Cape (League of Secret Heroes #1)

by Kate Hannigan (Author) Patrick Spaziante (Illustrator)

Reading Level: 4th − 5th Grade

Hidden Figures meets Wonder Woman in this action-packed, comic-inspired adventure about a brilliant girl puzzler who discovers she's part of a superhero team!

Josie O'Malley does a lot to help out Mam after her father goes off to fight the Nazis, but she wishes she could do more--like all those caped heroes who now seem to have disappeared. If Josie can't fly and control weather like her idol, Zenobia, maybe she can put her math smarts to use cracking puzzles for the government. After an official tosses out her puzzler test because she's a girl, it soon becomes clear that an even more top-secret agency has its eye on Josie, along with two other applicants: Akiko and Mae. The trio bonds over their shared love of female superhero celebrities, from Hauntima to Zenobia to Hopscotch But during one extraordinary afternoon, they find themselves transformed into the newest (and youngest!) superheroes in town.

As the girls' abilities slowly begin to emerge, they learn that their skills will be crucial in thwarting a shapeshifting henchman of Hitler, and, just maybe, in solving an even larger mystery about the superheroes who've recently gone missing. Inspired by remarkable real-life women from World War II--the human computers and earliest programmers called "the ENIAC Six"--this pulse-pounding adventure features bold action and brave thinking, with forty-eight pages of comic book style graphic panels throughout the book.

Readers will want to don their own capes for an adventure, and realize they have the power to be a superhero, too!

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Kirkus

Mae and Akiko encounter a smidgen of racism, although far, far milder than accuracy would call for; this is a superhero/puzzling/Nazi-thwarting tale, not historical fiction. With interwoven action sequences told in comics panels, the tale has the exciting pace of a superhero adventure.

School Library Journal

Gr 4-7--Hannigan soars with a rich new adventure series inspired by real women programmers from World War II. Philadelphia has not seen caped crusaders in years, yet seventh-grader Josie O'Malley loves reading comic books about female superheroes and solving math and word games. When she notices an ad in the paper seeking puzzle solvers to help crack ciphers, Josie knows that this is her dream job. She'll do anything to help her family while her father is away fighting Germany's Nazis. Josie is alarmed when she, Akiko, and Mae are all cut from the puzzler tryouts because they are girls. The girls join forces as caped crusaders themseves, with advanced powers and teamwork to foil a cloak-and-dagger evildoer and crack the clandestine code just in time to find superheroes who went missing in action. Mae, who is African American, and Akiko, who is Japanese- American, are nuanced characters whose experiences with racism accurately reflect the time period. Hannigan takes on history, prejudice, friendship, and bravery with aplomb. VERDICT Fans of fast-paced action adventures, computer science, and confident main characters will enjoy this series debut that is sure to fly off the shelves.--Annisha Jeffries, Cleveland Public Library

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

"Cape is a book with something for everyone—codes to crack, villains to vanquish, and a trio of superheroes who just might save the world. An absolutely original story, filled with so much excitement that the pages practically turn themselves." —Frances O'Roark Dowell, Edgar Award winning author of Dovey Coe

"A one-two punch of heroism and fun!" —Ingrid Law, Newbery Honor winner and New York Times bestselling author of Savvy

"Josie, Mae, and Akiko aren't just the friends and superheroes we need today, they're the friends and superheroes we need to be today. These girls rock!" —Liesl Shurtliff, New York Times bestselling author of the Time Castaways trilogy

"Kate Hannigan does more than write a rip-roaring girls' adventure story. She brings back to life real women who were real superheroines . . . along with some sadly forgotten but wonderful fictional superheroines who predated Wonder Woman. I can't wait for Book Two!" —Trina Robbins, author of Babes in Arms, Women in Comics During the Second World War
Kate Hannigan
Chicago children's author Kate Hannigan writes fiction and nonfiction for young readers. A former newspaper journalist, she is the author of numerous children's books, including A Lady Has the Floor and Nellie vs. Elizabeth.

Sarah Green is a RISD-educated illustrator and designer from San Francisco. She is the illustrator of numerous picture books, including Fight of the Century by Barb Rosenstock and Born Hungry by Alex Prud'homme.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9781534439122
Lexile Measure
760
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Aladdin Paperbacks
Publication date
May 05, 2020
Series
League of Secret Heroes
BISAC categories
JUV016080 - Juvenile Fiction | Historical | Military & Wars
JUV001000 - Juvenile Fiction | Action & Adventure
JUV014000 - Juvenile Fiction | Girls & Women
JUV071000 - Juvenile Fiction | Superheroes
Library of Congress categories
United States
World War, 1939-1945
Fantasy
Historical fiction
Fantasy fiction
Superheroes
Secrets
Computers
Nazis
Spy stories
Sex role
Spies
Girls
Women superheroes

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