Secret Origins

November 15, 2016
Bethany's latest book-diving exploit takes her and her friends into a superhero comic, a realm where, of course, the good guys always win--or do they?Following the electrifying discovery that her long-missing fictional dad is the superhero Doc Twilight, the white girl trails him from "this" world to Jupiter City, a burg of costumed heroes and villains that has been rebooted by its writer into an authoritarian dystopia under the thumb of a vengeful scenery-chewer known only as the Dark. Along with weaving "fiction," "nonfiction," and metafiction in brain-bending ways, Riley continues to have great fun with his premise--stocking Jupiter City with villains like Dr. Apathy and a fruit-themed gang led by Rotten Banana; slipping in pop-culture references from Squirrel Girl to "I've got a bad feeling about all of this"; and among other revelations describing how his string-pulling alter ego "Nobody" used a certain unnamed classic about a boy and a tree to subvert one of pop fiction's most fundamental tropes. He also has Bethany sacrifice herself (seemingly) and strands her best bud Owen in a choose-your-own-plot novel with a disingenuous invitation to readers to leave him there. Bethany's other allies, the comically misnamed Charm and dark-skinned, relentlessly upbeat Gwen, supply further banter, chemistry, and diversity to this tangled episode. A literary hall of mirrors, with plenty of thrills and laughs to keep "nonfictionals" in the game. (Metafictional fantasy. 11-13)

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February 1, 2017

Gr 4-6-Bethany and Owen have sworn not to go into the fictional world anymore. It is dangerous, and the evil Nobody, the man without a face, has threatened them if they come back. But when Bethany discovers a mysterious man watching her house, she is determined to track him down and find out why. And she just needs a few tools from the fictional world to help her. When Bethany and Owen arrive at the man's house, they find a portal into a comic book world and several superheroes and supervillains, one of whom just might be Bethany's dad. Riley doesn't disappoint in this thrilling continuation of the series. VERDICT Full of pithy puns, plays on words, and lots of action, this latest installment is sure to please fans.-Terry Ann Lawler, Burton Barr Library, Phoenix

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