Cape /

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

"Readers...will be enamored by this blend of history, mystery, and superpowered action." -- Booklist (starred review)
"Has the exciting pace of a superhero adventure." -- Kirkus Reviews

Hidden Figures meets Wonder Woman in this action-packed, comic-inspired adventure about a brilliant girl puzzler who discovers she's part of a superhero team--the first in a new series!

Josie O'Malley does a lot to help out Mam after her father goes off to fight the Nazis, but she wishes she could do more--like all those caped heroes who now seem to have disappeared. If Josie can't fly and control weather like her idol, Zenobia, maybe she can put her math smarts to use cracking puzzles for the government.

After an official tosses out her puzzler test because she's a girl, it soon becomes clear that an even more top-secret agency has its eye on Josie, along with two other applicants: Akiko and Mae. The trio bonds over their shared love of female superhero celebrities, from Hauntima to Zenobia to Hopscotch. But during one extraordinary afternoon, they find themselves transformed into the newest (and youngest!) superheroes in town. As the girls' abilities slowly begin to emerge, they learn that their skills will be crucial in thwarting a shapeshifting henchman of Hitler, and, just maybe, in solving an even larger mystery about the superheroes who've recently gone missing.

Inspired by remarkable real-life women from World War II--the human computers and earliest programmers called "the ENIAC Six"--this pulse-pounding adventure features bold action and brave thinking, with forty-eight pages of comic book style graphic panels throughout the book. Readers will want to don their own capes for an adventure, and realize they have the power to be a superhero, too!

Excerpt provided by Syndetics

Cape Excerpted from Cape by Kate Hannigan All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

School Library Journal Review

Gr 4--7--Hannigan soars with a rich new adventure series inspired by real women programmers from World War II. Philadelphia has not seen caped crusaders in years, yet seventh-grader Josie O'Malley loves reading comic books about female superheroes and solving math and word games. When she notices an ad in the paper seeking puzzle solvers to help crack ciphers, Josie knows that this is her dream job. She'll do anything to help her family while her father is away fighting Germany's Nazis. Josie is alarmed when she, Akiko, and Mae are all cut from the puzzler tryouts because they are girls. The girls join forces as caped crusaders themseves, with advanced powers and teamwork to foil a cloak-and-dagger evildoer and crack the clandestine code just in time to find superheroes who went missing in action. Mae, who is African American, and Akiko, who is Japanese- American, are nuanced characters whose experiences with racism accurately reflect the time period. Hannigan takes on history, prejudice, friendship, and bravery with aplomb. VERDICT Fans of fast-paced action adventures, computer science, and confident main characters will enjoy this series debut that is sure to fly off the shelves.--Annisha Jeffries, Cleveland Public Library

Booklist Review

In her first series, Hannigan (The Detective's Assistant, 2015) deposits readers into WWII-era Philadelphia, where they'll encounter the women mathematicians known as the ENIAC Six, female superheroes from early comic books, and a real Nazi spy ring. Twelve-year-old Irish immigrant Josie O'Malley feels the pinch of wartime living, picking up shifts at a diner and caring for her younger siblings while her mother works and her father fights in the Pacific. She desperately wishes the superheroes from her beloved comics would help her troubled city, but little does she suspect that she's about to become one herself. After responding to a newspaper ad calling for puzzlers (she's an ace at math and pattern recognition), Josie is recruited with two other girls African American Mae and Japanese American Akiko into a secret organization. Incredibly, the girls manifest superpowers just as a supervillain begins terrorizing the city. Prejudice against girls and women and racism directed at Mae and Akiko provide a more serious side to the action-packed plot. Humorous touches emerge as Josie and her friends hone their new powers, and some cheesy one-liners give a wink to vintage comic books as do illustrated comics spreads. Readers across genres will be enamored by this blend of history, mystery, and superpowered action. A thorough author's note supplies historical context for the trio's first adventure.--Julia Smith Copyright 2019 Booklist

Kirkus Book Review

Superheroes, spies, puzzle solversor all three?It's World War II, and Zenobia, Black Cat, and the other superheroes vanished from the streets of Philadelphia a couple of years ago. Josie, a white Irish immigrant, is despairing, with a war on and her beloved heroes all missing. At least Josie can do her part for the war effort, since a call has gone out for puzzle-solving and mathematically inclined kids. Just when it looks like Josie won't be able to helpare her excellent ciphering skills going to be ignored just because she's a girl?a mysterious woman solicits the help of Josie and two other puzzler girls: Akiko, a Japanese-American girl whose family is in an internment camp, and Mae, a black girl whose grandmother is a librarian, both also cipher- and comics-loving superhero fans. And somehow, when the three of them get together, they have powers! Like the heroes of their favorite comics, the girls whoosh through the skies, caped rescuers fighting Nazis. Along the way they meet and rescue the women who are the first computer programmers. Mae and Akiko encounter a smidgen of racism, although far, far milder than accuracy would call for; this is a superhero/puzzling/Nazi-thwarting tale, not historical fiction. With interwoven action sequences told in comics panels, the tale has the exciting pace of a superhero adventure.Puzzles readers can solve are the icing on this cake. (historical note, further resources) (Historical fantasy. 9-11) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Kate Hannigan is a noted author with a special passion for stories that empower girls and women. Her picture book biography, A Lady Has the Floor , received four starred reviews and was named a Junior Library Guild Selection. In addition to the 2016 Golden Kite Award for Middle Grade Fiction, The Detective's Assistant also received two starred reviews and was a Booklist Editor's Choice, among many other accolades. Hannigan presented at NCTE on "Our Mighty Girls," about girl power in middle grade fiction, and was a judge for 2018's Golden Kite Awards. Between her active presence on social media (@KateChicago), her work as founder of the Hyde Park/South Side Chicago chapter of SCBWI, and as a busy conference speaker, Kate is an involved, vocal, and respected member of the kid-lit community. Visit her online at KateHannigan.com.

Patrick Spaziante is an American comic book artist and children's book illustrator known for his work for Archie Comics, in particular his interior pencil and cover work for Sonic the Hedgehog , Sonic X , and Sonic Universe.