The boot whizzed past his left ear and slammed into the wall behind him. It hit so hard that an explosion of plaster and dust flew into the air. It only missed Montague by a few millimetres, but that wasn’t the biggest problem.
The biggest problem was that Montague Towers forgot to duck. He really needed to keep a better track of these things.
You are not invisible today, Montague reminded himself as he took shelter behind a rubbish bin. That was yesterday.
Montague Towers is looking forward to a bit of a rest. All the other occupants of the orphanage where his lives, and now works, are going on a vacation to the seaside. All Montague has to do is look after himself. He settles down to enjoy a bit of nothing. Until he hears a knock at the door. While he tries to ignore it, hoping that whoever it is goes away, eventually the repeated knocking means he has to answer. In comes an old man who makes very little sense. He likes a cup of tea though. Then he sends Montague on a mission. The mission needs superpowers, so the old man gives him one. Before he has any idea how to harness it, Montague finds himself slap-bang in the middle of a zoom-fest of a quest.
You might think that having super powers would be fun. And it is. But somehow, it’s harder than it looks. And when you only have a day to get used to the power before it vanishes, while also avoiding all sorts of huge men who seem to be after you, well sometimes it can get a bit hairy. But Montague, who is quite a quiet, gentle soul, is ready to do what he can to keep everyone happy as his calm, useful life is turned completely upside-down. Action-packed and full of laughs (who knew the sky was such a dangerous place?), this adventure will keep mid-primary readers hooked.
TheIncredible Powers of Montague Towers, Alan Sunderland
Scholastic 2016
ISBN: 9781760153649
review by Claire Saxby, Children’s author and bookseller