Picking up Speed

February 1, 2019

Gr 6 Up-On their 16th birthdays, a group of teenagers develop incredible abilities. Each book, written at a fourth grade reading level, follows one super human discovering how to harness these newfound powers for good. In Stronghold, Aisha discovers she has incredible strength after breaking everything around her, but she must decide whether to trust friends with her secret when an earthquake hits. Evan becomes an Internet superstar after his friend Layla films him using his elasticity powers in Stretched Too Thin. When Layla gets in a car accident, Evan must look beyond his fame to save her life. Natalie is a struggling high school runner who begins to move at a preternatural pace in Picking Up Speed. As she excels in competitions, her arrogance pushes those closest to her away. In Now You See Me, Tony is pressured to use his invisibility to cheat after a fellow student threatens to reveal his secret to the school. VERDICT To a fault, the books tend to focus more on high school drama than heroics and may not appeal to classic superhero fans, but are grounded by approachable protagonists.

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.