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Cape

Cape
By Kate Hannigan
New York: Aladdin, 2019. Fiction.

It's 1946 and Josie, like the rest of Philadelphia, is feeling the strain of living in war-time. Her father is away fighting in the Pacific, her mother works until late into the night,  Josie is left picking up shifts at a diner and caring for her younger brothers, and to top it off  -- all of the superheroes have disappeared. When she sees an ad in the newspaper calling for puzzlers, Josie is excited to help in the war effort in a bigger way - especially once she is recruited by the mysterious Mrs. Boudica with two other girls - Mae and Akiko. Before they know it, the three girls are transported into a world of secrets, spies, and real life superheroes - just in time to save the city from a new supervillian.

Superhero fans will love this book full of cheesy one-liners and references to vintage comic books. This series opener introduces three diverse and likable main characters and does a good job of grounding their real historical concerns in a world filled with superheroes. This historical fiction meets retro comic book adventure is a fun new series filled with girls who get things done.

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