I used to be plain old ordinary Holly . . . but now I've become EXTRAordinary Holly!
Being struck by lightning and getting an amazing superpower wasn't how Holly thought that her day would go. But now it's happened, she might as well make the most of it . . . if only she could work out how to stop blowing everything up!
Jo Cotterill has had several careers - actor, musician, teacher, newspaper seller - but is now a full-time writer in Oxfordshire. She loves writing for all ages and has published over twenty books. A Library of Lemons is a book from the heart about making connections and what it really means to be human. Jo loves going into schools and talking about books and reading, and can be found making cards and writing music when she's not spending time with her husband and two young daughters.
My nine year old daughter is a very girly girl and her book choices reflect that – she tends to choose books with pink, sparkly covers and fairies or unicorns, so I was interested to see how she would respond to this. It features a female superhero – Holly, who is struck by lightning and gets superpowers. Also, the book is part normal novel and part comic book.
Holly is upset when she argues with her best friend, Imogen, and Holly’s mother is upset about a huge phone mast in Bluehaven where they live. When Holly suddenly develops superpowers she finds herself fighting to control them (she never meant to blow up the classroom…) and also to try to win back Imogen and fight the evil powers that have her in their grip.
This could be a boring re-hash of any superhero story, but it really is quite unique. Holly is a character with depth and her younger brother, who realises what is happening to her, is a perfect foil to help her come to terms with her new powers. I am pleased to say that my daughter loved it and I think it would great appeal to both boys and girls of approx 8+ depending on reading age. The mix of text and cartoon sections helped break up the book and would be especially useful for reluctant readers.
I love love loved this! I can't wait for Ivy to be old enough to be able to read it/be read it.
Aimed at a younger audience (9-12 year olds I think), Holly is an 11 year old girl who inherits superpowers - which I LOVE. It's nice to see ideas that would usually be aimed at a "boys" audience, being made accessible and appealing to young girls too.
The story addresses a number of issues such as falling out of friendships and dealing with emotions, using technology, uploading videos without permission, disobeying parents, and being safe out and about, absent parents (in the forces), and sibling relationships - and because its a story about a superhero there's obviously lashings of "don't do this at home" behaviour! It's lovely to see a story with a main character who has a really good relationship with her brother and who stars along side her throughout.
LONG LIVE FEMALE SUPERHEROES!
Part book, part graphic novel/comic it's a really nice combo and the illustrations are great.
This was a cute book. I'm pretty sure that I enjoyed it but it was a little choppy going between the narrative and the graphic portions.
When CyberSky, a cellphone company, comes to town they attempt to appease the townspeople by giving them each a free phone. There are all kinds of games to play on the phones and Holly can't help but notice that the quiz game has taken over her best friend Imogen's life. Imogen blows off Holly's birthday to go on a tour of the CyberSky building but she doesn't come home that night. It's a good thing that Holly was struck by a strange ball of lightning reflected off the CyberSky tower because now she has super power and she's going to have to use them. With her comic-obsessed little brother Joe, Holly goes in search of Imogen and may have to take down a nemesis in the process.
I can certainly see the appeal of this one and it was pretty good. I just wish that there were more graphic portions. If you have a superhero loving middle grader, this would probably be great for them.
After being struck by lightning, Holly suddenly finds herself with awesome superpowers and is thrown into a world of chaos (and accidentally blowing things up!) This story is a great take on classic superhero tales with adventure, family and relationships all thrown in. With a mix of prose and graphic novel cartoons, this book will appeal to a wide range of readers and is perfect for young girls wanting to read something different.
This book is about a girl who acquires the power to control whitening which if for good. Holly is a 11 year old girl who got struck by lighting. Holly's problem is her best friend went missing and she has to try to find her. Holly’s has a strong relationship with her two best friends to the point where she risked it all for them. The book is for kids in the 8 to 14 category it’s for boys or girls. This book is very similar to the 1998 book Electri girl.
I got this to see if it would be a good one for my nephews. It was a fine middle grade superhero story. I liked how some of it was told in graphic novel form. But I didn't like how the novel portion was in first person and graphic novel portion was in third person. I think that made it choppy to read.
OMG - this is a totally brilliant book. I love the link to the comic books all the way through and to have it told in part comic style is so original. It works really well. Fabulous female lead, great story, really fast, funny and exciting. Buy it. Read it. You'll love it!
This is superb and much needed, as there are very female superheroes. I loved the style of part comic it works really well and would be a good introduction to graphic novels for those who aren't sure.
I loved reading this book and I am VERY happy I dicovered it. This book has many questions(I had to go back sometimes to get some clues), but I had a good time reading and solving those mysteries.
This took me FOREVER to read as it was one I dipped into lightly while I was doing reading classes with Year 7s and 8s. I love the format- easy to read, part graphic novel, but mostly novel and some comic style words highlighted on the page. Great one for not-so-confident readers. The storyline feels a little forced- what happens when a dodgy mobile phone company sets up a tower in a small town and provides all the kids with mobile phones... and what happens when one girl gets struck by an electro-force and then becomes supercharged? Well, you get, Electrigirl!
I got this book for my 9-year-old daughter (the book is aimed at 9+ but the material is suitable to read to younger children). I read the first couple of chapters to her and stopped for the day to read some more the next day. She obviously liked the story and wanted more so took the book off me and read the rest of it all in one sitting (probably takes 2-hours or so). She was really absorbed in it and even exclaimed audibly "Whoah!" at one point. What this means is she loved the book and as a consequence the book deserves a five-star rating.
I read it too. The main character is Holly Sparkes, a normal schoolgirl, who is approaching her 12th birthday. She is the narrator and sounds as you'd expect a smart girl of that age to sound like. But she gains magical electrical powers when she gets electrified. Her comic-loving younger brother loves her new superpowers and immediately installs himself as her mentor.
Meanwhile Holly's best friend disappears (the Whoah moment for my daughter) and Electrigirl, aka Holly, goes on a mission to find her, coming up against her "evil nemesis" Professor MacAvity along the way.
A proper adventure for girls (although boys would probably think it is cool too). It is part comic too with the dramatic scenes being drawn out comic-style. What better way to read about Holly getting hit by "weird green lightning" than by seeing it in comic form. This works well. And the characters are mainly female too - this book has some true girl power!
A great read for 8-12's. First in a series of books about a girl who is imbued with powers of electricity after a freak lightning strike. It was easy-to-read, light-hearted, funny and alongside the standard page layout telling the story, it switches to comic strip whenever the main character, Holly, uses her powers. A brilliant addition to the superhero genre for children.
Electrigirl by Jo Cotterill and Cathy Brett is part novel, part graphic novel and all amazing. It follows Holly, an ordinary girl who, due to an extraordinary event, gets superpowers. More specifically, she has electric powers, which IMHO in seriously cool. This was a fab concept, and I LOVED the story and the character of Holly.