Help Save the Day!
Have you ever seen a superhero? I haven’t, but it should give you a good clue as to what today’s review is about! You guessed it! Superheroes! This week’s book is the superhuman, historical novel, Cape: The League of Secret Heroes. The author of this extraordinary book is Kate Hannigan. Kate is also the author of an elementary level series, The Cupcake Cousins, a middle grade historical mystery novel, The Detective's Assistant, and her new comic book coming out later this year, The Great Chicago Fire. I have read (or listened to rather...thank you audiobooks!) The Detective’s Assistant and absolutely loved it. It was so engaging and I was able to learn something from it, too. Every one of Kate Hannigan’s historical fiction books has some sort of lesson or event that most people haven’t heard of embedded into it. For example, Cape, is about the women who worked to create the world’s first computer during World War II. I thought this was such an interesting topic and how it was so cool that she was able to twist this story with speculative fiction, aka superheroes! I would rate this book at 5 stars and suggest it for kids ages 8-12. I did feel that the beginning of this book was slow-moving and dragged, but after the first chapter or two I was hooked and could not stop reading.
Cape is about a girl named Josie O’Malley who lives in Pennsylvania during the peak of World War II. Superheroes used to roam the world, helping those in need, and defeating evil. But suddenly they have disappeared. Vanished! Josie is a master puzzler and can solve any math problem, word puzzle, or complicated code. The US government is holding tryouts for decoders to find those who can help decode secret messages from the war. Josie thinks it's a great opportunity to earn more money for her mom, in addition to the small salary she earns from working at the local diner. When two other girls, Mae and Akiko, and Josie are denied the job of puzzlers because they are “just girls,” they decide to be their own heroes. The girls realize they have a lot of things in common. They all have a family member in the war, they want to make a difference, and they love comic books, superheroes, milkshakes, and pie. Soon, the girls are recruited into a secret society of master puzzlers, agents to spy on the Germans, and of course superheroes. Josie, Mae, and Akiko find their friendship has turned them into something more than just ordinary girls. Can they use these newly found powers to help defeat the villains and stop people's suffering? Find out in Cape: The League of Secret Heroes.
Happy reading,
Evelyn Harrier
P.S. If you read this novel and enjoy it, don’t forget to check out the sequel coming out in 2020, Mask!
Cape is about a girl named Josie O’Malley who lives in Pennsylvania during the peak of World War II. Superheroes used to roam the world, helping those in need, and defeating evil. But suddenly they have disappeared. Vanished! Josie is a master puzzler and can solve any math problem, word puzzle, or complicated code. The US government is holding tryouts for decoders to find those who can help decode secret messages from the war. Josie thinks it's a great opportunity to earn more money for her mom, in addition to the small salary she earns from working at the local diner. When two other girls, Mae and Akiko, and Josie are denied the job of puzzlers because they are “just girls,” they decide to be their own heroes. The girls realize they have a lot of things in common. They all have a family member in the war, they want to make a difference, and they love comic books, superheroes, milkshakes, and pie. Soon, the girls are recruited into a secret society of master puzzlers, agents to spy on the Germans, and of course superheroes. Josie, Mae, and Akiko find their friendship has turned them into something more than just ordinary girls. Can they use these newly found powers to help defeat the villains and stop people's suffering? Find out in Cape: The League of Secret Heroes.
Happy reading,
Evelyn Harrier
P.S. If you read this novel and enjoy it, don’t forget to check out the sequel coming out in 2020, Mask!
