Who says you need super powers to be a hero? Murph and his friends find out that they are special despite the fact that they lack special abilities in this hilariously funny novel, Kid Normal, by authors Greg James and Chris Smith. Murph’s mom was desperate to find a school for him to go to after their most recent move and accidentally enrolls Murph in a school for possible super heroes. It soon becomes apparent that Murph isn’t really qualified for this school, but he somehow finds a way to fit in and make friends. While Murph has no super powers (or ‘capes’ as they are called, short for capabilities), his new friends have powers that are seemingly useless, making them a laughable joke at their school as well. This group of friends is dubbed ‘Super Zeroes’, but despite their lack of typical super powers, they help each other and stand up for one another against those that have no faith in them.
Kid Normal is a novel with some great lessons on finding not only the good in others but in oneself as well. They also learn that super powers come in all different ways. At one point when they assess their assets and powers in order to defeat the evil villain, they list: “Bravery. Doing the right thing. Not giving up. Seeing things other people don’t see. Helping us work together. Staying positive.” as what they have to work with. Something I think everyone can relate to when faced with a difficult situation. So how do they save their school and town from the evil villain Lord Nektar, with those ‘powers’? Well, you’ll just have to read this exciting and action-packed novel to find out if they succeed.
This book was sent to Compass Book Ratings for review by Bloomsbury Children’s Books
Content Analysis:
Profanity/Language: None
Violence/Gore: Person stung by a wasp guy to the point of unconsciousness (2 times); person under mind control is forced to run into a wall so hard it knocks him unconscious; would be thief shoves character out of the way knocking him to the ground; in a story being told of a former superhero a man pulls a gun on somebody; evil guy is knocked out by superhero kicking him; bullies push a character over (2 times); bullies grab character and pick him up to detain him; person tied up by attack drones; villain threatens to eliminate anyone that causes problems; character shot at by attack drones; attack drones cause house to catch fire; characters shot at by attack drones while in a flying vehicle and they crash; person attacked by 2 people and is knocked unconscious; character uses her super powers to stop someone trying to attack her and knocks the person out; someone hits another person in the head with a frying pan; character slaps someone in the face; person is pushed off a balcony by conjured up animals.
Sex/Nudity: None
Mature Subject Matter:
Bullying.
Alcohol / Drug Use:
Man smokes a pipe.
