Nadia Quick is Superman mad. Without a doubt, she believes him to be the very best superhero. Not because of all the cool stuff he can do, but the fact that he has an alter-ego Clark Kent, and has to hide his superhero status at least half of the time.

Of course, Superman’s love interest is Reporter Louis Lane, who Nadia adores and models herself on daily. Every chance she can get, Nadia is scoping out her neighbourhood with her trusty Wonder Dog (real name) at her side, looking for a scoop.

Outside one day when a storm hits and Wonder Dog is suddenly swept away towards a looming waste water tunnel, a boy appears out of nowhere! He dives into the rushing waters, grabs Wonder Dog’s collar just before she is swept away, and with Nadia’s help drags himself and her dog to safety.

And then he is gone…

What a scoop! Nothing else matters now. She has a real life superhero on her street, with the powers of invisibility! She focuses on finding The Invisible Boy. Where does he live? Why has no-one seen him before? Can he really turn invisible?

She finally tracks him down, but he is nothing like she expected. If she wants to talk to him, there are rules. She must speak softly, never tell anyone about him, and never come to his house on the weekends.

Superheroes always have a nemesis – a villain to defeat, and Nadia has pinned that title on another boy on the street. Ever since she saw Kenny smash one of her canoe paddles, she has named him Paddle Boy. She refuses to speak to him, never asking why he did what he did.

As the school holidays go by, Nadia soon deems The Invisible Boy a friend. His name is Eli, and despite always wearing the same clothes, working constantly in his backyard and making her stick to his strict rules, they have fun.

One day, her aunt says something in conversation, that opens Nadia’s eyes to the truth about Eli. How will she get anyone to believe her?

Nadia is a quirky 12 yr old, determined to be a journalist like her much loved Lois Lane. Looking for a scoop to enter a junior journalist competition, she inadvertently stumbles on something too terrible to contemplate on her own street.

I loved her determination to find the truth whenever she got her teeth into an idea, and how she made friends with two boys who had previously dubbed her weird or nosy. She reminded me a little of Anne of Green Gables, who is strong minded, won’t be swayed from a truth no-one else will see, and also an organiser – making things happen.

Before each chapter is a page of superhero comic strip, showing each of the characters in their superhero or villain personalities, taking the reader into Nadia’s imaginative view of what’s happening around her.

With a thread of social media woven through (Nadia’s mum), a matchmaking plan being hatched, and acts of kindness between the story strings, this tale of friendship, loyalty and the terrible truth of human trafficking is a great read.

The Author’s Note in the front of the book is sobering and should be read by all.

Author – Alyssa Hollingsworth

Age – 10+

Read a review for another Alyssa Hollingworth book – Click on the Cover

(2021, Piccadilly Books, Allen & Unwin, Human Trafficking, Slavery, Fear, Threats, Superheroes, Humour, Funny, Friendship, Dog, Animals, Loyalty, Flee, Social Media, Blogging, Family, Matchmaking, Forgiveness, Superman, Lois Lane, Reporter, Journalism, Competition, Courage, Crime, Secret)