I'm sorry, this one I couldn't finish. There is a lot of transphobia and it's just not something I can handle. Maybe this book will help some teens to understand transitioning more but I'm not sure if this is really the best option.

Alex Sanchez's "The Greatest Superpower" is a heartfelt and timely middle-grade novel that explores the complexities of family, identity, and acceptance. The story centers around twin brothers, Jorge and Cesar, whose lives are turned upside down when their father announces that she is transgender. This revelation sets off a chain of events that challenges the twins to reassess their understanding of love, family, and what it means to be a superhero in real life.
Sanchez excels in portraying the varied responses to a loved one's transition. Jorge and Cesar each react differently, capturing the spectrum of emotions that families might experience in such situations. Jorge, who struggles with the change, represents the shock and confusion that often accompanies such news. Cesar, on the other hand, is more accepting and curious, providing a counterbalance to Jorge's apprehensions. Their journey towards understanding and acceptance is both moving and realistic, making the narrative relatable to readers.
The strength of The Greatest Superpower lies in its ability to handle sensitive topics with grace and authenticity. Sanchez does not shy away from the difficulties faced by transgender individuals and their families, but he also highlights the strength, resilience, and love that can emerge from such challenges. The characters are well-developed, and their interactions are filled with genuine emotion, making it easy for readers to empathize with their experiences.
However, while the premise is commendable and the intentions are clear, the execution could be better in a few areas. The pacing of the story feels uneven. At times, the narrative moves too quickly through critical moments, not allowing enough space for readers to fully engage with the characters' emotional journeys. Conversely, some parts feel drawn out, slowing down the overall momentum of the book.
Character development is another area where the novel could have been stronger. While Jorge and Cesar are well-differentiated in their initial reactions, their growth throughout the story feels somewhat rushed and underdeveloped. A more nuanced exploration of their evolving feelings and relationships could have added depth to their characters and made their journeys more relatable.
Despite these shortcomings, The Greatest Superpower contributes significantly to middle-grade literature, particularly its representation of transgender issues. It is an educational tool encouraging readers to approach differences with empathy and open-mindedness.
The Greatest Superpower has merits and sincerity in addressing a crucial topic, but it falls short in execution. The uneven pacing, underdeveloped characters, and simplistic writing style prevent it from reaching its full potential. Nevertheless, it is a valuable read for those looking to understand and support transgender individuals and their families, and it opens the door for important conversations about acceptance and love.

#GreatestSuperpower #NetGalley

I had trouble opening this file, so although I downloaded it, I didn´t got the chance to read it. I want to thank regardless to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity. I'll make sure to review it properly once I buy a copy. Thanks again!

It is exciting and superbly entertaining. This well-written work is a must read. As far as the writing style and narration is concerned, it is absolutely fantastic. The way author has wevaed the story with the mastery of writing style and narration, it is truly commendable. Overall, it was a great experience. I highly recommend this work and give it full 5 stars for the writing, narration and overall presentation. Happy Reading.

A fabulous telling of a teenager's dealing with life as it now is for him. Hard to understand and impossible to ignore, it handles a delicate subject with bravery and honesty. Well done!

Overall, I liked it. It was a great middle grade book, touching super interesting subjects. However, I think the treatment of the story overall was shallow and messy. A bit of a let down, but I guess it had to do more with my own expectations.

Forty three chapters full of fun, laughter, love, drama and struggle for acceptance - this book has all ingredients for a memorable read. I really liked the medium pace of the book, and although in some places it was getting behind, yet it didn't get off track at all. Jorge is really the spotlight of the book, for he carries the story so boldly on his shoulders. Although he's thirteen, yet he talks some philosophical gems. The book is medium-paced and the storyline is nice. The dialogues are good, and the character building is quite amazing! The LGBT theme works really well in the book without going overboard and teenage school life is good.
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In some places, I wished the book ended four-five chapters earlier, for Jorge - Zoey love story was unnecessarily making the story too long and hard to digest. And I didn't enjoy Jorge's way too serious introverted nature. Other than that, the book is really good and a great read for all people!

This was a great middle grade book that shows how confusing and strange it can be when a family member, especially a parent, comes out as transgender, resulting in their parents divorcing. I really liked Jorge, was completely annoyed by his twin Cesar but also sympathized with him, and mostly liked but was sometimes annoyed by Jorge’s LI. There was quite a bit of diversity, which was great to read.

I can definitely see why some people who’ve reviewed this book are upset by Norma’s role/portrayal in the book, since she functions only as a trans side character and a parent, serving mostly as a foil for the other characters and their development. When I was reading the book, I could see that might be an issue, but for the most part the story felt genuine. I think my main issue was that middle graders are EXTRA, and they dramatize everything so much.

In general, a fun and important read!

(DNF 60%)

I love Alex Sanchez from his God Box era. But this ain't it. Greatest Superpower was a literal piece of shit. I did not expect something trashy from a trusted author like h. It's full of crappy scene and dialogue and when the comic staff started, I was done for sure! Couldn’t take the crap anymore.

I got this on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review!

Okay, so I have a lot of thoughts on this one, and I'm not sure I can clearly write it all, but ofc I will try.

First of all: we need more books in general that focus on older people transitioning, especially in how this does where it's from the perspective of one of the two 13-year-old sons. Change, in general, can be hard for children, which can make them lash out at home, in school or in general, and smaller things than the parents separating and a parent transitioning can have big consequences. So yes, credz to the author for dealing with these topics ( even if maybe not all of them were done that well.)

My overall biggest concern was the number of storylines. While all of them work together, and the author has created clear parallels between them and for all of them to contribute to making Jorge grow as a person, I feel like they overshadow one another and becomes too much. The further you get into the book, the more you feel like it jumps from one thing to another, especially towards the end when it seems like all of them are in a hurry to be wrapped up. I also agree with other reviews I've read that the amount of storylines also completely overshadows the "my dad is transitioning"-storyline and almost makes it seem like that one is ONLY about the fact that the dad is transitioning. Norma only ever comes in to make Jorge learn more about transitioning and to give a few pieces of advice. This makes no sense considering that it's mentioned that the dad was the main caregiver at the household before the transitioning. It does become a bit better towards the end tho, but I still wish this storyline has been allowed more space. Not sure which of the other two storylines I would remove to get this done tho, but probably much of the Zoey storyline!

When it comes to the Zoey storyline, I found it VERY dramatic. Like, they get together, but then she breaks up with him for keeping his transgender dad a secret, even tho they had been together for like 2 days and known each other for like a week???????? I just don't understand!
On another note: I LOVED that Zoey's friend-group, which Jorge and his friends becomes a part of, are starting a Gender and Sexuality / Diversity group in support of LGBT+ people, and wish that this maybe got more room instead of the Zoey girlfriend/talent show storyline! Liked how that one made Zoey and Jorge bond, but maybe the club/group could have been another and better way to do it?

I liked how realistic this was and find it difficult to distinguish between realism and transphobia in books. I do think some things could have been dealt with more delicately, but I also felt like a lot of what happens is needed to show how difficult it can be to transition when people/society might not approve. Especially scary was when Norma goes to fill gas and comments on a man hitting his son in another car, and nearly gets into a fight with the man. I also found it REALLY annoying that the mother says she loves Norma; she had always known about how she felt like a woman even before they were married, but still, misgender her A LOT after transitioning, and kind of makes it clear that it is NORMAS fault they HAD to split up. If she hadn't become a woman, they could still be a family. Cesar also shows that he believes this and refuses to call Norma by her right pronouns or name until the end. Like it's a very realistic narrative, but I wished the narrative was done more thoughtfully. Also, the fact that the family doesn't seem to TALK to each other. They announce it, Norma moves out, and then the mom only ever talks about how it's okay if her sons think it's difficult but nothing else. They don't REALLY talk until the end, which is supposed to be over 3 months later.

I was ready to give this 2.5 stars when the self-harm/suicide dialogue hit me. I understand that Norma was trying to deal with Jorge and try to make him understand why she HAD to transition and why she HAD to do it now, but asking your 13-year-old child that's upset and clearly has a lot on their plate, if he wished that you "finished this", referring to her own suicide attempt scars is just HELLA manipulative and shitty. It made me go down half a star to 2 stars overall.. Like, even if said 13-year-old was being angry and saying stupid things, it doesn't really make it okay.

Overall, not a BAD story, but there was a lot that kind of irked me. Interested to see more books about adults, especially parents transitioning in the future tho!

This is a book about a father who doesn't feel like a man and his two children, lives the separation of their parents, a stark reality. Our protagonist tries to overcome that and evolves as a person. His brother was one of those who first treated his father badly for lying to him.

I say that the book is called that way, since the boy had to live something very difficult to accept and even so he accepted it from the beginning, that is why he has a great superpower

I loved this book, I do not know if it is one of my favorites of this 2021, I loved that it has touched on topics that are so little seen within society, this is my first book of a trans character that I have read and more the difficulty of a father. It is a very well narrated book, although I am not native to correct spelling and narrative but it seemed very good written, at the beginning of the book it was easy to understand, and at the end there were more words that I hardly understood the first time.

I love the idea for a story about a cis child having a trans parent but it felt like the issue could have been handled with a little bit more care. I love Alex Sanchez's work so much but this felt a little off for me.

When Jorge's Dad comes out as transgender, his entire life as he knows it is flipped on its head. <u>The Greatest Superpower</u> focuses upon the strains of divorce as well as changed relationships as a result of transitioning.

While I appreciate what Sanchez was trying to accomplish, I see the same issues many reviewers have already mentioned with this book. There's little to no support for Norma. While Jorge is much more sympathetic to his father's plight and more willing to be accepting than any other character, it seems absurd that basically the only completely supportive adult is a soccer coach that gets about two pages of the entire novel.

There's a lot of dead-naming, misgendering, and even talk of suicide with little to no sympathy shown or felt by others. While I appreciate Sanchez's talent as an author and his ability to create compelling and interesting characters, I didn't really approve of how this story was told. The moral didn't appear to be empathy and acceptance, but rather to shame trans women about their choices or not "passing" for as long as humanly possible. (That was another thing that irked me to no end. The CONSTANT harping on Norma's "masculine" appearance. We get it. She's not feminine in the least. But to constantly describe her as having huge hands or a bulging belly or hulking shoulders makes it seem like the only goal of transitioning should be "passing". That's another thing this book gets wrong.) Two stars for Sanchez's writing ability.

Middle grade novels often explore relationships in big, redefining ways. Usually this takes the form of questioning sexuality or the dissolving of parental relationships. This book manages to do both. The father coming out leaves the rest of the family to deal with the emotional fall-out, each with a different method. Each member has to find a way forward in a different way.There's also this undercurrent of questioning what it means to be a man. I wish that had been a clearer conversation, but overall, it brings up come good, challenging ideas.

Jorge is a 13 year old incoming eighth grader at his Texas middle-school. He’s kind of quiet and artistic, the complete opposite of his sporty and outgoing twin, Cesar, who has a pretty girlfriend and is angling to be student body president. Their worlds were rocked at the beginning of summer when their parents split up somewhat unexpectedly.

See, Jorge new there was trouble in his parent’s marriage, but he didn’t think divorce was an option. And, when his mom and dad sit him and Cesar down to discuss why dad is moving out they are both dumbstruck. He’s transgender and transitioning to a female–and this means he needs to move out. Because, while he and his wife still love each other, they can’t really live together as spouses any longer. It’s unsettling for Jorge and Cesar on so many levels. Jorge depended on his dad for so much, since he had stayed at home, working freelance while his mom had a higher-pressure job outside the home.

This book is so sweet and so poignant, with a lot of layers. Jorge watches as his father (deadname: Norberto) becomes Norma, weathering the animosity Cesar lashes out each time he returns from a visit. Also, he’s struggling with inadequacy as a Mexican-American; he’s fair like his white mother, while Cesar is dark like their Mexican-American father, and Cesar’s clearly unhappy with his dark skin–to the point it kind of drives a wedge between them. Cesar won’t spend any time with Norma, and threatens Jorge not to reveal their secret. Thing is, they live in the same neighborhood and Norma, who is out-and-about in her female experiences. Jorge knows it’s only a matter of time before she is recognized by his friends. And, as he’s coming to terms with it, but it’s still so awkward and there is still so much hurt and betrayal. It was interesting to see Jorge positioning himself with his friends to write a comic about a trans character–who’s superpower is defeating the bullies of the world…rather fabulously. And, their support really is a balm when Jorge needs it.

Jorge also develops a big crush on a new girl whose sensibilities are aligned toward acceptance and equality. They have a connection, but it’s hard to be real while also hiding a huge secret. Through this girl Jorge’s befriending a genderqueer person in his middle school. It’s enlightening, seeing this person’s struggle and relating it to his father’s experience. Jorge’s attempts to keep his father’s transition a secret are jeopardizing the friendships he’s so desperate to hold onto. Meanwhile, his relationship with Cesar is deteriorating.

I really loved how Jorge processed the struggle of his parents’ marriage ending, his father’s pain and difficulty in living his truth, the recognition that relationships are hard–even in middle school. It’s so tenderly rendered, with such love for Jorge whose emotional challenges are intense. These months in his life mark a huge turning point in his growth, and I loved that the character really acted as a kid does, and with a kid’s sensibilities. Jorge gets mad with his dad, doesn’t understand the bone deep ache Norma experiences and then really listens to the situation.

This is a special kind of book. I would highly recommend it for LGBTQI children, families that support them, and anyone who loves a good family-centered realistic middle grade story.

Thank you, NetGalley and Capstone editions, for the chance to read and review this book.

In the summer before high school, thirteen years old Jorge's life changes for him and his family, when his parents divorce and his father comes out as transgender. While his twin Cesar refuses to have anything to do with their father, Jorge struggles to understand. A new girl, Zoe, a future talent show and the struggles in his family...Jorge is forced to face his fear and choose.

I had to admit I was attracted by the cover and the plot and this was my first book by Alex Sanchez and, even though I liked his writing and his characters.it didn't convince me too much. I think this kind of story is important, even though the deadnaming, misgendering and transphobia really upset me and, even though sometimes they could have been "necessary" to show a more realistic reality, others were a bit too much.

I am so torn about this book. I have read and enjoyed Alex Sanchez's novels, but for some reason, The Greatest Superpower just isn't doing it for me. There were moments that were great, and there were times where I cringed and couldn't wait for it to be over. Having a trans parent is a tough subject to broach and I'm not sure it was done well here. The book was fine. I'm kind of disappointed I didn't like it more. It wasn't the worst thing I've ever read but it was by far not the best thing I've read either.

Loved this one. I would get this for my boyfriend's teenage son, who loves to read. I think this is a good book with an excellent storyline and great characters.

4.5/5 Stars

I really wanted to like this book from when I started it because this was a Latinx family. The family looked like mine only with instead of the child being trans it was the dad. I kept reading in hopes that it would redeem itself but it just felt like this book kept breaking my heart. I couldn't deal with all of the transphobia that was included throughout this story.

Something that really angered me about this book was the focus on how Jorge's life was now over and how you should feel bad for him because this changes everything for him. Even after we watch Norma get harassed at the gas station and see how dangerous it is for her to just try and live as a woman, it's still about poor Jorge and Caesar. It really reminded me how my coming out felt like it was about how it would affect my parents and family and not what it meant for me. I think this is why so much of this book hurt me, it just felt like I was watching my family's reaction to me, it felt like oh I would like to see Latinx people react differently to a trans person for once even if it would be fictional.

Something else that really frustrated me with this book was how it seemed to be Jorge and Caesar's choice to come out for Norma. Norma did let Jorge know that it would be okay for him to tell his friends but there was no discussion about outing Norma to the whole school. We don't even get a chance to see how this affects her and how she feels about this whole ordeal.

This book would have been great if the Trans plot was not added. It seemed that the plot was added to move the story along. I would've loved it without that because the dog talent act was just so cool, and Caesar struggling with his skin color was also done well.

I wanted to give this book three stars but I couldn't get over the dead naming of Norma, not just from herself but from others too. I also couldn't get over the enforcement of the gender binary even with the Trans characters.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a free ebook in exchange for an honest review! This has not affected my review in any way, all opinions are mine.

1.5/5 stars.

Jorge Fuerte is about to start high school when his father comes out as a trans woman, flipping Jorge’s life upside down. Now, on top of normal high school things like bullying, a crush, and friend problems, Jorge also has to deal with his parents’ divorce, accepting his dad, and the rift this has caused between him and his twin brother, Caesar.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Although Norma is a trans woman who uses she/her pronouns, she asks Jorge and Caesar to continue calling her ‘dad.’ Additionally, while I am not a trans woman, I am a nonbinary person of color. I can relate to Norma on certain levels, but want to acknowledge that I do not have her experience and ask that you read reviews by other trans women, particularly trans women of color, for more detailed opinions that trump my own.

TRIGGER WARNINGS: Mentions of transphobia, deadnaming, misgendering, and racism.

I had a very hard time writing this review, because ultimately, this is a book that attempts to deal with many many MANY issues, but ends up resolving almost none of them. It left me feeling as though the story wasn’t completely finished, or the author didn’t know how to resolve the situations that had been created. Because of this, I really didn’t know what to say. Or I went back and forth between having too much to say, and risk spoiling the entire book.

Reading this was difficult. And eventually, I came to this conclusion: this book is a book about a trans woman, written by a cis people, from a cis character’s point of view, for a cis audience. It’s so binary. And there is a genderfluid character but…most of this book sticks so strictly to a gender binary. Even the comic plotline, where there’s a “trans superhero” (I am REALLY tentative about calling the character trans) is so binary.

The idea that being a woman makes you more open to emotions and willing to work out issues through talking than physical conflict… And that changing depending on what gender the superhero is? It made me personally really uncomfortable, as well kind of sexist. These traits have nothing to do with gender and everything to do with socialization and the society we live in, as well as our own personalities.

And while I believe there is a place for stories like this, about cis kids understanding their trans parents, I do not think this is this book. The amount of misgendering Norma goes through in this book made me feel physically ill at times. Even Jorge, who accepted Norma much faster than other characters, misgendered her for such a huge majority of the book. It took him so long to use the correct pronouns. And other characters went the entire book without gendering her properly.

So much of this book presents Norma’s coming out as something she “did” to her family. The characters ask how Norma could do this to them. It talks about how difficult it is for them to get through. But at the same time, it never really explores how hard this is for Norma. How being rejected by her family feels (which is in part very confusing and I won’t get into this review due to spoilers but the whole thing with Jorge’s mother is really confusing to me), the violence she faces as a trans woman of color. AND WE SEE THIS! We SEE Norma face transphobia head on!! Jorge sees it! And it’s only brought up like two times and is never really explored beyond that!

Also frustrating was the fact that there is a gay uncle who is just there randomly to be gay and have no character or arc other than ‘hey he’s gay’ and only show up/be mentioned like twice. And there’s a genderfluid kid in Jorge’s grade/class who also has no character and essentially exists to be bullied, explain what being genderfluid is, and be a very stereotypical nonbinary character. Now that isn’t to say nonbinary people like Noah don’t exist, but when you only have one nonbinary character, and they don’t have much of a character, it feels incredibly stereotypical. Neither of these two characters are CHARACTERS. They feel like they were put here so the author could be like “See! More non cishet characters!” opposed to fleshed-out people with like. Personalities.

But stepping away from the portrayal of trans and non straight people in this book. The comic plotline felt so underdeveloped. It felt like it was constantly getting lost in the shuffle. I didn’t really care for the attempt at the love triangle, but I suppose the romance was sweet. I HATED the reason the romance fell apart which I will not get into because spoilers but it annoys me. Racism (Jorge and Caesar are half Mexican), racial profiling, and transphobic violence, specifically TOWARD WOMEN OF COLOR, one of the most vulnerable portions of our population, are touched upon but never explored really in-depth. The relationship between Jorge and Caesar felt like it needed more time and the ending… I get the real world isn’t perfect but for a middle grade novel especially it felt so bleak. Realistic, maybe, but not only did it feel incomplete and unsatisfying, it made me wonder what the point of going through all this really was.

Look, at some point this book made me cry genuine tears. I think it was during a conversation Norma and Jorge had. It had a few moments I enjoyed. There was a chance this book could have been good. But it tried to tackle a million things both major and minor (like did we need a comic contest AND a talent show?), and ended up falling so flat. Parts of it felt slapped together haphazardly. If a cis author wants to write about trans people, that’s fine, but I do not think this was the way to go about it. I think more sensitivity readers were needed at least, because so much of this felt so insensitive and was so painful as a nonbinary person to read. And if this is meant to be a way to help cis kids who are around Jorge’s age understand trans people and the struggle of being trans, I absolutely do not think this is the way to go about it.

Instead of buying this book, I suggest donating the money you would’ve spent on it to support trans people of color instead. A few charities to look at include the Transgender Law Center, the Lavender Rights Project, the Trans Woman of Color Collective, INCITE!, and the Sylvia Rivera Law Project. (Note, I have not researched these organizations in-depth, and always recommend researching charities before donating!)