โ Scribed by Richard Roberts
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
Penelope Akk wants to be a superhero. She's got superhero parents. She's got the ultimate mad science power, filling her life with crazy gadgets even she doesn't understand. She has two super-powered best friends. In middle school, the line between good and evil looks clear.
In real life, nothing is that clear. All it takes is one hero's sidekick picking a fight, and Penny and her friends are labeled supervillains. In the process, Penny learns a hard lesson about villainy: She's good at it.
Criminal masterminds, heroes in power armor, bottles of dragon blood, alien war drones, shapeshifters and ghosts, no matter what the super powered world throws at her, Penny and her friends come out on top. They have to. If she can keep winning, maybe she can clear her name before her mom and dad find out.
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Gr 58Ever since she could remember, Penny Akk has fantasized about following in the footsteps of her superhero parents (The Audit and Brainy Akk). Despite her parents' prediction that it could be years before her powers develop, Penny and her friends Claire and Ray soon find themselves superpoweredand supervillainous. Penny never meant to be a bad guy, but she turns out to be a most excellent mad scientist. Emily Woo Zeller voices Penny's maniacal, mad-scientist laughter; Claire's soft, cooing giggles; and Ray's deeper voice, while also capturing the essence of the "Inscrutable Machine" and a host of other monsters, shape-shifters, and ghosts. Her pacing, intonations, and expressions (one can actually "hear" her smile) are appropriate for the dozens of characters. This book is a creative superhero/villain novel featuring an abundance of characters, superpowers, plots, subplots, and action sequences. A few parts require extra suspension of belief (what teen would refer to a shirt as a "blouse" or exclaim, "By Tesla's Spontaneous Combustion!"?), but listeners may find it refreshing to listen to a squeaky-clean, minimally gory action novel. VERDICT This book will certainly appeal to young teens of all genders looking for an adventure beyond the pages of a comic book.April Everett, Rowan Public Library, Salisbury, NC
"Emily Woo Zeller did a fantastic job with this novel. She also had a really good manic laugh for Penny and her mad scientist powers!" ---Books, Movies, Reviews! Oh My!
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