Supernatural Hero

by Eran Gadot

 

This is a heart rending novel that no pre-teen and his or her parents want to miss. Andy, the main character, is at that age where he is neither a child nor an adult. Sometimes he tries to do adult things and is treated like a child. Other times, his parents treat him like a child and his reaction is much closer to an adult’s. Andy is a self-declared nerd and is especially good at math but doesn’t play sports. He lives with his parents and older sister, Lynn who only has rude comments for him. She has no qualms about making fun of her brother in front of her friends. Since both Andy’s parents are busy, Andy mostly relies on his grandfather for moral support. They get along great!

 

Andy is especially keen on winning the heart of Zoe, a classmate. He feels that this is impossible because he is a nerd and she is popular. In the meantime, Andy learns that his grandpa has terminal cancer and dies shortly thereafter. This marks a difficult time for the whole family. Something very peculiar happens to Andy—he can see his grandpa’s spirit and talk to him and his grandpa can talk back to him too. This becomes a big issue for his parents and they want to take him to a therapist. Andy tries not to talk out loud to his grandpa while he’s around other people but he is nevertheless overheard on occasion. Andy’s grandpa continues to give him advice, specifically to ask Zoe out on a date.

 

This book touches my emotions. It takes me back to when I was in the sixth grade and had problems like Andy and I wanted to be more grown up, but couldn’t always. It was translated from another language, but I wouldn’t know that if it weren’t stated at the beginning of the book. It reads like a native English text! I’m also drawn to the supernatural issue. Andy’s grandpa cares about him so much that he lingered around Earth to talk to him and give him guidance. That’s amazing. What a brilliant move by the author!

 

This book should be required reading at school because it is both interesting (I couldn’t put it down) and it teaches core values such as family unity and unconditional support. On that same note, parents should read Supernatural Hero along with their children too because it shows them the hidden things that children don’t always tell their parents for fear they won’t understand. Buy it here!