Pizazz is a novel for the adult but a normal one for the ages it is geared to. It is aimed at strong first grade readers but probably best suited for the second to third/low fourth grade reader. (Or ages strong 6 to young 10). There is a mixture of text and illustrations. Having a reader copy, I am not sure what the result of the illustrations will be as currently they are black and white. But due to the cover’s comic book looking colors, it is possible there might be some color in the end. This novel but somewhat graphic novel format is not new but feels fresh due to the female superhero aspect.
Sophy Henn has a modern voice and subject matter in this book. The theme is being super is not easy. But in their own way, everyone can be super, not just superheroes. This is a story of friendship, family and a dog named Wanda (who is part telephone). There are eyerolls and environmental situations. There are protests, Super superhero grandfathers and a grandmother with a purse sized fire extinguisher (you must read to find out why). We see good guys, bad guys (and bad guys that are good friends to a certain superhero), annoying little sisters (who might have their uses after all) and mean girls. Even school will look familiar, because after all if the Superhero business does not work out, Pizazz will have something to fall back on by getting herself a good education.
There is a little repetition for the adult me, but the kid me loved finding out what was going to happen next. The breakup of the “real world action” and the “superhero action” is clear and amusingly shown. The one small issue I have is that Henn is a British author and uses language that might not always be familiar to American readers. However, it is not so much an issue in stopping understanding of the content but can stop the flow of reading from time-to-time. Yet, context helps you figure out some of the slang.
Kids will be LOLing and wondering what superpowers they might have.