Book Review: The Superpower Project

Book: The Superpower Project by Paul Bristow with illustrations by Luke Newell

Source: Borrowed from Publisher/NetGalley for an honest review

Publication: Available now

Description:

With the help of a wisecracking, steampunk robot, two accidental superheroes discover that they have inherited some amazing, if unusual, abilities. Computer whiz Megan can fly (mostly sleep-flying, but she's working on it) while her best friend Cameron can (in theory) transform into any animal, but mostly ends up as a were-hamster. Together they must protect the source of their ancestral powers from a wannabe evil mastermind and his gang of industrial transformer robots who've disguised themselves as modern art installations on their Greenock estate.

It isn't easy to balance school and epic super-battles, not to mention finding time to search for other super-talents and train with their Mr Miyagi-esque were-tiger coach. Can Megan and Cam beat the bad guy, defeat his robot transformers and become the superheroes they were born to be? Kelpies Prize shortlisted author Paul Bristow creates a hilarious tongue-in-cheek superhero mash up with a dangerous twist!




Rating: 5 stars

Review:

Every superhero has a story and The Superpower Project is an exciting middle grade story about a small group of heroes saving the day. This story is part action adventure and part mystery set in Glasgow, Scotland.

When Megan's grandmother died she left an envelope for Megan. In it was a letter, an old newspaper article and an old map with five locations numbered. From the treasure hunts she used to go on in her grandmother's backyard, Megan knew her grandmother must have left something at those locations. Megan wasn't quite sure what to make of it but she knew her best friend Cameron would be interested in helping. Well maybe not interested because Megan's plans somehow wind up getting them in trouble.

The "Treasure Hunt" wasn't the only thing on Megan's mind because ever since she found out she could fly she wish she could tell someone about it. She hasn't even told Cameron and he's her best friend.

Their chance to start this "treasure hunt" came while their class was on a field trip to the Waterworx facility. The trip was to give the students a chance to look around and find inspiration for creating the last of the five statues the company displayed around the small town.

With the first location on the map nearby, the duo slinked away to see what they could find. What they found was an old creepy bomb shelter. Cameron had absolutely no desire to go in there, it's safe to say that he was a little scared. But to find out what Megan's grandmother may have hidden, they had to go in there. After roaming through the dark tunnels they found something unbelievable, a robot. Could this be what her grandmother wanted her to find? They could tell it had been down there quite a while since it had started to rust. Megan was able to turn it on but the robot named Tin Jimmy was a bit out of sorts. It took a little time but Tin Jimmy or TJ to function properly.

From there that was only the beginning of this adventure for Megan and Cameron and now TJ. They found out more information from TJ but with his memories slowly returning they hope that the rest of the locations on the map may yield even more clues.

Going to the second location revealed more than just clues for the trio, they found themselves being attacked by a large robot that resembled one of the statues in town. In fact, it was one of the statues. To get her friend to safety, Megan had no choice but to reveal that she could fly but it turns out Cameron had a secret as well. She found out Cameron could change into a gorilla after he stopped the other robot. Actually, he was a shape-shifter.

In this fast-paced story Megan, Cameron and TJ try to unearth the rest of the clues and stay one step ahead of the Waterworx robots and their creator. They received some help from an old friend of Megan's grandmother, he told them how and why they have their powers since he also has them. He also trained them to get them prepared for the oncoming battle between the creator of the robots and stop the villains plan.

At this point in time when the superhero craze is at it's highest, it's nice to find a fresh, engaging and humorous story that makes you feel as if you're right in middle of the action. The story and the characters are both well thought out making it easy for the reader to become fully immersed in the adventure. You will be rooting for the heroes hoping they will defeat the villain with there being just the right amount of drama and tension to hold the readers attention.

I would recommend this book because you get an interesting story with quite a few twists. This was very fun to read and I'm sure young readers who are interested in superheroes will enjoy this story.