Mia Mayhem is a superhero by Kara West, illustrated by Leeza Hernandez

Sometimes I read a book and wonder if I read the same thing other reviewers did. Or if I just totally missed something? This book really confused me at a couple points, but nobody else seemed to have that problem!

The story opens with Mia Macarooney promising there's really a good reason for the chaos around her - she's a superhero! She receives a letter inviting her to superhero school and her parents are excited that she's finally been accepted to their alma mater. Because they're both superheroes! Her mom can fly and her dad can talk to animals. Mia is excited, but the chaos that always surrounds her just seems to get worse, from her cat running away to exploding flower bags, torn screen doors, and it doesn't stop when she gets to the superhero academy. At first it's fun, meeting all the new teachers, getting a super suit, and having a special after-school secret. But then she has to take an exam and she's worried that she's failed being a superhero before she's even started! Luckily, Dr. Sue Perb knows just how to make Mia feel better and explain that being a superhero takes lots of time and training.

The black and white art includes some panels and full-page spreads. Mia has dark skin and curly hair, like her father, while her mother has straight dark hair and lighter brown skin. Her best friend at regular school is white, while the boy who saves her at superhero school is black. A wide range of skin tones are shown in Mia's public and superhero schools, but no visible disabilities.

This was a fun story of a little girl who keeps getting into trouble, no matter how hard she tries, with a supportive cast of parents, teachers, and friends. But there were several points in the story where I felt like I'd missed a page. When Mia sees a group of teachers? Students? And suddenly extrapolates one as her teacher, or the rapid jumping back and forth between the exams, where we never really learn how Mia did, and the structure of the superhero academy. Plus, her powers, or lack thereof, are really confusing. On the one hand, it accurately captures the confusion of starting a new school, superhero or not, but on the other hand a really readable and simple plot is absolutely necessary for a beginning chapter book, especially one as low level as this. My other caveat was simply that most of my readers don't really want non-traditional superheroes - they want Batman, Wonder Woman, etc. and while I got a few kids into Captain Awesome, I've never really gotten anyone else to read similar titles.

Verdict: Future books are sure to smooth out the plot difficulties and if you have an audience that likes spunky girls and superheroes this will probably be popular. I'm going to try it with my book club and see what they think before purchasing.

ISBN: 9781534432697; Published December 2018 by Little Simon; Borrowed from another library in my consortium