Middle Grade children’s fiction seems to become more and more acceptable to fiction revolving around superheroes in the last several years, even as comic books have moved away from stories aimed at readers ages 8-12. Barry Lyga and Michael Carroll have made careers out of it, and Matthew Cody has also joined that pack. His novel Powerless is now available from the Cedar Rapids Library network in both print and digital editions.
The book revolves around several young characters with super powers and the newcomer that helps them unlock a mystery of their small town. The author’s website describes it like this:
Twelve-year-old Daniel, the new kid in town, soon learns the truth about his nice—but odd—new friends: one can fly, another can turn invisible, yet another controls electricity. Incredible. The superkids use their powers to secretly do good in the town, but they’re haunted by the fact that the moment they turn thirteen, their abilities will disappear—along with any memory that they ever had them. Is a memory-stealing supervillain sapping their powers?
The answers lie in a long-ago meteor strike, a World War II–era comic book (Fantastic Futures, starring the first superhero, Johnny Noble), the green-flamed Witch Fire, a hidden Shroud cave, and—possibly, unbelievably —“powerless” regular-kid Daniel himself.
Cody clearly knows how to write a group of 11 and 12 year olds. He makes Daniel feel real, even as he and his new friends fall in to deeper, more dangerous situations. The author doesn’t feel an urge to pull his punches just because this is children’s fiction either. Bad things happen to the characters (though nothing truly horrific) and our young heroes are forced to deal with the consequences.
Powerless is a quick fun read for any adult and surely a nail-biter for any young reader. Though wrapped in a rather weak cover design, it is a solid piece of super powered fiction that may not break any new ground, but does serve up a fun tale of young heroes fighting against the odds.
Powerless is now available in print and digital editions for $6.99. Alternately, Cedar Rapids Corridor readers can pick it up in either format from the Cedar Rapids Public Library.
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