My Brother Is a Superhero

May 4, 2015
Eleven-year-old Luke is a huge comic-book fan, so when an ill-timed bathroom break results in his 14-year-old brother, Zack, receiving superpowers from a visiting alien (instead of Luke himself), he is understandably upset. But Zack—whose brand of nerdiness only extends to math, not comics—needs help navigating his new identity as Star Guy. Comic-book devotees like Luke will appreciate references to familiar characters (Zack initially christens himself Starman until Luke reminds him, “There’s already a Starman. You’ll probably get sued”), but all readers will enjoy the deadpan narration that reveals the unexpected difficulties of being a modern-day superhero—like getting to a crime scene when you’re too young to drive. When Luke’s classmate Lara decides to unmask Star Guy, Luke tries to stop her, but the real danger is the villainous Nemesis, a threat to not one but two universes. In his first children’s book, screenwriter Solomons demonstrates that he’s equally at home with high-octane comic-book action and more ordinary topics like the pain of being overshadowed by an older sibling, superpowered or otherwise. Ages 8–12.