What do you think?
Rate this book
My So-Called Superpowers #1
My So-Called Superpowers
The first book in a new middle grade series, Heather Nuhfer’s My So-Called Superpowers is a quirky and funny coming-of-age novel celebrating individuality.
More than anything, Veronica McGowan wants to fit in with the cool kids. There’s just one they barely know she exists. Veronica wishes for something, anything to fix her nobody status―and gets more than she bargained for when she wakes up with “stupidpowers.”
Suddenly, her strongest emotions come to life for the whole school to see. She belches fire when she’s angry, dark clouds rain on her when she’s sad, and cutesy hearts pop up whenever she daydreams about her crush. She’s broadcasting her feelings likes living emojis―it’s a nightmare!
Veronica and her best friend Charlie must work together to solve the mystery before her powers totally humiliate her. Did she inherit these powers from her mom, who left long ago? What can she really do with them? And is that teacher at school really just a teacher or is she part of some secret government agency?
An Imprint Book
“Heather Nuhfer has hilariously and achingly captured what it’s like to be in middle school, trying to control the weird things that make you different but also super. It’s impossible not to root for Veronica. Super real, super fun, and just generally and genuinely super .” ―Dana Simpson, New York Times –bestselling author of the Phoebe and Her Unicorn series
“My So-Called Superpowers is vibrant, lively, and hums along at a snappy pace. It has a genuinely warm, welcoming Saturday-morning cartoon feeling to it.”
―Tony Cliff, New York Times–bestselling author of the Delilah Dirk series
“Readers will be delighted at Veronica’s relatable quirkiness... a whimsical , good-humored , straightforward take on just loving yourself for who you are.” ― Booklist
“A hilarious tale of a girl so desperate to be cool that she defies her best judgment to get what she wants.” ― The Bulletin
More than anything, Veronica McGowan wants to fit in with the cool kids. There’s just one they barely know she exists. Veronica wishes for something, anything to fix her nobody status―and gets more than she bargained for when she wakes up with “stupidpowers.”
Suddenly, her strongest emotions come to life for the whole school to see. She belches fire when she’s angry, dark clouds rain on her when she’s sad, and cutesy hearts pop up whenever she daydreams about her crush. She’s broadcasting her feelings likes living emojis―it’s a nightmare!
Veronica and her best friend Charlie must work together to solve the mystery before her powers totally humiliate her. Did she inherit these powers from her mom, who left long ago? What can she really do with them? And is that teacher at school really just a teacher or is she part of some secret government agency?
An Imprint Book
“Heather Nuhfer has hilariously and achingly captured what it’s like to be in middle school, trying to control the weird things that make you different but also super. It’s impossible not to root for Veronica. Super real, super fun, and just generally and genuinely super .” ―Dana Simpson, New York Times –bestselling author of the Phoebe and Her Unicorn series
“My So-Called Superpowers is vibrant, lively, and hums along at a snappy pace. It has a genuinely warm, welcoming Saturday-morning cartoon feeling to it.”
―Tony Cliff, New York Times–bestselling author of the Delilah Dirk series
“Readers will be delighted at Veronica’s relatable quirkiness... a whimsical , good-humored , straightforward take on just loving yourself for who you are.” ― Booklist
“A hilarious tale of a girl so desperate to be cool that she defies her best judgment to get what she wants.” ― The Bulletin
272 pages, Paperback
First published January 23, 2018
11 people are currently reading
294 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
November 10, 2023
I read My So Called Superpowers by Heather Nuhfer and I got so caught up in the everyday drama of our young protagonist all because of her difficulties in handling her newly endowed superpowers.
She could spit fires, cause thunder and rain, pop hearts according to her emotions which she finds real difficult to control!
But yes, we can all handle the most difficult situations with our besties and our protagonist has got her bestie Charlie.
All she wanted was to fit in with the cool”est” kids in school and what could have possibly gone wrong.
Things do tend to get out of control but she definitely tries to learn to tame her emotions/her powers. Yes, it’s definitely difficult but not impossible!
Such a fun entertaining read! I love the full page illustrations which totally add so much to the reading experience.
Just go for this one if you are reading too many mundane or average books and need to read something fun easy to read.
She could spit fires, cause thunder and rain, pop hearts according to her emotions which she finds real difficult to control!
But yes, we can all handle the most difficult situations with our besties and our protagonist has got her bestie Charlie.
All she wanted was to fit in with the cool”est” kids in school and what could have possibly gone wrong.
Things do tend to get out of control but she definitely tries to learn to tame her emotions/her powers. Yes, it’s definitely difficult but not impossible!
Such a fun entertaining read! I love the full page illustrations which totally add so much to the reading experience.
Just go for this one if you are reading too many mundane or average books and need to read something fun easy to read.
July 10, 2019
My So-called Superpowers by Heather Nuhfer, 246 pages, Imprint (Macmillan), 2018. $14.
Language: PG (5 swears); Mature Content: PG; Violence: PG
BUYING ADVISORY: MS - OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
Middle school is not going well for Veronica. She would really like to be an “ests,” one of the smartest, prettiest, fastest, instead of walking around feeling invisible. So she has come up with a plan to try new activities to get noticed, and she is bound to be good at one of them, right? Her friend, Charlie, doesn’t understand why she wants to be an “ests”, they’re all so mean and snobbish. Of course, Charlie is perfectly ok with who he is, quirks and all. After a miserable day of failing to become an “est”, Veronica wakes up and something is different. When she wishes she would shrink out of sight, she does, when she wishes she would disappear, she does. What is happening! Charlie thinks her new superpowers are great, but Veronica isn’t so sure.
The idea of waking up with superpowers sounds awesome and I like that the author made it realistic and hard. Veronica found that it took time and practice, and life is more complicated now that it was before. Unfortunately the whole thing fell a little flat, and was confusing, at times. Sometimes it would read young and other times more middle school. And a few things I had trouble accepting. I know Veronica is a middle schooler with superpowers, but it still seemed a bit much to have her out all night by herself decorating for the school dance. In the end Veronica learned a few things about herself and what makes a true friend.
Reviewer: RB
https://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2019...
Language: PG (5 swears); Mature Content: PG; Violence: PG
BUYING ADVISORY: MS - OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
Middle school is not going well for Veronica. She would really like to be an “ests,” one of the smartest, prettiest, fastest, instead of walking around feeling invisible. So she has come up with a plan to try new activities to get noticed, and she is bound to be good at one of them, right? Her friend, Charlie, doesn’t understand why she wants to be an “ests”, they’re all so mean and snobbish. Of course, Charlie is perfectly ok with who he is, quirks and all. After a miserable day of failing to become an “est”, Veronica wakes up and something is different. When she wishes she would shrink out of sight, she does, when she wishes she would disappear, she does. What is happening! Charlie thinks her new superpowers are great, but Veronica isn’t so sure.
The idea of waking up with superpowers sounds awesome and I like that the author made it realistic and hard. Veronica found that it took time and practice, and life is more complicated now that it was before. Unfortunately the whole thing fell a little flat, and was confusing, at times. Sometimes it would read young and other times more middle school. And a few things I had trouble accepting. I know Veronica is a middle schooler with superpowers, but it still seemed a bit much to have her out all night by herself decorating for the school dance. In the end Veronica learned a few things about herself and what makes a true friend.
Reviewer: RB
https://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2019...
March 27, 2018
Middle grader Veronica McGowan longs to be one of the cool kids at her school, Pearce Middle School. Like most youngsters her age, she searches desperately for a way to fit and to stand out. But each time she tries some new activity, it's just not her thing. But after her emotions surge to the forefront, she discovers that she has superpowers that summon clouds when she's feeling blue and cause fire to blast forth from her mouth when she's angry. Veronica is embarrassed about these unique abilities and desperately tries to hide them--she considers them "stupidpowers"- from everyone except her best friend Charlie who tries to help her figure out if she inherited them from the mother she hasn't seen since she was very young. To her delight, the cool crowd--she calls them "the Ests"--invites her to join them in planning the spring formal. But she ends up doing all the work, and things don't work out very well out all. By the time the dance ends, things are in a shambles, including her friendship with Charlie and her relationship with her father, and with a nod to Stephen King's classic Carrie, Veronica's secret comes very close to being revealed to the world. Late intermediate and early middle grade readers will enjoy this one with its positive message about self-acceptance and self-empowerment. Although her way of going about it might be all wrong, most readers will certainly relate to how she feels.
Read
July 25, 2021This books has such a fun premise - the (sadly popularity obsessed) main character suddenly manifests "stupidpowers" that make her emotions visible - she turns green with envy, disappears from embarrassment, burns up with anger, surrounds herself with 3d emoji-like objects, and on and on. Hilarity definitely ensues, and kids will definitely enjoy seeing that. From the point of view of an adult who reads a lot, however, there's much too much drama that could easily have been avoided through honest conversation (which is to say, based on people being unbelievably stupid). That always leaves me unsatisfied. I don't think that kids would question it at all, though.
September 27, 2018
Veronica is a middle school student who desperately wants to belong to the popular group, The Ests. She's hoping for spot as "arti-est," since that spot has recently become available due to the girl leaving the group. Along this process to try and belong, she learns she has some odd powers, which she calls "stupidpowers," the highlight her current emotion. This book had a lot of missed potential. There was a lot of background information that could have been provided, but wasn't. I felt that everything was just a light skim of getting to know the characters. It left me feeling unsatisfied, particularly the ending, which wrapped up way too easily. I just wanted more depth. The illustrations were cute.
January 16, 2018
Very cute book. I won this book in a Goodreads Giveaway and my daughter was excited. So this book is about Veronica. All she wants is to be a cool kid. But unfortunately the cool kids don’t even know she’s alive. Well one day she wishes for anything to make her cool. So the next day she wakes up with what she calls “stupidpowers”. When she gets angry she can burp fire! And if she’s sad it rains!
With her friend Charlie they try to find out where she got these powers from.
My daughter is 8 and she enjoyed it very much.
With her friend Charlie they try to find out where she got these powers from.
My daughter is 8 and she enjoyed it very much.
January 19, 2018
I was charmed by this book! It's funny, quirky and has a lot of heart. It will remind kids of books like Dork Diaries, but it has a supernatural element to it. Like a typical middle-schooler, the main character doesn't always control her emotions. But when SHE has an outburst, strange powers are activated. The book's earnest message--loving yourself for who you are--won't hit kids over the head. Instead, they'll be focused on the crazy, imaginative, out-of-control superpowers that the main character can't quite control. The book has several great illustrations, as well.
July 2, 2018
*I received a free review copy of this book from the publisher through my district library services*
This is a really cute, fun read about a spunky girl who finds herself saddled with "stupid-powers" as she strives to become part of the popular crowd. Readers will shake their heads at her obsession with becoming an "Est" but cheer for best friend who helps her navigate her struggles with both her social woes and her emerging powers. A little bit of language, so probably best for fifth grade and up.
This is a really cute, fun read about a spunky girl who finds herself saddled with "stupid-powers" as she strives to become part of the popular crowd. Readers will shake their heads at her obsession with becoming an "Est" but cheer for best friend who helps her navigate her struggles with both her social woes and her emerging powers. A little bit of language, so probably best for fifth grade and up.
March 30, 2018
3 1/2 stars
September 5, 2018
Two thumbs up from 7 year old!
April 21, 2021
Perfectly okayish. Kid wants to be popular but oh no, the popular crowd is mean! Eh. +1 only for the cute illustrations.
November 25, 2021
3.5 stars
January 20, 2024
3.75⭐️
Daughter’s pick. It’s funny, I picked this book for my daughter at the library because the character on the book cover looks similar to her and then she read the book, loved it and picked it for me to read this month.
This book excelled in character development, and did a great job of showing the nuance of preteen emotions and conflicts.
Daughter’s pick. It’s funny, I picked this book for my daughter at the library because the character on the book cover looks similar to her and then she read the book, loved it and picked it for me to read this month.
This book excelled in character development, and did a great job of showing the nuance of preteen emotions and conflicts.
March 24, 2020
I think this was a good book because it talks about how people interact with each other and how they act towards things that happen in there life. The way the characters act in this book is surprisingly odd towards the dramatic changes that go on but how they live there lifestyles are pretty complex.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews