Kid Normal and the rogue heroes

Murph Cooper, aka Kid Normal, leads his tight, if motley, squad of young superheroes into a second serial escapade (Kid Normal, 2018), facing off against archvillain Magpie, whose Capability, or Cape, is the power to steal the Capes of other supers. Being the newest and youngest members of the worldwide Heroes' Alliance, Murph and the Super Zeroes struggle for acceptance in the Caped community, but when Magpie escapes after 30 years of imprisonment, it is their trust in and reliance on teamwork that (mostly) saves the day. With a number of other previously jailed or otherwise demented baddies at large, more sequels seem imminent, but getting there involves all sorts of daring exploits, narrow squeaks, explosions, and meetings with current and retired heroes. Alongside the action is a darling tale featuring three rapping kittens and other random diversions, outrageous puns, and lines of dialogue printed in heavier type for added drama. Salcedo adds trading-card-style profiles of the Super Zeroes and cartoon views of intrepid heroes taking on caricatured supervillains. Stay tuned.--John Peters Copyright 2019 Booklist

Kid Normal and his friends save the day again in this very normal sequel.Murph Cooper has settled happily into his school for young superheroes, hanging with his group of strangely Caped friends despite the fact that he doesn't have a Capability of his own. Some kids and teachers think he doesn't belong, but his other heroic qualities mean that he's been accepted into the elite Heroes' Alliance. His power-less alignment with powerful friends makes him a perfect target for Magpie, a villain who steals Capabilities from other heroes and wreaked havoc on the Caped community 30 years ago. Magpie is safely quarantined, but Murph finds himself an unwitting pawn in the villain's plan to escape. The plot-by-numbers includes some flashbacks, a mystery to solve, adults who are either bumbling or helpful, and a heroic rescue, with wholly unremarkable characters driving the action. This kind of story benefits from a fast-moving plot, but chapters bog down in the tangents, digressions, and authorial asides that aim for zany and clever but quickly become cumulatively exhausting. The humor sometimes lands, but it also veers into lazy or cruel territory, especially when it treats fat people as punchlines. Brown-skinned Nellie and Asian-presenting Billy, two of Murph's friends, again provide most of the primary-cast diversity, though much of the rest of the student body is as white as Murph.A lengthy trek, mostly appealing to readers who loved the first installment. (Adventure. 8-12) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.