Pizazz vs the New Kid
Sophy Henn
Simon & Schuster Children’s Books

You might think that being a superhero is incredible but that definitely isn’t always the case if you happen to be this story’s narrator, the almost 9½ year old Pizazz, a member of an entire family of superheroes, especially when your own particular superpower is highly embarrassing as we discovered in the first book.

Pretty annoying you’ll probably agree, but enter another young superhero going by the enviable name of Jett to make matters worse. Moreover her cape is short so consequently not a continual trip hazard, and, she’s to be in Pizazz’s class at school.

Pizazz decides she’ll offer to be Jett’s buddy and make her feel welcome but that plan is immediately thwarted when Jett chooses, of all people, Serena. Life just isn’t fair.

It gets even less so when after a humiliating trip incident caused by a long cape and one of The Popular’s backpacks, Serena decides that what’s needed is a competition – a SUPER-OFF – between Pizazz and Jett. No prizes for guessing who’s to be in charge of that, and she decides there’ll be not just one but three SUPER-OFFs. No pressure then.

Pizazz’s friend Ivy is reassuring but come break time and round one, it seems to Pizazz that she has only a very few supporters whereas almost the entire school is rooting for Jett. However, with two competitions completed the score stands at one win each. Before the third, Pizazz’s dad announces that he’s invited Jett and her family over for dinner. Awkward? You could say!

What about that third contest, you might be thinking. To discover what happens you’ll need your own superpower – or better still, get hold of a copy of this wacky story and discover how it all ends.

Even if youngsters have missed the first story, this works on its own. The ingredients are similar: Sophy’s offbeat illustrations, some comic-book sequences, lots of idiosyncratic typography, irresistible chapter-openers and distinctive characters – human and animal, not forgetting an abundance of eye rolls.