Superheroes Don’t Eat Veggie Burgers

In this empowering coming-of-age story, Charlie Burger’s only goal as sixth grade begins is to get through the year without any trouble, a goal scorned by his best friend Franki. “You’ve got a lot of heart—but zero guts,” she tells him. Franki believes in standing up to bullies like Boomer Bodbreath, who singles out Charlie on the first day, pantsing him in front of the whole cafeteria. While Charlie may tend to be passive in his everyday life, on the pages of the journal given to him by his quirky science teacher, he dreams up the adventures of “Dude Explodius, Ruler of Everything,” who uses his superpowers to turn Charlie’s younger sister into a dog and put bullies in their place. But when things Charlie writes seem to start having real-life repercussions, he wonders if the journal might be magic. While pranks and pratfalls are front and center, debut author Kelley is attentive to the angst and confusing changes of middle school, whether it’s Charlie’s growing crush on Franki or the harsh realities of Franki’s home life. Ages 9–12. (Jan.)