Captain Nobody

Captain Nobody

Dean Pitchford

$6.99, Paperback

Puffin, 2010

978-0142416679

January 6^th, 2012

Genre: Realistic, Humor

Age: 8+

Description: Newt Newman’s used to his older brother, Chris, being in the spotlight as the town’s local football hero. During the biggest game of the season the night before Halloween a terrible accident occurs which puts Chris into a coma. With his normally clueless parents now being ever more preoccupied with the accident, Newt’s best friends, Cecil and J.J., try to take his mind off of the accident by helping him create the Ultimate Halloween Costume—wearing Chris’s old hand-me-downs, Newt becomes “Captain Nobody” which reflects Newt’s constant feelings of being a nobody compared to his older brother—especially when many people constantly say “I didn’t know Chris had a brother.” Feeling strong and more confident in his costume, Newt is reluctant to actually dawn normal clothing again and he finds himself fulfilling the role 24/7. Soon he finds himself doing more and more heroic deeds—all by accident but heroic nonetheless, such as going into a jewelry shop to tell the owners about the grammar error on their store sign and inadvertently stopping a burglary. While he finds the confidence to help save others can Captain Nobody save the person he cares most about—Chris?

Opinion: Spanning a time period of just six days, the plot of Captain Nobody is quick and the humor will attract reluctant readers and others looking for a good story about a nobody who becomes a somebody. In the end, it all works out. Newt saves a number of people and even helps the school rival who is being blamed for Chris’s accident. During the obvious family reunion at the end many people see Captain Nobody’s face everywhere and start coming forward telling the news how Newt saved them in various ways.