[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]
Summary
World War II is underway. Men are fighting. Women are helping build battleships. Many Japanese Americans are in camps while others fight for America in the war. And three girls – one Irish, one Black and one Japanese – can’t sit together in a diner for a slice of pie.
The world needs heroes, but supers like Hauntima and Zenobia have disappeared. No one knows where they’ve gone or why they don’t help any more.
Josie, Mae and Akiko are part of a larger group of people who answered an ad for “puzzlers” to help in the war effort. Josie isn’t sure what they’d actually do if they were chosen, but she’s great at codes and puzzles, and her family could use the money. But she’s crushed when the test moderator dumps her test – and any others completed by women – into the trash without even scoring them.
But someone else is also watching the girls. And she thinks they could be even more help to the world than puzzlers. They could be heroes. With a pair of boots, a mask, and a cape from another hero, the girls could become a super team.
Review
This was so much fun, AND I learned a lot!
This is a prose novel with four small sections told in comic book-style art and panels. It’s an interesting format, and I enjoyed it. The timeline – World War II – is interesting with a diverse set of main characters who all have family tied to the war. There’s a strong girl power vibe to this which ties beautifully to the sections about a very real group of women called the Eniac Six, the women who worked on the first electronic computer. The author’s note includes great historic information as well as book and internet recommendations for further information. For me, this gives the book an extra layer of awesome!
The superhero pieces of the story are fun – learning new powers, developing team work, etc. The author does a great job of holding back some key secrets for the sequel. Book 2 of the League of Secret Heroes series – Mask – will release in 2020. Don’t miss this one!