Eleven-year-old Luke Parker is an expert on comic books and superheroes. That’s why it’s SO unfair that Zorbon the Decider chooses his older brother Zack to save two universes from the threat of Nemesis AND gives him six superpowers. Now Zack is Star Guy, and Luke is still just Luke.

It turns out that being a superhero’s younger brother is complicated, especially when the girl next door, Lara Lee, is intent on uncovering Star Guy’s secret identity. Things get even worse when Zack loses his powers and gets kidnapped by an unknown villain. It’s up to Luke, his friend Serge, and Lara to save him.

My Brother Is a Superhero by David Solomons is a clever, funny, fast-paced adventure. Some of the things I liked best about this book:

• The relationship between Luke and Zack: Luke keeps a list of all the things he can’t stand about his big brother. (Zack’s calling him “child” is #47). But he’s also fiercely loyal to him.
• Luke’s commentary on things: Luke is the narrator of the story, and he has an interesting way of looking at the world. For example, he describes Lara as “wild and fearless, rushing headlong into danger like a video game character who knows that even if she slips off the edge of the cliff, it’ll be OK because she’ll respawn, good as new.”
• The saving the two worlds part: I don’t want to give any spoilers, but anyone who likes superhero movies will enjoy the action scenes.

Larrabee’s Aunt Kay and Uncle Christian gave him this book. I have to say, it’s a perfect gift for a younger brother. He read it months ago and loved it. I’m just now reviewing it because he left it in his cubby until the last day of school…

There are three more books in the series so far. Larrabee has read the second one, My Gym Teacher Is an Alien Overlord, and recommends it too. And the next two are on his summer reading list.