Grady Whill and the Templeton Codex by Carole P. Roman

Join Grady Whill and his friends on an exciting adventure that feels like Harry Potter meets the Fantastic Four.

In Grady Whill and the Templeton Codex, everyone is talking about Templeton Academy, the new superhero high school. Recruiting only the best of the best, Grady is certain he will never get in. When his best friend, Aarush Patel is selected, he assures Grady he has the right stuff. Even the school bully, Elmwood Bledsoe, is attending. As Grady and his friends embark upon this mysterious adventure, they hope to discover the knowledge of the power within.

I was a huge superhero fan as a kid–comic books and Saturday morning cartoons. I was Spider Woman one year for Halloween. 🙂 So, when I heard about this new series by Carole P. Roman, I knew I had to read the first book.

Roman did so many things well in this novel. You have the mysterious, supernatural Templeton Academy, which is like a character itself, and the dilemma of Grady trying to figure out why Uncle Leo doesn’t want him to attend the school and having a feeling it all ties into part of his family’s past. And where I feel Roman truly excelled is creating the world of a teenager, even if that world is placed in some mysterious school where kids have to learn the secrets of the Codex. Grady’s bully winds up at the same special school as he does. Where Grady is unsure of himself, Elmwood is overly confident. He is attracted to Pari, Aarush’s cousin, who attends school with them. All the things an everyday teen would cope with, Grady must endure.

Grady Whill and the Templeton Codex features a diverse group of well-developed characters. Whether they are part of Grady’s friend group, antagonists, or school staff, the author created a unique bunch of characters that all played a great role in the story.

After this strong and engaging series debut, I am eager to follow more of Grady’s story. Let’s hope it is on the way soon!

Rating: 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0B4T6PWPH
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Chelshire, Inc.; 1st edition (July 18, 2022)
• Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 18, 2022
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• File size ‏ : ‎ 3349 KB
• Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
• Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
• Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
• X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
• Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 267 pages

I received a free digital copy of this book from the author. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.

Captain Courage’s Superhero Boot Camp by Stacey Marshall

Captain Courage returns in Captain Courage’s Superhero Boot Camp by Stacey Marshall.

When Principal Magico rips off his bow tie and twirls around, he becomes Captain Courage, who is eager and happy to help the students of Blythe Elementary School. He hurries Shannon Shusher, Closed-mouth Clyde, and Skinny Maroo into the super-classroom where they learn how to be proud, use their voice power, and do something positive for others.

This latest installment in Marshall’s Captain Courage series empowers kids to become more confident in their public speaking and presentation skills. This zany story, filled with colorful and engaging illustrations by artist Michelle Morse, is a fun and unintimidating way for young people to explore ways to face their fears.

Coming soon!

Rating: 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

I received a free digital ARC of this book from the publisher. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.

The Flower Fairy Superhero by Noam and Bryan Atinsky

I was scheduled to review this book today, but could not open the file. Once the technology issues are worked out, a review will be posted.

A read-along eBook (enhanced with audio),has a powerful message; it is a heartfelt example of a father honoring the memory of his daughter. Beautiful and creative Noam wrote this story as play to perform for her family on her 5th birthday. Her tale of a flower fairy that possesses very special powers able to help the meanest of people and change them into good and happy human beings is the perfect way to illustrate to children the power of a positive attitude. Written in Noam’s words, it speaks to a young audience and is easy to understand and relate to the story. The children can follow along while voice professionals act out the the story with Noam’s words. Part of the proceeds from the book will go to The Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin.

 

MEET THE AUTHOR

I am currently owner and Chef at a restaurant in Milwaukee. Before the death of my family, I was, for many years, a journalist and Executive Editor at a news organization based in Jerusalem. Being able to do a good percentage of my work from home, I was able to be an at home father, facilitating my wife to be able to work full time at a biological science lab. Because of this, I was deeply involved in bringing up Noam and my son, Ya’ari, from an early age.

Noam wrote the play, which became the Flower Fairy Superhero book, for her birthday, only 3 months before she was killed while visiting family and friends in Israel. Soon after the accident, a Hebrew version of her play was published in a national newspaper in Israel. This got me thinking that publishing her play as an illustrated children’s book would be the best way to honor her memory and creativity as a living memorial. I had thought of going to Francisco X. Mora, an artist and family friend who knew Noam, and has illustrated many children’s books over the years. Quite unexpectedly, he came to me, after reading a copy of Noam’s play, and requested that he be able to work with me to make Noam’s play into an illustrated children’s book. I jumped at his offer.

I believe that people live on through the memories of those whose lives they touch. I saw that publishing Noam’s creative and ethical story could not only spread her creativity to a much wider group of people, but that the story itself was life affirming and teaches the very positive lesson that kindness and caring are some of the most powerful tools we have in this world. Further, I felt that having a portion of the proceeds of the sale of Noam’s work go towards helping other children in crisis, would be an honor to the memory of Noam. I have given the book to many libraries around the Milwaukee area and donated over 500 copies to community organizations.

Similarly, my wife Efrat was a Plant Disease Biologist at the University of Athens, Georgia. After the accident, a memorial garden, highlighting her love of plants and nature, was established in Athens.

On the terrible day of March 7, 2010, Noam, her mother Efrat, her nine-month-old brother Ya’ari, and her grandmother Esther Gamliel, were killed in a car accident in southern Israel. But a few months before that day, on Noam’s 5th birthday, she wrote a puppet play—a superhero story!—to perform in front of her family and friends 
at her birthday party. She dictated the story to my wife and I, and I wrote down what she said into our computer. We performed the play at our home in Athens, Georgia. Noam played the Flower Fairy, my wife Efrat played the Queen, and I played the Ogre.

Sky Girl and the Superheroic Adventures by Joe Sergi

If you have a fan of comics or graphic novels in your house, then Sky Girl and the Superheroic Adventures by Joe Sergi would be an excellent choice.

DeDe Christopher is still adjusting to her new identity as Sky Girl. Now a junior, she is juggling the demands of being a superhero along with trying to navigate the murky waters of high school. It certainly doesn’t help that the guy she is crushing on is dating a girl she can’t stand. With the help of her comic book geek best friend, Jason, DeDe must learn what it takes to become a heroine and face challenges as she discovers her late father’s secrets and his connection to SkyBoy.

I grew up on comics, so I felt right at home when I picked up Sky Girl and the Superheroic Adventures. This action packed young adult novel finds DeDe learning more about herself in addition to uncovering secrets from her late father’s past. Joe Sergi has been a fan of comic books since childhood and is still very involved in the comics industry as a reader, a regular attender of conventions, and a writer. His decades’ worth of knowledge makes for an engaging read that stays true to the parameters of comics and superheroes.

Like the cult television hit, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, DeDe’s school is a place where evil seems to make its home. Like Peter Parker/Spiderman, DeDe is learning more about her superpowers and tackling bad guys at the same time she is trying to deal with the normal everyday issues of being a teenager. This helps to give readers a character they can relate to. In addition, since DeDe is still figuring out who she is and how SkyGirl fits into her life, she is an imperfect heroine. She makes mistakes. Couple that with the humor of DeDe trying to work on her witty banter and her friendship with Jason, and you have a well-rounded book that offers a great deal to readers.

This is the second book in the Sky Girl series. While it stands alone, I’ll be happy when the first book in the series is reissued by Sergi’s current publisher, so I can read DeDe’s story from the beginning. It’s definitely different reading superhero fiction in novel form versus in comics or graphic novels, but I feel it’s a good different and hope this genre catches on.

Series: Sky Girl Series
Paperback: 272 pages
Publisher: Martin Sisters Publishing (May 28, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1625530277
ISBN-13: 978-1625530271

Rating: 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

The author paid me to promote this book with a virtual book tour through Pump Up Your Book. This fee did not include a review. This review contains my honest opinion, which I have not been compensated for in any way.