Rise of the Robot Army

Gr 5–7—This follow-up to Attack of the Alien Horde relies on alternating sections of text and comics to continue the adventures of a middle schooler who can transform into a superhero. Miles has spent the summer using a magical cape to secretly change into the powerful Gilded and save his fellow citizens of Atlanta from crime and natural disasters. But when he starts eighth grade, he finds he's still an average kid. Embarrassed by the school bully and hurt by his mother's move to Florida, Miles uses the cape to cheer himself up. This attracts the attention of a megalomaniacal U.S. Army general intent on destroying Gilded with the titular Robot Army. It's an exciting premise with appealing characters, but the first 20 pages of the book contain little action as they detail the evil general's motivations and the protagonist's backstory. The pace picks up once the comic inserts start, and Miles, along with old friend Henry and new ally Lenore, battles the general, with a satisfying conclusion. The illustrator has chosen to draw Miles as a light-skinned boy and his alter ego Gilded as a bald, dark-skinned man, a detail that's not addressed anywhere else in the novel.