The incredible powers of Montague Towers by Alan Sunderland
Scholastic, 2016. ISBN 9781760153649
Highly recommended. Superheroes. Crime fighting. Orphans.
Montague Towers is not a Superhero. He is an orphan with limited
freedom, some responsibilities and NO power! Due to his age he is
left in charge of the orphanage while everyone else goes on a
holiday. This is a joy and delight as he finally gets some 'alone
time'. An aging Superhero, the Cape of Justice, intrudes into his
peace and quiet and Monty becomes embroiled in a quest to restore
the credibility of the older Caped crusader and foil the plans of
his evil (and ridiculously overweight) nemesis. Monty becomes the
recipient of some temporary superpowers lasting only one day at a
time and he sets out on a chase to thwart the criminal mastermind
before he upsets the entire financial system. Both the Cape of
Justice and Montague Towers seem to be the comedic Superhero types
as they falter at almost every step in using their powers in pursuit
of justice. Will they be able to win the battle against the evil
tyrant and his henchmen?
This is a delightfully written book, and the slightly powerless and
quirky main character will win the hearts of many young readers as
he explores Superhero qualities. (I am assuming that Montague Towers
will be making further appearances in the future, as the book would
easily lead into another adventure.) The action is fast-paced, the
villains are easy to dislike and the main characters are
entertaining. And there are pastries! The Prologue begins with Day 3
of the Superpowers and is obviously placed to give younger readers a
taste of the action that is to follow and to encourage them to keep
reading past the orphanage beginning to explore the mystery of the
Superpowers. This was probably unnecessary as Chapter 1 has an
equally enthralling and endearing style that would hook a young
reader.
Recommended highly - as an entertaining read for young readers (not
as great literature).
Carolyn Hull