A review by apotts
Powerless by Matthew Cody

4.0

Powerless has been on my I-own-it-so-I-put-it-off-until-I-read-my-library-books shelf for three years. This summer I am making a conscious effort to get through at least ten of those books. I'm glad I started with this one!

Kid superheroes are always fun, but what I love about Powerless is that it's the regular run-of-the-mill twelve year old who comes out as the protagonist. The author manages to capture the priorities of a middle schooler spot-on. While Daniel struggles to understand his place in a new town and has to cope with the loss of his grandmother, he new friends are front and center in his priorities list. While Powerless certainly fits the superhero and mystery genres, it's message about friendship is what carries the story.

Definitely appropriate for 6th grade and up, but elementary students would love this book, too.