This is the story of how Blue Hood first learned of the magic pen. Scott draws the comic book adventures of himself, Blue Hood, and their friends as the Alpaca Defence Squad fighting their archenemy the evil Stinky Sock. No one knows Scott’s using a magic pen and everything he draws becomes real. The middle schoolers and an alpaca named Bruce are thrown into a real-life superhero adventure! At first, they think it’s great. They’re living their superhero fantasy! What more could superhero fans want? But saving the day is not as easy as it looks! The Stinky Sock is a clever nemesis, and Bruce the Alpaca is obnoxious and demanding. The Defence Squad must unite as a team, master their powers, put up with Bruce, and solve their super problem… before the Stinky Sock rules the world!
Genre: Middle Grade/Young Adult, Fiction
Age appropriate: 9+
Number of Pages: 234
Date of Publication: 17/12/2020
Author/Illustrator/Publisher:
Jason R Lady is the writer of ‘Super Problems’. He comes from a family who love books and was encouraged to read fantasy and sci-fi. Jason is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. His first book ‘Monsters Problems’ was released on 2019. ‘Super Problems’ is his second novel.
The cover was created by Chuck Carson.
Black Rose Writing published this book. It is an independent publishing house which pride themselves for developing a personal relationship with their authors. Black Rose features books from an array of fiction, non-fiction, and children’s book genres.
Rating: 4.5/5
Review:
‘Super Problems’ is a fiction book aimed to middle grade readers and for anyone who enjoys a fun story.
This is the story of a boy called Scott who has the ability to draw comics really well. He just moved to a small town name Circleburg and is having a hard time adapting to the situation, as he is missing his old home and friends. Soon he will meet new friends and have an adventure like no other with the help of a magic pen.
The story is packed with adventure and funny characters; the protagonists are young students who become superheroes with their own personalized superpowers. There is also Bruce, an obnoxious Alpaca which funnily enough was my favourite character as I found its personality hilarious. The Villain of the story is the ‘Stinky Sock’ and his sinister sock army. When i started the book I assumed this was a character called Stinky Sock but turned out to be an actual talking evil sock.
This is a book which will entertain young readers with a new superhero adventure. The story can be relatable to children as they dream of becoming superheroes and protecting someone or something. Friendship is a key theme in the story and how friends have to work together to achieve their goals.
It’s a shame that books published by smaller publishers and don’t come from previously best selling authors don’t get much recognition. I’m not a fan of superhero things usually and the premise of a talking alpaca and a stinky sock didn’t really fill me with enthusiasm for this book. Despite this I’m really glad that I was given the opportunity to review it and really enjoyed the story and characters and thought it was very imaginative. The superpowers and devices the hero’s use were very interesting and will appeal to children a lot.
Young readers will be able to use their imagination and be transported to a cool story where anything is possible.
Availability: This book is available in all good bookshops and as an E-book.
Shelf Life 
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