Growing up, I often saw how close my mom and her brother were. To this day, when they think the same thing or make a joke together, they’ll laugh, fist bump, and say, “Wonder Twins Power, Activate!” Throughout reading my next book, I couldn’t help but be reminded of that and smile.
Y’all, I’m excited to announce that I have another Twitter friend’s book to review: Super Twins by Andy Slinger. (ooh, and here’s a link to my vlog too)
So, jump into the lives of twin boys Jake and Ryan, two thirteen year-olds living in the UK. Their mother has unfortunately passed and they are now living with their father, a somewhat strict but still loving parent.
If you’ve ever met twins, you’ve probably noticed that there are a few types: the kind who are eerily similar (think, The Shining, “Hello Danny”) or the kinds who are basically like night and day (like Disney’s Suite Life). I’d say that these Jake and Ryan are more like the latter, Slinger even describes Ryan as the brain to Jake’s brawn.
All of this difference is then heightened–and their lives changed–when a massive meteor crashes into their back yard. Ryan and their dad make it out relatively unharmed, but Jake is stuck in the hospital for some time. It’s just after the trip home that the twins realize their super abilities… and later, a certain adult’s new, evil, tendencies.
The twins decide that they want to use their powers for good–but that’s kind of tough when you’re only thirteen. But they persevere in their quest to become superheroes and it’s a good thing too because an evil entity is hell-bent on changing their town as they know it!
Needless to say, it’s a fast paced story; the plot was well developed, and I’d say the characters were pretty well fleshed out. I did enjoy the book, but I don’t think I’m necessarily the intended audience…
At the end of the book, Slinger does have a little “about the author” section where he writes: “My aim is simple: to engage, inspire and entertain kids with my stories.” So, as a twenty-two year old who already thinks that superhero stories are a little corny as a genre (I still love them though! Batman is the best, don’t fight me), the fact that it was a super hero story for kids made it slightly more cornier for me personally. Now if I had a kid, or knew a kid around 8-13 years old, I would 100% buy this for them. I think it’s a great introduction into the superhero genre and it’s almost one of those stories that still says “You can do anything,” even though the protagonists have super strength and whatnot.
Without a doubt, I recommend this to school-aged children, especially those who “don’t like reading” or who like superheroes but maybe not comic books. I think it would be a very entertaining and engaging read–even though I’m not the intended audience, I was definitely captivated, I wanted to know what was next. I also think Slinger is a talented author–the scenes were well detailed and as I said before, both the plot and characters were developed which is always a plus. It’s tough when characters seem flat to me, but both Jake and Ryan had very clear and individual personalities.
That’s all I’ve got for this week. Stick around for my next couple of posts on Neostriker: Shining by another Twitter friend, J.D. Nyle!
Happy Reading!
A Little Bit of Happiness 