Captain Superlative - Life is Too Short to Be Anything Less!

When I was down in Key West earlier this year, I was fortunate enough to have met Judy Blume, the children's author who happens to own a bookstore in KW. While at the store, she offered those of us there to pick from a shelf of "Advance Reader Copies" of various books that she had received.  I went through the titles, and nothing really stood out for me, but since she offered, I though I might as well snag one. I saw the title, Captain Superlative, and after reading the back, thought it might be readable. Anyone who knows me knows that I love series books, and if it's not a part of a series, it is not very likely I will pick it up, let alone read it.  But, there's always that rare exception.

This one definitely turned out to be one of those exceptions.

Since this is the Advance Reader Copy and not the final product, not sure what, if any, changes were made prior to its final publication (other than a few grammatical mistakes I noticed while I was reading), but I hope they didn't change a thing. Captain Superlative may appear to be a light-hearted tale of middle-school friendship - a young girl dresses up and acts like a super hero, running through the halls of Deerwood Park Middle School, holding doors open for teachers, picking up books for students, preparing study guides to help others pass their tests, and standing up against the school bully. Yet, as with people, and particularly children, not everything in this book is what it seems.

Now, reading this as an adult, I quickly began to pick up on some of the signs of where this book was headed.  And, quite honestly, I almost didn't want to finish it. This past year has been extremely rough, and the ultimate reveal of Captain Superlative's secret was a bit hard to take. But, I stuck with it and finished the book, and let me tell you - author J.S. Puller definitely doesn't pull any punches. She does, however, balance the serious moments with some lighter scenes, and there are a few times where you will want to stand up and cheer!

While the title character may be a super hero (of sorts), the main character in the book is actually Janey Silverman, a middle school nobody that likes to stay off everyone's radar and does everything she can to avoid being noticed. Particularly by Dagmar Hagen (gotta love that name!), the star pupil of Deerwood Park Middle School, and also the domineering tyrant who scares everyone - but no one more than Paige McCoy, a shy young student who has the misfortune of being Dagmar's number one target. Janey hates seeing Dagmar torture the girl, but there's nothing she can do. Until she shows up.

Captain Superlative!

"Have no fear, citizens! Captain Superlative is here to make all troubles disappear!" With that one line, this young hero in a swimsuit and cape starts to make waves that have a ripple effect throughout the whole school. Janey can't believe she would make such a spectacle of herself. Why would she bring attention to herself like that? Until the day Janey witnesses Dagmar slapping Paige; and, without thinking, she does the unthinkable - she tells Dagmar to knock it off!

And thus begins Janey's road to transformation - from being a wallflower to being a full-fledged sidekick to the school's number one (and only!) super hero! Janey finds that doing good and helping others is surprisingly catchy, and she begins to see other students following suit (although no one else is dressing up in a cape and gloves like C.S.). She is truly happy and enjoying herself for the first time since her mother died, and everything is going great. Until the Captain misses a day of school.  Then two days.  And then three. And Janey is determined to find out what's going on.  What she finds out, though, rocks her (and the reader) to her core and will change everything about what she believed.

Puller writes a very thought-provoking, funny, tender, and heart-breaking story about childhood innocence, bullying, and the unseen things in others' lives that we never really know about; and, while she doesn't beat us over the head with it, Puller definitely makes the reader realize that before we judge someone else's actions, we should stop and consider why the other person is doing what they are doing.

It may not have been a series book, but Captain Superlative was definitely worth the read.

RATING:  9 floating paper lanterns out of 10 for making me laugh, cry, cheer, and empathize for the characters more than I would have thought possible.