Review by Elaine Swan, Langlees Primary School, Falkirk
Suitable for: 1st level
Themes – friendship, family, mystery, finding your ‘superpower’, celebrating difference, empathy
A funny whodunnit for young readers with a touch of magic in a traditional detective tale. I think this book would be a good class novel and the expressive and humorous illustration would also make it a good intro book for pupils transitioning from skinny novels to slightly longer novels.
Even without having any superpowers until the end of the book the main character Sara displays tenacity, kindness, courage and brains – showing what ‘superpowers’ really are and that there are many ways to be a ‘hero’. I also liked the fact that she laughed at her own jokes. The other characters were varied and added to either the moral storyline running through the book (Sara’s parents) or the solving of the crime (Georgie and Javier).
This illustrated chapter book is worth reading as it could also invoke discussions around the concepts of clues, suspects, predictions and inference.
