Mask - Book Two of the League of Secret Heroes series

Having thoroughly enjoyed the first book in The League of Secret Heroes series, I went into this second book with considerable enthusiasm.  After all, as a fan of comics, as well as children's series books, it only stands to reason that a children's series about young super heroes would be right up my alley.  In the first book, our three protagonists - Akiko, Mae, and Josie - find a way to put their deductive and coding skills to work to aid their country during World War II, and along the way, they discover that not only do they make an amazing team, but they also have the chance to become super-powered heroes - the Violet Vortex, the Orange Inferno, and the Emerald Shield.  Together, they formed the Infinity Trinity!  Now, in this second book, the three have another chance to decode some extremely important messages and stop a super criminal from terrorizing San Francisco!

Mask brings the three young heroes to California, where author Kate Hannigan introduces readers not only to Akiko's hometown of San Francisco, but also provides a bit of a history lesson regarding what happened to American citizens of Japanese descent during the time of World War II (after Pearl Harbor).  One of the good things about this book (and this series in general) is that Hannigan mixes some real life history with the fictional tale.  In this instance, readers learn a bit of what it was like for Japanese-Americans who were removed from their homes, forced into concentration camps, and in some cases, separated from their families - all simply because they were of Japanese descent.  As Akiko shares with her friends the story of what it was like to lose their home, their belongings, and everything they knew, the reader can't help but feel the frustration, anger, and incredulousness in the idea that something like that could ever happen in our country!  (Of course, looking at events transpiring in our country right now, maybe it's not so difficult to believe any more....)

At any rate, the jaunt to San Francisco turns out to be more than an excursion to see if they can locate Akiko's mom, who seems to have gone missing, as the three young heroes discover a message that they must decode - one that will lead them to Mrs. B., who had indicated that she would be in contact with them.  As they work to decipher the code, they suddenly find themselves in the middle of more than they bargained for - not only does Akiko spot her mother there in San Francisco (when she should still be in the concentration camp), but the three also come face to face with a group of clowns who seem to want nothing more than the create havoc and destruction by dropping exploding balloons on the waterfront!  Without hesitation, the Infinity Trinity jump into action!

Akiko, Mae, and Josie all learn some important lessons throughout this story - about each other, about never jumping to conclusions, about teamwork, and about their own self-confidence and abilities.  This time, they face the threat of Side-Splitter, a clown with a deadly mission in San Francisco.  They also face the question of whether Akiko's mother is a traitor, helping the Nazis by passing along secret messages, as well as having to decode some very important messages for Mrs. B., which could lead to the truth about whatever happened to Zenobia and all of the other missing heroes, as well as why some of the other heroes seemed to be literally fading out of existence!  

Again, it is rather cool that Hannigan integrates real facts into the story.  The Japanese did use balloon bombs during the war; Executive Order 9066 did force thousands of Japanese from their homes along the West Coast; Genevieve Grotjan and Elizebeth Friedman (both of whom appear in the story) were real-life cryptologists and code crackers who served this country during the war; and the Doll Lady was an actual person who sent spying letters through a contact in South America (although she did not run a store out of San Francisco - her store was in New York).  This type of fictionalization of facts is something the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books did for many years (although, perhaps, not quite to this extent), and it's great to see that authors still want to educate children in some fashion through the stories they tell!

And, of course, I cannot let this post pass without mentioning the comic book pages throughout the story.  In fact, the book opens with a 12-page sequence that shows the arrival of the three girls in San Francisco.  The art by Patrick Spaziante is fantastic, and each panel, each page of art, conveys so much story, it's almost like having an entire chapter encapsulated in just a few pages of art!  I love the mixture of comic and prose, and since most series these days do not have internal illustrations like the books I read growing up, this is a great way to make up for that!

The last book in this trilogy, Boots, is coming out in August, so it will be interesting to see how Hannigan brings this series to a conclusion.

RATING:  8 speeding out of control trolley cars out of 10 for good, clean fun and family-friendly reading with super-hero antics and code-cracking galore!