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Jack Majors: Superhero
Book by Berketa, Travis
236 pages, Paperback
First published April 5, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
April 11, 2013
A book that moves right away from Travis Berketa's Dark Heart series, focusing on a teenage boy called Jack Majors who is your average kid trying to make it through all of the difficulties that secondary schooling brings. Of course, to make the book a bit more interesting a complication must be brought in and it arrives in the form of a black book with no title and no distinguishing marks at all.
As the title, Jack Majors: Superhero, suggests, Jack finds that he has developed super powers which take him out of his normal world into that of superheroes and super-villains. With super strength, flight and 'The Buzzing' (an ability to sense danger, much like Spiderman's spider-sense), Jack Majors is trying to sort out his life while attempting to control his abilities.
Throughout the book we find some amazingly funny and unique characters; the best of them being the school's principal, Mr Robert A. Clash, who takes himself very seriously, but in actual fact is an absolute push over with the students. A perfect example of this is when Jack is taken into the principal's office for running outside of the school grounds after being chased by bullies, but doesn't want to admit that he is being bullied, and Mr Clash's response is "Now what are we going to do about this leaving the school business?" Jack answers with "I could pick up papers at lunch time," hoping to get off lightly, but Mr Clash states, "...I'm not going to jump into such drastic actions without proper consideration first." In the end, Jack is sent home for the day so that he can explain what happened.
Other great characters include; John Majors (Jack's angry, crippled Dad), Meg Majors (Jack's paranoid mother), Miss Hardcourt (the Physical Education teacher), Fredrick Rolley (the bully who appears to grow a conscience), Mr Sherlock (the Woodwork teacher), Mr Elman (the mathematics teacher, who the students call The Owlman) and Mr Chippatirajinati (better known as Mr Chip the Information and Communications Technology teacher).
This novel is not just about superheroes, although that is the main plot; it covers a whole lot of genres - there's action and adventure, comedy, romance (as awkward as any teenage romances may be) and mystery as the reader is left asking many questions about characters and their intentions.
The only thing that may hold this book back, which shouldn't really affect Australian readers, is that it has many Australian colloquialisms that people from other countries may not understand. It doesn't affect the understanding of the story, but you may miss out on a few laughs.
Overall, a superb book that I'd recommend for any teenager right through to adults who haven't lost their childish side.
As the title, Jack Majors: Superhero, suggests, Jack finds that he has developed super powers which take him out of his normal world into that of superheroes and super-villains. With super strength, flight and 'The Buzzing' (an ability to sense danger, much like Spiderman's spider-sense), Jack Majors is trying to sort out his life while attempting to control his abilities.
Throughout the book we find some amazingly funny and unique characters; the best of them being the school's principal, Mr Robert A. Clash, who takes himself very seriously, but in actual fact is an absolute push over with the students. A perfect example of this is when Jack is taken into the principal's office for running outside of the school grounds after being chased by bullies, but doesn't want to admit that he is being bullied, and Mr Clash's response is "Now what are we going to do about this leaving the school business?" Jack answers with "I could pick up papers at lunch time," hoping to get off lightly, but Mr Clash states, "...I'm not going to jump into such drastic actions without proper consideration first." In the end, Jack is sent home for the day so that he can explain what happened.
Other great characters include; John Majors (Jack's angry, crippled Dad), Meg Majors (Jack's paranoid mother), Miss Hardcourt (the Physical Education teacher), Fredrick Rolley (the bully who appears to grow a conscience), Mr Sherlock (the Woodwork teacher), Mr Elman (the mathematics teacher, who the students call The Owlman) and Mr Chippatirajinati (better known as Mr Chip the Information and Communications Technology teacher).
This novel is not just about superheroes, although that is the main plot; it covers a whole lot of genres - there's action and adventure, comedy, romance (as awkward as any teenage romances may be) and mystery as the reader is left asking many questions about characters and their intentions.
The only thing that may hold this book back, which shouldn't really affect Australian readers, is that it has many Australian colloquialisms that people from other countries may not understand. It doesn't affect the understanding of the story, but you may miss out on a few laughs.
Overall, a superb book that I'd recommend for any teenager right through to adults who haven't lost their childish side.
May 11, 2023
This is not a review, as such, but the reasons why I wrote this book (I figure if I reviewed it, it might be a bit biased).
Jack Majors: Superhero was a series that I always wanted to write, but took a long time getting to it. Well, actually, Jack Majors was not the actual book I wanted to write, I just wanted to write a superhero book!
In 2006, my then Grade 5/6 students in Stawell (VIC, Australia) said to me, "Why don't you write a book about us? It can have superheroes and it can have us as the characters!", as a result of hearing about my first book Dark Heart: Images of a City being in the process of getting published (and also the fact that I told them that that particular book was for adults only). So they set me a task of creating a story that would interest all of them and also interest me, as I had to write it.
It wasn't too hard coming up with the story; as stated previously, I had always wanted to write a superhero book. So I got to work deciphering characters and who would be a hero and who would be a villain, and it became too much. So I began writing about a boy called 'Jack' (not based on any of the students) and slowly the story emerged and then various students got parts and soon all students either had main roles or bit parts based on how the story flowed and the character traits I needed. In the end, I wasn't able to get that particular class of students to read it, as they had moved on and I had returned to Melbourne (VIC, Australia), so I got my next class to listen to it and received feedback on what worked and what didn't. With each new class that heard the story, I got less criticism and more positive feedback (not that I had a lot of criticism to begin with, it was just girls wanted more relationship scenes between Jack and various girls, while boys wanted more superhero action).
I am very proud of this book and look forward to continuing on with this series, especially delving into the unique and quirky characters a bit more. I hope that you all enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it!
Jack Majors: Superhero was a series that I always wanted to write, but took a long time getting to it. Well, actually, Jack Majors was not the actual book I wanted to write, I just wanted to write a superhero book!
In 2006, my then Grade 5/6 students in Stawell (VIC, Australia) said to me, "Why don't you write a book about us? It can have superheroes and it can have us as the characters!", as a result of hearing about my first book Dark Heart: Images of a City being in the process of getting published (and also the fact that I told them that that particular book was for adults only). So they set me a task of creating a story that would interest all of them and also interest me, as I had to write it.
It wasn't too hard coming up with the story; as stated previously, I had always wanted to write a superhero book. So I got to work deciphering characters and who would be a hero and who would be a villain, and it became too much. So I began writing about a boy called 'Jack' (not based on any of the students) and slowly the story emerged and then various students got parts and soon all students either had main roles or bit parts based on how the story flowed and the character traits I needed. In the end, I wasn't able to get that particular class of students to read it, as they had moved on and I had returned to Melbourne (VIC, Australia), so I got my next class to listen to it and received feedback on what worked and what didn't. With each new class that heard the story, I got less criticism and more positive feedback (not that I had a lot of criticism to begin with, it was just girls wanted more relationship scenes between Jack and various girls, while boys wanted more superhero action).
I am very proud of this book and look forward to continuing on with this series, especially delving into the unique and quirky characters a bit more. I hope that you all enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it!
November 3, 2012
This was one of the most exciting books of the year. I had it given to me by a friend who recommended it and I kind of left it on the bookshelf for some time. Stupid me! This book was not just about a kid becoming a superhero, it was funny and even has a spot of romance. If you're looking for a book that you can't put down - this is the one!
Characters: All of them are unique with their own quirks and their hilarious. Wait until you see Jack's Mum and Dad in action. My favourite character is the principal, Mr Clash.
Setting: Probably needed a bit more description, but I could picture what was happening.
Plot: It twists and turns and does a double backflip. Just when I thought something was going to happen, it didn't, which led me on another journey. Loved it!
Overall: LOOKING FORWARD TO THE NEXT BOOK!
Characters: All of them are unique with their own quirks and their hilarious. Wait until you see Jack's Mum and Dad in action. My favourite character is the principal, Mr Clash.
Setting: Probably needed a bit more description, but I could picture what was happening.
Plot: It twists and turns and does a double backflip. Just when I thought something was going to happen, it didn't, which led me on another journey. Loved it!
Overall: LOOKING FORWARD TO THE NEXT BOOK!
September 16, 2012
I was pretty excited to read this book and I was not disappointed.
The characters and the story were interesting, it was well written and it kept me entertained the entire time. I look forward to reading more of this series.
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
The characters and the story were interesting, it was well written and it kept me entertained the entire time. I look forward to reading more of this series.
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
February 6, 2013
I really wanted to like this book, but couldn't help feeling like it struggled because it couldn't decide who it was supposed to appeal to. With a few minor tweaks (mostly concerning some language I know many parents would disagree with) this book would have been wonderful for kids (boys in particular) in Grades 4, 5 and 6. But by making the hero of the story a Grade 11 student, and adding in a bit (not a huge amount, and not hugely explicit, but still) of swearing, I don't feel like I could recommend it to children that age. It seems like Berketa wanted to make it appeal to teens, and I don't know that the story would do that.
June 23, 2012
This book will be massive. It could be the next Harry Potter! Jack Majors is a normal teenager who finds out that his world isn't really what he thought it was. We're introduced to other superheroes and supervillains, and the teachers that work at Jack's school are hilarious. You really need to read it if only to see the Principal, Mr Clash and the hard-ass teacher, Miss Hardcourt. This is a great read and I highly recommend it!
August 18, 2012
Awesome book! Jack Majors: Superhero has many themes that are relevant in today's society, plus it has the extra added bonus of involving superheroes. The characters are quirky and all help to make the story what it is. Well done on this one and I can't wait for the next one.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews