriate and had me laughing out loud. I will definitely be adding this to the library collection!