In this lively romp from newcomer Bacon, sixth-grader Joshua Dread is contending with the knowledge that his parents are secretly supervillains who periodically try to take over and/or destroy the world, only to inevitably be beaten down by heroes like the telegenic, endorsement-happy Captain Justice. Just as Joshua's own power of spontaneous combustion emerges, he faced with a worse problem: weird smoke creatures are kidnapping supervillains, and his parents are the latest to vanish. Now Joshua must save the worst villains on the planet, and his only allies are his best friend, Milton, and Sophie, a new girl with secrets of her own. Despite predictable moments, Bacon's deadpan narrative hums along with outrageous details, humor, and action and is complemented by Dorman's suitably heroic b&w portraits of the characters. A hero with a double life and a colossal set of parental issues, Joshua handles zombies, killer robots, and teenage girls without losing his cool. Bacon's affectionately playful take on the superhero genre introduces bombastic personalities without reducing the characters to caricatures. Ages 9-12. Agent: Sarah Burnes, the Gernert Company. (Sept.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

"It's embarrassing to run into your parents when you're with people from school, especially when your parents are about to destroy the planet." Sixth-grader Joshua has always had to contend with his parents' secret identities, The Botanist and Dr. Dread--the Dread Duo. They keep trying to destroy the world, and Captain Justice keeps thwarting them. Now, it looks like Josh might be Gyfted (Genetic Youth Fluctuation, Triggering Extraordinary Development). He's not sure how he feels about that. Does he want to be a supervillain? He certainly doesn't want to shill for every product on the planet like Captain Justice. To make matters worse, when strange creatures attack the Vile Fair, a yearly expo for supervillains, the world's most evil villains begin vanishing. When the Dread Duo fall prey, can Josh solve the mystery and save his parents? Bacon's debut is a fast and often funny entry in the kid-with-superpowers subgenre. Joshua, his normal friend Milton and new friend Sophie all contend with real preteen troubles (bullies and gossip) as well as those particular to the Gyfted. Dorman's occasional black-and-white illustrations of the characters are a nice addition, but there are far too few of them. A twisty, swiftly moving adventure sure to please superhero fans. (Fantasy. 8-12)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Gr 4-7-Sixth grader Joshua Dread's life is far from ordinary. As the son of the super villains, the Dread Duo, Josh spends most of his time traveling from town to town. Living in Sheepdale for a while, Josh has adjusted to a fairly normal existence, when he becomes "gyfted" with the power of spontaneous combustion. When new girl Sophie shows up at school, Josh finds another "gyfted" teen, but Sophie is also the daughter of Captain Justice, his parents' archenemy. When his parents are taken by smoke creatures, it is up to Josh, with help from Sophie and his "ungyfted" best friend, Milton, to help save the day. Bacon has developed an entertaining and clever plot and two dynamite tweens with superpowers in this novel (Delacorte, 2012). Narrator Maxwell Glick captures the comic antics of the superheroes and villains perfectly and his voices for Joshua and Sophie reflect their unique personalities. A fun read filled with comedy and daring antics. The second book in the series, Joshua Dread: The Nameless Hero, is scheduled for September 2013 publication.-Sarah Flood, Breckinridge County Public Library, Hardinsburg, KY (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Unbeknownst to anyone else in Sheepsdale, New York, Joshuas parents are the Dread Duo, two of the worlds most dastardly supervillains. They spend their time cooking up evil schemes, which are inevitably foiled by their nemesis, Captain Justice -- a product-endorsing blowhard who uses weapons such as the Protective Umbrella of Virtue to grand effect. To Joshua, however, the Dread Duo is still Mom and Dad. So when theyre kidnapped, along with a host of other villains, by mysterious smoke creatures, its up to Joshua to rescue his parents and save the day. He does so in spectacular fashion, armed with a newly discovered, hard-to-control talent for spontaneous combustion and some help from his friends, including Captain Justices daughter. Joshuas understated, deadpan narration is usually quite funny (Its embarrassing to run into your parents when youre with people from school, especially when your parents are about to destroy the planet), and imaginative details (such as the zombies that can be mollified with tofu, and the evil lair thats controlled via smartphone apps) add to the fun. Black-and-white caricatures of each character, interspersed throughout, enhance the comic-book vibe. rachel l. smith (c) Copyright 2012. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.