Public School Superhero / James Patterson and Chris Tebbetts ; illustrated by Cory Thomas.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Inner city middle school student Kenny Wright imagines himself as a superhero-but when he faces peer pressure and bullying, can he find his strength in real life?



Kenny Wright is a kid with a secret identity. In his mind, he's Stainlezz Steel, super-powered defender of the weak. In reality, he's a chess club devotee known as a "Grandma's Boy," a label that makes him an easy target for bullies. Kenny wants to bring a little more Steel to the real world, but the question is: can he recognize the real strength and goodness inside himself? Or will peer pressure force him to make the worst choice of his life?



Interspersed with fantastic illustrations and comic-book panels, this book aims to both entertain and to provoke dialogue about identity, belonging, and doing the right thing.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

School Library Journal Review

Gr 4-6-Certainly Stainlezz Steel can save Union Middle School. The trouble is he exists only in the imagination of Kenny Wright. Bookish, chess-loving Kenny lives with his activist "G-ma" in inner-city Washington, DC, where he copes daily with bullying hulks. After Kenny and classmate Ray-Ray get into a fight, Kenny is charged with teaching the other boy chess, but Ray-Ray has plenty to teach him, too. Then "Grandma's Boy" Kenny channels Stainlezz Steel's courage and strength to address his moral dilemmas. Kenny is a real, completely likable character who should resonate with unsung heroes. Narrator Joshua Boone is completely true to the fast-paced, urban-kid banter. His varied voices make the story easy to follow. Sound effects help paint pictures in listeners minds, but the third CD includes more than 100 drawings by Cory Thomas that bring the characters to life. VERDICT This is an excellent choice for those seeking a funny middle school story with some life lessons snuck in for good measure.-Jane Newschwander, Fluvanna County Public Schools, VA © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Booklist Review

In a novel aimed as much at parents as at their middle-school children, Kenny a sixth-grader at Washington, D.C.'s Union Middle School and longtime bully victim finds ways to give his rep a remake. After he falls afoul of the new, refreshingly caring principal, Dr. Yetty, Kenny finds himself teaching chess to a streetwise classmate in lieu of detention and discovers that the learning goes both ways. When Dr. Yetty is suddenly transferred, Kenny joins his furious grandmother an old civil rights era warrior and other parents in a march. Readers, particularly in beleaguered urban districts, will see plenty of parallels between their schools and Union Middle and sympathize with Kenny's cause. Along with pen-and-ink spot illustrations, Thomas contributes pages of comic-book panels that portray Kenny's angst over keeping his (minor) malfeasances in school from G'ma as a running battle between costumed crime fighter Stainlezz Steel and his evil doppelgänger, Shameless Steal. The tidy but optimistic end brings clear wins for the good guys, costumed and otherwise. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Patterson, a longtime force in the adult market, has nabbed a new legion of fans through his best-selling Middle School series. With admirers of all ages, don't be surprised if everyone wants to get their hands on his latest.--Peters, John Copyright 2015 Booklist

Horn Book Review

Kenny Wright, an African American sixth grader in a tough DC public school, takes a lot of flack for loving chess and his grandma. But his alter ego, Stainlezz Steel, keeps the streets safe from petty burglaries, rescues cats, and battles his arch nemesis. Interspersed with comic panels, this funny and enlightening book will have wide appeal. (c) Copyright 2015. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Kirkus Book Review

Kenny's dreams of superpowered heroics provide a respite from his tough school.Kenny Wright loves his grandma, chess and superheroes. Less loved is his school, an overcrowded, underfunded cinderblock straight out of the fourth season of The Wire. A string of peculiar circumstances puts Kenny in the position of teaching his enemy, Ray-Ray, how to play chess, but this crummy state of affairs may be just what Kenny needs right now. Just as Patterson (Middle School, The Worst Years of My Life, in print 2011) used comic observations to explore a culture ruled by test scores, this outing is an examination of inner-city schools, a subsection of our educational system plagued by budget cuts, principal-hopping and a society that may have written them off entirely. Thankfully, the authors never get too preachy for their own good. The cultural analysis is secondary to Kenny and the relationships he has with his friends and his grandmother. Told with the humorous style characteristic of Patterson when he's in preteen mode, the novel fits right in with I Funny (2012), Middle School and the like. Adding to the book's charm is a periodic collection of comic-filled pages that help further illustrate Kenny's inner workings as well as present just plain fun superhero stories. A smart and kind story topped with just the right amount of social justice. (Fiction. 9-12) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Author notes provided by Syndetics

James Patterson was born in Newburgh, New York, on March 22, 1947. He graduated from Manhattan College in 1969 and received a M. A. from Vanderbilt University in 1970. His first novel, The Thomas Berryman Number, was written while he was working in a mental institution and was rejected by 26 publishers before being published and winning the Edgar Award for Best First Mystery.

He is best known as the creator of Alex Cross, the police psychologist hero of such novels as Along Came a Spider and Kiss the Girls. Cross has been portrayed on the silver screen by Morgan Freeman. He has had eleven on his books made into movies and ranks as number 3 on the Hollywood Reporter's '25 Most Powerful Authors' 2016 list. He also writes the Women's Murder Club series, the Michael Bennett series, the Maximum Ride series, Daniel X series, the Witch and Wizard series, BookShots series, Private series, NYPD Red series, and the Middle School series for children. He has won numerous awards including the BCA Mystery Guild's Thriller of the Year, the International Thriller of the Year award, and the Reader's Digest Reader's Choice Award.

James Patterson introduced the Bookshots Series in 2016 which is advertised as All Thriller No Filler. The first book in the series, Cross Kill, made the New York Times Bestseller list in June 2016. The third and fourth books, The Trial, and Little Black Dress, made the New York Times Bestseller list in July 2016. The next books in the series include, $10,000,000 Marriage Proposal, French Kiss, Hidden: A Mitchum Story (co-authored with James O. Born). and The House Husband (co-authored Duane Swierczynski).

Patterson's novel, co-authored with Maxine Paetro, Woman of God, became a New York Times bestseller in 2016.

Patterson co-authored with John Connoly and Tim Malloy the true crime expose Filthy Rich about billionaire convicted sex offender Jeffrey Eppstein.

In January 2017, he co-authored with Ashwin Sanghi the bestseller Private Delhi. And in August 2017, he co-authored with Richard Dilallo, The Store.

The Black Book is a stand-alone thriller, co-authored by James Patterson and David Ellis.

In April 2018, he co-authored Texas Ranger with Andrew Bourelle.

In May 2018, he co-authored Private Princess with Rees Jones.

In August 2018 he co-authored Fifty Fifty with Candice Fox.

(Bowker Author Biography)