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My Brother is a Superhero #3
My Evil Twin Is a Supervillain: By the winner of the Waterstones Children's Book Prize
When Luke is confronted with Stellar, his superpowered twin from another dimension, he is highly suspicious. No one travels through time and space without a plan, and that plan is usually EVIL. So what does Stellar want? And why is he so UNBELIEVABLY IRRITATING? From his superhero hair to his rocket-powered shoes, Stellar is up to no good, and Luke must BRING HIM DOWN!
- GenresChildrensSuperheroes
223 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 29, 2017
17 people are currently reading
162 people want to read
About the author
David Solomons
45 books57 followersDavid Solomons has been writing screenplays for many years. His first feature film was an adaptation of ‘Five Children and It’ (starring Kenneth Branagh and Eddie Izzard, with gala screenings at the Toronto and Tribeca Film Festivals). His latest film is a romantic comedy set in the world of publishing, ‘Not Another Happy Ending’ (Karen Gillan, Iain de Caestecker), which closed the Edinburgh International Film Festival. My Brother is a Superhero is his first novel for children. He was born in Glasgow and now lives in Dorset with his wife (and novelist) Natasha, and son, Luke.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
May 17, 2022
The first book was the best, this was second best and the second book was the third best. There was nothing wrong with it, it's just that that the first and third books are much more funny. Anyways, if you've not read this book before, it's best you don't read the next part, because it contains half-spoilers.
It's that my favourite bit was at the end of the story when Luke and Zack switch bodies. It was hilarious. Anyways, I can't believe that in Stellar's universe Zack died! I kinda feel bad for Stellar.
It's that my favourite bit was at the end of the story when Luke and Zack switch bodies. It was hilarious. Anyways, I can't believe that in Stellar's universe Zack died! I kinda feel bad for Stellar.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 18, 2017
So clever and funny! Especially love the chapter titles this time :)
July 12, 2017
whilst maybe not quite a strong story as the previous entries this is still a cracking good read. there are a few words which i think some adults might struggle with but by exploring such concepts as Schrödinger's cat this is a great way to introduce anyone to the mind-blowing concepts of multiverses , trans-dimensionalism and quantum theory.
The character certainly have grown and progressed as the series has developed and one of the things I really liked is the examination of the relationship between the two brothers. This is brought into contrast when an alternate version of our main protagonist arrives from another universe blessed with the super powers he missed out on.
This looks to be something that will explored further in the next book and i can't wait.
The character certainly have grown and progressed as the series has developed and one of the things I really liked is the examination of the relationship between the two brothers. This is brought into contrast when an alternate version of our main protagonist arrives from another universe blessed with the super powers he missed out on.
This looks to be something that will explored further in the next book and i can't wait.
August 16, 2022
Okay, first off...this series is set in the U.K.?! I must have gotten the American editions of the first two books, which apparently scrubbed any obvious references to that (the first book even mentions "the president" being on TV). Some things make sense in retrospect, but it just really threw me. Imagine watching a TV show for two seasons, with American characters living in Unnamed American Town, and then in season three they're suddenly Brits living in London with no explanation. Luke keeps saying "bloke" and I don't know how to deal with that.
Also, "Star Lad?" That's a perfectly acceptable, old-school superhero name. How could you improve on the delightful terribleness of "Star Guy?" Everything else I can overlook, but that's unforgiveable.
Anyway...
I liked the main plot of this book, with its moral ambiguity and complex characterization. That said, there are a lot of goofy bits. I like the combination of silliness and seriousness in theory, but...like, I can overlook the thing where their superpowers don't work on , but saying that you can put them in a room with them and it basically acts like kryptonite? That's a bit too much (and unnecessary, since Stellar is out of juice in the next scene anyway). The ending also went on too long, with too many twists that get resolved just for a new one to pop up.
Another thing that bothered me, during the brief period when (do I need to spoiler-tag that?): I honestly would have liked it if the other characters figured it out themselves. I mean, they know about Stellar, Lara at least knows that he's up to something, and he's not exactly making it hard to figure out. You'd think Serge, at least, would recognize the same jokes that have been made in a hundred other stories like this.
Relatedly, "Zack never believes Luke" is becoming a bit repetitive. At one point he even lampshades the fact that this has screwed him over before, but even in the above scene he just adamantly won't listen. (Actually, it would have been funny if we used Stellar's bad acting to explain why Zack didn't believe Luke. )
Anyway, it was a good story overall, I just wish that Solomons had cut some bits and focused more on others. I actually want to know more about Stellar's world and what exactly went wrong there. They say it's because Stellar didn't have S.C.A.R.F. to help him, but what does that mean? Did Christopher Talbot capture Stellar, and he had to break out himself? Did the aliens attack this world, too? Et cetera.
Also, "Star Lad?" That's a perfectly acceptable, old-school superhero name. How could you improve on the delightful terribleness of "Star Guy?" Everything else I can overlook, but that's unforgiveable.
Anyway...
I liked the main plot of this book, with its moral ambiguity and complex characterization. That said, there are a lot of goofy bits. I like the combination of silliness and seriousness in theory, but...like, I can overlook the thing where their superpowers don't work on , but saying that you can put them in a room with them and it basically acts like kryptonite? That's a bit too much (and unnecessary, since Stellar is out of juice in the next scene anyway). The ending also went on too long, with too many twists that get resolved just for a new one to pop up.
Another thing that bothered me, during the brief period when (do I need to spoiler-tag that?): I honestly would have liked it if the other characters figured it out themselves. I mean, they know about Stellar, Lara at least knows that he's up to something, and he's not exactly making it hard to figure out. You'd think Serge, at least, would recognize the same jokes that have been made in a hundred other stories like this.
Relatedly, "Zack never believes Luke" is becoming a bit repetitive. At one point he even lampshades the fact that this has screwed him over before, but even in the above scene he just adamantly won't listen. (Actually, it would have been funny if we used Stellar's bad acting to explain why Zack didn't believe Luke. )
Anyway, it was a good story overall, I just wish that Solomons had cut some bits and focused more on others. I actually want to know more about Stellar's world and what exactly went wrong there. They say it's because Stellar didn't have S.C.A.R.F. to help him, but what does that mean? Did Christopher Talbot capture Stellar, and he had to break out himself? Did the aliens attack this world, too? Et cetera.
May 13, 2025
A fun middle chapter to the My Brother is a Superhero saga. I enjoyed the first two novels in the series so much that I bought the last three since none of my libraries seemed to be able to get any of them. There was an initial culture shock, because I'm pretty sure the first two books had been "American-ized" for an audience here in the States. The last three (at least the copies I've purchased it seems) have gone through that same treatment, so it seems like almost two different casts of characters since they're using different names for some of the characters, different slang to match the intended audience, et cetera. Nonetheless, a very fun book and I'm looking forward to reading the final two installments.
May 26, 2019
As with the rest of the series so far, this is a solid book and well suited for its target age group. My son enjoyed it very much. And like the rest of the books so far, it also ends in a cliffhanger. Guess I have to get the next one in the series...
July 7, 2017
Book review to follow next week on www.mrripleysenchantedbooks.com
September 4, 2018
This series is popular with kids but as an adult it's not for me.
February 5, 2019
My son got this for his birthday, so we have read it out of order, but I'll be buying the others as it was very good and very funny.
April 13, 2021
Entertaining as always but my son picked a 3 because it wasn’t his favorite. He wanted more of an ending for Stellar
November 10, 2022
It was more sad and emotional with less humor than the first two. My favorite character is still Dad.
Read
November 20, 2023Not really my age but still really good for younger years 😁
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 22, 2024
I bought this series for my little cousins and we read them together. We LOVED them.
March 1, 2022
5 stars. Finally.
As soon as I finished book 2, I knew I have to pick this up. I wasn't disappointed. The plot is relatively simple and transparent in the beginning but I was hooked because this feels like a comic book plot. Then the plot thickens as it goes on. The last 50 pages or so are my absolute favorite. Is it a little heavy for a children's story? Sort of. But I love it. I also love that we get different p.o.v. throughout the book. I've seen the author do that in Doctor Who books so I knew he'd nail it. As the book goes on, I noticed that it's... so well-written. The characters are so spot-on that they just come to life. It's so hard to find good writing in middle-grade fiction, especially superhero books so I'm really glad I found this series.
I don't really have anything to complain about. But if I have to nitpick, the author seems to really love cliffhangers. I've read 5 of his books and every single one of them ends with a cliffhanger. It is infuriating.
That's about it. I have nothing more to say. Give this series more love, please!
As soon as I finished book 2, I knew I have to pick this up. I wasn't disappointed. The plot is relatively simple and transparent in the beginning but I was hooked because this feels like a comic book plot. Then the plot thickens as it goes on. The last 50 pages or so are my absolute favorite. Is it a little heavy for a children's story? Sort of. But I love it. I also love that we get different p.o.v. throughout the book. I've seen the author do that in Doctor Who books so I knew he'd nail it. As the book goes on, I noticed that it's... so well-written. The characters are so spot-on that they just come to life. It's so hard to find good writing in middle-grade fiction, especially superhero books so I'm really glad I found this series.
I don't really have anything to complain about. But if I have to nitpick, the author seems to really love cliffhangers. I've read 5 of his books and every single one of them ends with a cliffhanger. It is infuriating.
That's about it. I have nothing more to say. Give this series more love, please!
October 25, 2017
I have yet to actually find this at my library (silly me, I was JUST THERE and forgot to look) but I'm gonna give it 4 stars just by my expectations and knowledge of the previous two books. I'll write an actual review once I read it. :-)
Update a few months after this review was posted: None of my local libraries have this. I'm kinda concerned about that, but I'll find it eventually.
Update a few months after this review was posted: None of my local libraries have this. I'm kinda concerned about that, but I'll find it eventually.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews