We loved how this book takes the super hero trope and totally turns it on its head. But a quick caution: don't read this expecting a Squirrel Girl-type silly adventure. It's not that kind of super hero book. It's a serious topic and prepare to ugly cry while reading this one.
Nadia's dog, Wonder, is almost swept away in a drainage culvert when a mysterious boy she's never seen before swoops out of nowhere and saves him. But before Nadia can thank the boy, he's vanished. Poof! Gone. The girl-journalist-in-training is convinced he's a super hero.
The rest of the book is Nadia figuring out where Eli lives and gaining his trust to figure out why she's never seen him before, despite the fact that they live on the same block and apparently have for years. They even should have gone to school together. But they didn't. The answer why she's never seen him, and why he's not in school, has nothing to do with super powers. It's tragic and criminal.
In the end, however, Nadia recognizes the situation Eli's trapped in and does the right thing -- tells a parent, who makes a police report. Then it's a matter of sifting through the "adults never believe kids" tropes to set Eli on the path of finding his true family.
An engaging read that will make you think a bit harder about all the kiddos you don't see.
