Powerless

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Moving to a new town, Daniel knows he’ll find super friends – but he never imagines he’ll have friends with super powers! Being around kids who can fly and become invisible, Daniel feels powerless, until one day when he learns that his friends mysteriously lose their powers when they turn thirteen. Racing against the calendar, Daniel realizes that if he can find a way to help his friends, he may be able to be the town’s super hero after all!

Grades 4-7
When Daniel moves to the little town of Noble's Green, PA so that his parents can help care for his sick grandmother, he quickly realizes there's something a little odd about the kids he meets: a secretiveness, and evidence of skills that far surpass normal human abilities. After one of his new friends saves Daniel from a terrible multi-story fall, the group admits that they have superhero powers. But on their 13th birthday, they lose those powers and any memory of them, not even remembering their former friendships. Wanting to learn more about why the powers are lost on their 13th birthday, the group solicits Daniel's help: he sleeps over with one of the boys who is turning 13, and to his horror, he discovers that the powers are being sucked from the sleeping superhero by a villainous figure. Daniel has always loved detective stories, and by putting some of his detective skills to use, he discovers that The Shroud is trying to suck up the abilities of the Noble's Green children in order to increase his own power. Since he's the only one with no powers for The Shroud to steal, Daniel is determined to help find a way to put a stop to the villain's treachery. Along the way, Daniel learns that, even if he can't fly or lift up cars with superhuman strength, he has what it takes to be a hero. This fast-paced celebration of superheroes and friendship has a few twists and turns that will keep kids turning the pages and cheering the whole way. ( )

This was another one I think I might have liked better reading it myself rather than listening to the audio. Dikeos did an ok job narrating, but he had a kind of monotone thing going without enough variation in emotion particularly for the more exciting parts of the story. The story itself wasn't too bad although there were some definite holes in places - the most obvious one to me was when the bad guy says that Daniel was the one who brought the group together - the group was already together and Daniel didn't get them being any more productive so the motivation was light. Listened to Listening Library audio edition narrated by Gary Dikeos. ( )

fantasy. boys have special powers which they loose by the time they reach the age of 13. Seems similar to the concept of the Polar Express - those that believe can hear the santas bells. recommended for students with high imaginations levels.

A great story especially for boys. A new boy in town called Daniel whoose family has moved to be closer to his ailing grandmother. Once he makes new friends he discovers that they have supernatural powers. He begins to understand why his new town is considered one of the safest towns in the country. His new friends are keeping the towns people safe in disasters, accidents, and other close calls. Their favorite place to be is their tree fort where they meet and hang out together. Then slowly each of his friends begin to loose their magic powers. Daniel first discovers this when his friend Simon is confronted by a dark figure he later discovers is known as the ‘Shroud’. He decides to find out who the ‘Shroud’ is so he can protect his new friends. He discovers that his lack of super powers actually makes more powerful and able to ultimately help solve the mystery of the Shroud and find real friends. A great story especially for boys. The only thing I noticed is that due to the layout of the book the reader needs to be at a more independent reading level as ideas and sentences hang from one page to the next. In 4th grade I would probably use it as a read aloud. 5-6th grade should be able to follow it easily if they are reading at grade level.