Author: Kelly Mangan
Genre: realistic fiction
Age range: middle grade
Similar book: Lotus Bloom and the Afro Revolution by Sherri Winston
Summary (provided by publisher): Fourteen-year-old Maeve feels more at home in the pages of her comics and sketchbook than she does in "Nowhereville" (her maybe-not-so-nice nickname for the small Florida town where her family just moved). In the comic-book version of her life, she's a brave superhero who always bests the bad guys. In reality? Not so much.
When a bully at her new school makes her life miserable over her weight (and a sexist teacher defends him), Maeve isn’t sure what to do. Her mom thinks she should just cheer up, brush it off, and stay positive. But then Maeve hears from other misfit eighth graders who are also being picked on, and she decides that enough is enough.
Drawing inspiration from her comics, Maeve creates a feminist superhero club, hoping she and her new friends can inspire meaningful change in their community. But it turns out, fighting back without becoming the bully yourself is harder than it seems…
What I liked: Maeve's issues are complex. While she is largely victimized, she does bear some responsibility for things that happen to her. And the actions she takes aren't always admirable. Even when she makes the wrong choice, though, we can see what lead her to those actions. And the adults in her life are not blameless. There is the suggestion that empathy and social responsibility are lifelong processes.
What I didn't like: Some of the situations are a bit too extreme, the offenses so egregious as to be hard to believe. While these movements are few and far between, they don't go unnoticed.
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