THE MINOR MIRACLE

An ordinary seventh grader’s discovery that he’s really a superhero leads to trials and tribulations aplenty.

Noah’s yen to stand out comes home with a vengeance when he’s informed that he is in truth a gravitar. He needs only a course in martial arts training to control his gravity-manipulating powers before joining a secret society dedicated to protecting “all that is true, good, and beautiful!” Classmate Haley, supposedly a close friend, turns out to be a gravitar herself—and assigned to monitor him. Then Noah’s long-missing great-uncle Saul, a gravitar outcast with a nefarious agenda, shows up, promising him a shortcut to far greater powers. As if finding ways to practice his unruly abilities without revealing them in public isn’t challenge enough, Noah’s no longer sure who to trust. For all her protagonist’s emotional conflicts, Davis keeps the tone light, the pacing quick, and the first-person narrative—which is punctuated by monochrome cartoon illustrations and explosive sound effects to mark twists and revelations—simple. Spider-Man’s classic line about great power and great responsibility crops up far too often, and the casting is hackneyed: Haley is typecast as the super-organized, overachieving girl, and chubby, Black, trumpet-playing bestie Rodney alternates between providing comic relief and being a recovery project for the white leads. But at least by the end an evil scheme is foiled, and Noah knows who his real friends are.

Predictable in course, cast, and outcome but sweetened by a strong dose of wish fulfillment.