Captain Superlative by J.S. Puller
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Junior High was what it used to be called. It is that period of time when you are forging your identity and you are no longer a kid but you aren’t quite a high schooler. It is when friendships change and people changed.
So how, how do most people deal with this? How do most people get by? In Janey’s case, it is by being invisible. In Captain Superlative’s case, it is by not being invisible.
It is a charming, thoughtful story of a friendship and that idea if you do little things, that life changes for the better. I have heard this before. At the school I wanted to send my daughter, one of the things the teachers stressed was that the students became citizens of the world, of the community. That when they saw someone fall, they rushed to help them up. When they saw something that needed to be done, they did it. This too, is what Captain Superlative does. She opens doors, she picks up dropped books. She makes sure the wrongs are righted
It may sound hokey, but it works, and it is one of those stories where you cry, but you smile as well. It is a story about handling mean girls, and bullies. It is a gentle story with a strong message.
Bit by bit we find out why Captain Superlative is doing what she is doing. She drops hints along the way, but Janey doesn’t quite pick up one them. Several times she says that life is too short, but that flies over Janey’s head.
There are also hints why the mean girl is the way she is.
So, good to read on the surface, but also good to pick up on what is going on, before the big reveal, so to speak.
I think the introduction could be done away with, because it sort of gives away a little bit of what will happen in the story. But, it works.
Diversity, super heros, strong girls. This is a charming, fun read. Sad, of course, but happy in bits as well.
Strongly recommened.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.