Public School Superhero

by James Patterson, Chris Tebbetts, Cory Thomas (Illustrator)

Inner city middle school student Kenny Wright imagines himself as a superhero-but when he faces peer pressure and bullying, can he find his strength in real life?

Kenny Wright is a kid with a secret identity. In his mind, he's Stainlezz Steel, super-powered defender of the weak. In reality, he's a chess club devotee known as a "Grandma's Boy," a label that makes him an easy target for bullies. Kenny wants to bring a little more Steel to the real world, but the question can he recognize the real strength and goodness inside himself? Or will peer pressure force him to make the worst choice of his life?

Interspersed with fantastic illustrations and comic-book panels, this book aims to both entertain and to provoke dialogue about identity, belonging, and doing the right thing.

Genres: Middle Grade, Fiction, Young Adult, Realistic Fiction, Childrens, School, Superheroes

304 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2015

About the author

Official US Site
Official UK Site
JIMMY Patterson Books
ReadKiddoRead

James Patterson is the most popular storyteller of our time and the creator of such unforgettable characters and series as Alex Cross, the Women’s Murder Club, Jane Smith, and Maximum Ride. He has coauthored #1 bestselling novels with Bill Clinton, Dolly Parton, and Michael Crichton, as well as collaborated on #1 bestselling nonfiction, including The Idaho Four, Walk in My Combat Boots, and Filthy Rich. Patterson has told the story of his own life in the #1 bestselling autobiography James Patterson by James Patterson. He is the recipient of an Edgar Award, ten Emmy Awards, the Literarian Award from the National Book Foundation, and the National Humanities Medal.

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not sure what to think. I liked the story. Thus the 4 stars.

But I couldn't help but wonder about a middle aged white man writing from the perspective of a black inner city kid. Then I saw he had a co-writer. Oh. A slightly younger white dude. So where'd they get the perspective from? He was asked this by Mommy Noire. This was the question and how he responded:

The book is about an African American sixth-grade chess devotee named Kenny Wright who lives in an inner city...and you're not. How did you capture this witty kid and his voice?
I’m also not a teenage girl with wings, but I managed to do OK while writing Maximum Ride. Part of my job as a writer is to explore characters and worlds that are different from my own. I’d visited many schools where African-American students would ask me when I was going to write about them, so I felt it was important for me to explore the Kenny Wright’s world.

Kudos to Patterson for wanting to write a book that included an oft-overlooked perspective. In fact, he donated 100,000 of these books to under-resourced libraries. According a press release, he was "moved to make this donation after recognizing a large and underserved community of children who don’t see themselves portrayed in dynamic, entertaining stories often enough.”

That's good. But I'm just starting to become aware of the problem with white people telling the stories of people of color. I can't figure out if the representation of the characters is really accurate - because, well, I don't have that perspective either. It's not that I merely crave authenticity in my children's books. But when we write from someone else's perspective, we need to make sure it's real. Especially when we're writing about a minority, and we're writing it from a privileged perspective.

[Nataly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Im not a very common reader of James Patterson. But I like his tone. Its funny, its goofy , light hearted, and can be little serious. and always has some truth to it. This book I can see re-reading on a Saturday morning with coral in my bowl, and a spoon half in my mouth. This book was enjoyable, and shed a light on the black communities.

[Klare · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy to read.

[Mehsi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great, and fun book about many topics.

So this was one of my random buys, and I am so glad I brought it with me. Because this was a really fun and great book. Not only about a boy growing up, but also about education, about standing up to yourself, about friendship, about being black. Yes, this book is about a ton of things, and no, I never once felt that it was too much. It just all clicked together, like it was one big puzzle and everything had a place.

Kenny was a great character, and I loved his imagination. And while he says it is mostly due to his grandma, I think he is also very smart. He knows all sorts of facts, he does chess, and much more.
I was rooting for him to tell his grandma about his feelings, about the fact he wanted to just do some things on his own.
I was a bit angry at him for abandoning his older friends, BUT, I can also forgive him. Especially since later he does make it up to them.

Ray-Ray was definitely my favourite character though. I loved that kid. He was sweet, fun, bouncy, streetwise, but you can also see that he is smart as well. I am sure if he gets better chances he may get very far in life. He just needs someone who takes care of him (while I do agree that Nicky did his best, I feel that it may be better for someone who has a healthier lifestyle to help Ray-Ray grow).

I am probably in the minority with this but, I didn't always like the grandma. Pushing kids to read is always a big no-no in my book. Reading is great, and fabulous, but if someone doesn't want to, don't force them. Thanks. The only thing that often causes is that kids are turned away from reading.
Plus I also didn't like how overprotective she was over her grandchild. To the point that he was afraid of telling her when he did something wrong, and that he got bullied because of it. Of course Kenny should have told her sooner what he wanted, how he felt, but eh, I can imagine him not daring to say anything.

The comics were fun, and I did like how they were connected to things in the real world, but I did get a bit bored of them as I just wanted the normal story. As that one was way more interesting to read.
Review to come.

I liked the protest and all they did to get better education. I hope people will be listening, and I hope that the schools in Kenny's area will be better in the near future.

All in all, I would recommend this book to everyone.

Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/

[jisdle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wouldn't really recommend to read.

[Ethan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Public school superhero
James patterson

This book made by the fantastic book writer known as James Patterson.He writes another fantastic book.This book is about a boy in the 6th grade who has a superhero identity.His name is Kenny wright and his superhero name is Stainless steel.He goes through bully's and troubles with the neighbor hood even his own grandma.


He goes through becoming cool to lame again.He teaches his new friend Ray -Ray chess.He even helps the community get there best principal back.They end up having Kenny steal,fight,and stand up to the whole community.He ends up being Ray-Rays best friend and roommate at his g ma's house.He loves his life the book includes humor,emotion,and funny advice that make's sense the other always amazes people with each new adult or child book that he makes

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A young boy lives in a run down community. His school is run down as well. His Grandma starts grouping all the parents together to fix their school. I feel this book connects to some modern schools. This book is very empowering in the way that it show what people can do when together. I was surprised when this happened. I didn't think his Grandma's plan would even work.

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Public School superhero is about a boy named Kenny who lives in a house. On Kenny;s first day at Union middle school he got into a lot of trouble. the book is about 273 pages long. I really liked the book because Kenny has a friend named stainless steel

[Christian · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a good book his bully became his best friend

[Krippy45]

Public School Superhero was written by James Patterson. This book is about a middle school kid named Kenny Wright. Kenny gets bullied a lot in school. So he made this superhero named Stainless Steel. Kenny likes to play chess and lives with his grandma or he likes to call her “ G-ma”. He gets embarrassed a lot from his grandma. That's why he gets bullied a lot from this kid named Ray Ray. Ray Ray and Kenny don't really get along that well but Kenny taught Ray Ray how to play chess and they got to know each other more. Some of the characters names are Tiny, Ms Green,Quashie,( In fact there are two Quashies). This book is kinda like a extracted book of life. It not like real life at all. Like some of the parts in the book like being bullied are being true cause you get bullied a lot in jr high and some of the parts are extracted so the book can be more funny.

One thing that I liked about Public School Superhero is that how a kid wanted to make his superhero come to life. One thing that I did not like about this book is it wasn’t written as a comic book because if it is about a superhero I want it to be a comic book. This book is great for kids that are in jr high. And because it's not violent and inappropriate. This book is worth my time and other people's time. Some kids would like this book because it also has a superhero in it. I like this book because has a regular kid who does normal things.

[Nicol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Public School Superhero is a book. It is about a young boy, Kenny who was starting middle school. Kenny is a straight-A student who was raised by his grandma. Kenny struggles in school with fitting in with bullies. The Union Middle School didn’t have enough money for the needs. Kenny loves drawing. He made a cartoon that is made from stainless steel. Stainless steel represented Kenny’s ideal self. During lunch one day Kenny stands up against a bully Ray-Ray. Kenny later finds himself as a troublemaker.

I enjoyed this book because Kenny became friends with a bullied, named Ray-Ray. For me, it was interesting to see how the friendship of Ray-Ray and Kenny started out as a punishment of chess,then to grow into something more. Also the parents from Union Middle School were protesting. They wanted to make the school better and seeing them able to hear their voice. In my opinion, the part of stainless steel was confusing. For me, the comic novel was different from the actual novel. That confused me on the real story, to me. Overall, I think this is a good book for people who like reading graphic novel.

[Jeffrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the book public school superhero is about a boy named Kenny. He is a sixth grader. He went to a different middle school. Kenny didn’t like the new school because
he got bullied. Kenny got a lot in trouble. The first time he got in trouble was when
Kenny threw food at a boy but they make a deal. If he taught the boy how to play chess,
he will teach Kenny how to not be the victim of bullying. Based on the deal that they make,
they become friends.
While Kenny is trying to figure out how to survive with the bullies
he’s also trying to help the school. The school is kinda poor. There are not many chairs to
sit on. He gave a speech about how to get his principal back to the school and how they
need things for the school.
I like this book because of how he got bullied and then he became friends with
them. My favorite part was when Kenny gave his speech in front of everyone talking
about the school. I recommend this book to the ninth graders because it shows how to
get friends with people may not think you would like. However, it teach students how to
be part of the school.

[Rylan Peters · Rating 4 out of 5]

The back definitely draws you in, and like all James Patterson books, the main character gets into trouble at school, and then it gets better and he ends up a hero. His school is very terrible and he is marching for a better school.

[Rishitha C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a pretty good

[Gfroeschk25]

Public School is written by James Patterson. It’s about a boy named Kenny Wright and his life. In his mind, he is Stainlezz Steel, a superhero that stops criminals (no duh). In the book, he faces problems that range from bullies, a stubborn but well intended grandma, who treats Kenny as a little boy, to a rally against the school(well a rally to fix the school, but you know what i mean). The school in itself is in a bad state (with overcrowding, the principals being fired, to Kenny’s wild imagination.),his grandma,some friends, and some other people are trying to fix it. It also shows what’s happening outside of the school and what Kenny goes through in real life. This book is a must read, very well written and down to earth (along with some superhero action of course). I think the book is interesting and entertaining.

[Xλvier]

I read a book called Public School Superhero by James Patterson. I loved this book because it was a graphic novel. I am a fan of comics and graphic novels; this is a book for all ages. The reason I love this book is it’s funny and a well written book. It’s a good time waster also it's a good read. This book is easy and fun to read.



This book is directed towards smaller kids up to the ages of 8+ this book has nothing too bad for kids like profanity, violence etc. A lot of kids will love this book. The reason they will love this book is that the way it is drawn in a cartoon fashion and how it was illustrated towards the younger ones. There is no downside to this book in my opinion.This Book is very interesting and it’s a great read for all ages. One part that I liked was he was gonna give a speech but he didn't know how to conduct himself or what to say. But he improvises and gets the speech done. The audience was shocked and he surprised himself. Youngers readers who might think they can’t do difficult things like giving speeches or stand up to bullies may be inspired as Kenny learns valuable lessons in Public School Superhero.

[TJ C · Rating 5 out of 5]

In public school super hero, a kid named kenny right has to face middle school, but not any middle school a middle school with 1 class, terrrible principles, and no books in the library! His grandma takes care of him and makes him read every day. He is kinda a nerd and gets bullied at school. He is called grandmas boy. He got into a fight with ray ray his soon friend then had to Teach him chess. He wanted to save the school and his principle because she was finally a good principal. Will he save the school or will forever have a bad school. It was really entertaining, and I liked this book. It made me feel like I can revolutionize the world. I wold recommend this book to people who like comedy and action. I would compare this book to any other book that he has.

[Marianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Though thick, this book is a fast read due to generous sections of comic art and a large, readable text. I'd say my almost third-grade son could read this, if he had a mind to, though it's rather on the long end for him. However, it's broken into short chapters. I think the book might lend itself better to a slightly older age though. I'm really bad at judging but I'd lean towards 5th-7th?

The comic sections are used to portray his inner thoughts, which is fun and effective.

This book tells the story of an inner city boy in a less than fantastic part of town, brought up by his grandmother, and going to school at a disadvantaged school. As a white woman reading it, and knowing it's written by a white man, I feel that it feels kind of like a scrubbed clean experience, but still doing a good effort to try and portray some of the thoughts and experiences of kids with those problems, while still trying to keep content appropriate for a very young audience.

It encourages introspection on bullying and fighting for things you believe in. It has some "don't judge a book by it's cover" moments about other kids in school. It has moments where the protagonist gets pulled into new experiences where he does wrong things, and encourages ways to solve problems, stand up for oneself, and set things right. It doesn't say that things will always be perfect if you protest and stand up for yourself, but encourages it in a realistic way.

Though it's not a perfect book (the pacing felt both good, but somehow a smidge stilted?), I think it's got a lot going for it for young audiences.

[Andrew Knowlton]

In the book Public School Superhero a kid named Kenny Wright thinks of himself as a superhero. He not really a superhero, but he helps out anyone in his town. He lives in the capital of Washington.


One thing that makes the book interesting is the comics of what he is thinking. I liked the one where he is with other superheros. I also like it because it is funny at times, like when his grandma came to the school library to borrow one of his book. I like how when he gets in trouble he thinks of himself as a criminal. The thing that I don’t like about the book is that it is very confusing.

This book is good for people that like funny books and comic books. Also people who like drama would like this book because it gets pretty dramatic. Some people who like superhero books might like it because it has some action in it. People who do not like drama or 3rd person reading I would recommend this book because it does not have to much drama and 3rd person narrating.

These are the reason why people should read Public School Superheros

[Adrian Cardona · Rating 1 out of 5]

The Public School Superhero it’s about a boy that is called Kenny he move to another school. He doesn’t like the school because in that school they're always doing bullying to the youngest , Kenny doesn't like to get in trouble but one day on the cafeteria Ray-Ray was always trying to take Kenny’s food. Because they didn’t like the lunch they were giving. Ones on the cafeteria Ray-Ray tried to take kenny’s food so Kenny throw the food at Ray-Ray. They got into a fight and they got called to the office and the principal gave Kenny two options one of them was that he was gonna stay on detention and the other one was that Kenny was gonna teach teach Ray-Ray how to play chess. Kenny’s gramma didn’t find out that he got in trouble. Kenny’s gramma thought that kenny was a good boy and she never found that kenny was getting in trouble.

In my opinion this book is a pretty good book to read like when you are bored and you don’t wanna do anything this is that type of book that can make you have fun. It is so funny over all the things they did because they were fighting because there is a lot of drama in this book, but overall it was a really good my favorite character was Kenny because he was the smallest kid in almost the whole school. Ray-Ray became best friends with Kenny.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The James Patterson empire, which includes the I Funny: A Middle School Story series and the Middle School: Get Me Out of Here! series, is a perennial classrooom favorite among seventh graders, especially among seventh grade boys. I don't find the books all that appealing from a literary perspective, but coming from a young reader point of view the books are great -- while the books don't appear that babyish the chapters are short, the illustrations are funny, frequent, and assist in comprehension, and the font is generously sized.

I think readers will find a kinship with the main character, Kenny, who tries to do the right thing but sometimes ends up in the wrong places. They will probably also enjoy watching goody-two-shoes Kenny become friends with ansty, troubled, Ray-Ray, and they'll enjoy the comic book chapter interludes.

[Jakob · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book made by the fantastic book writer known as James Patterson.He writes another fantastic book.This book is about a boy in the 6th grade who has a superhero identity.His name is Kenny wright and his superhero name is Stainless steel.He goes through bully's and troubles with the neighbor hood even his own grandma.


He goes through becoming cool to lame again.He teaches his new friend Ray -Ray chess.He even helps the community get there best principal back.They end up having Kenny steal,fight,and stand up to the whole community.He ends up being Ray-Rays best friend and roommate at his g ma's house.He loves his life the book includes humor,emotion,and funny advice that make's sense the other always amazes people with each new adult or child book that he makes.

I would recommend this book to kids who like superheros with a secret identity and books that are funny and this was such a good book I will probily read this book again because it is such a good book.

[Ezekiel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved the book, "Public School Superhero" by James Patterson. The book is about a child named Kenny Wright, who is secretly the superhero, Stainlezz Steel, in his imagination. Kenny is in a very dangerous city and in a very bad school middle school with many bullies. Kenny has to overcome all these challenges while, he plays chess, his favorite thing to do. Still, Kenny looks on the bright side and looks on, just like his father. All in all I loved this book and would recommend this book to anyone who loves justice.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story itself was good. I even liked the comic portion where Kenny imagined himself as Stainlezz Steel. I just don't remember when "urban" became African-American and every speaks slang. For someone like Kenny, who goes straight home, read extensively, doesn't watch television, I'm not sure where he'd become so fluent. I didn't mind most of it, but I felt it was over the top - especially when he talked about learning to "mack" on gir

[Liam · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought the book Public School Superhero was amazing because it had a lot of action in it. I thought the pictures were really detailed. I felt bad for Kenny because he kept lying so he got in trouble but then he told the truth. I'm thought creating the chess club was a great idea because it gets everybody together. I wondered what had happened to Nicky?

[Yael Gonzalez · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love James Patterson and I love his books and this book was no exception.it was like most James Patterson books a kid with a ton of imagination finds himself in a cruddy middle school , But unlike James Patterson books this kid a little extra imagination this kid believed he was a superhero and by the end of the story he actually became one but in a different sense of course.

[Lael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Public School Superhero

This one of the best books that I've read. It tells kids that they should be grateful for what they have. It also tells how some kids live which teach kids a lesson

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

wow.This book was awesome it is about a kid named kenny wright he goes to a new school that he doesn't like.They get a new principal "every month".There are some friends of his that call him grandma's boy.They then get in trouble and he tries to hide his detention from his grandma.

[Watch Books]

Review Coming Soon
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DNF

I have to try again this year but....the "typecasting" on this one.....I have to first get over the deadly cringe and the fact that someone from the "hood" did not write this book. Its complicated. -Zoe

[Zach W · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was great!Every night in my head I would say "One more chapter, just one." That one chapter turned into 5 becaise the book was so engaging.