by John David Anderson
First line: “Captain Marvelous sighed.”
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Content: There’s some violence, and a bit of a body count. And there’s a budding love triangle (with a couple of kisses), though it’s all pretty innocent. It feels older than elementary school, though, so I’d put it in my YA (6-8th grade) section. However, I wouldn’t be opposed to handing it to a 10- or 11-year-old.

A long time ago (when M and C were little), we had a They Might Be Giant’s CD enttitled NO! On there was this particular song:

I didn’t think much of it at the time (it wasn’t my favorite on the CD by far), but when I started this book, that song kept playing through my head. See: Andrew Bean — Drew to his friends — was born with a “condition” that makes all of his senses amplified. He thought, growing up, that he was just Weird, but then he discovered the H.E.R.O program (that’s Highview Environmental Revitalization Organization. Their motto? We keep the trash off the streets.), which is, in reality a sidekick training program. For superheroes.

Which kept reminding me of another favorite of M and C’s when they were younger: Sky High. (My favorite line from that movie? “Holy (blank), (blank) Man!”) It’s essentially the same plot: Drew (and his sidekick friends) must Save the City from an Evil Genius (though in this case, there was a twist — that I saw, but didn’t mind  — that made it interesting) because the Superheroes aren’t able to. (Except, in this case, one is Reformed and Comes to the sidekick’s aid.)

I guess that makes it sound like I didn’t like this. Which isn’t true: I did. I don’t think it was wholly original (the superhero thing was done most excellently last year with Geeks, Girls, and Secret Identities), but it was fun. There was action (it starts out with a rescue scene), some romance, some angst, and some laughter. And Drew’s voice was spot-on for a sidekick with pretty useless superpowers. It may not be the best book out there this year, but it is an enjoyable read.

(Just for the record: because this is a Cybils nominee, I’ve been asked to make sure y’all know this is my opinion only, and not that of the panel.)