As summer draws to a close, 13-year-old Jorge wants nothing more than to spend his days hanging out with his fellow comic book-obsessed friends. But then his parents announce they’re divorcing for a reason Jorge and his twin brother never saw coming—their father comes out as transgender.
THE GREATEST SUPERPOWER
by Alex Sanchez
Capstone, February 2021
(chez DeFiore and Co. – voir catalogue)
It’s the summer before high school, and thirteen-year-old Jorge Fuerte wants nothing more than to spend his days hanging out with his fellow comic-book-obsessed friends. But then everything changes. His parents announce they’re divorcing for a reason Jorge and his twin brother, Cesar, never saw coming–their larger-than-life dad comes out as transgender. Jorge struggles to understand the father he’s always admired, but Cesar refuses to have anything to do with him. As Jorge tries to find a way to stay true to the father he loves, a new girl moves into the neighborhood: cool, confident, quirky Zoey. She tames Jorge’s unruly terrier and enlists the terrier and Jorge in a dance routine for the back-to-school talent show. As the date of the show draws near, Jorge must face his fears and choose between being loyal to his brother or truthful about his family’s secret. Although he’s no superhero, Jorge already has the world’s greatest superpower–if he decides to use it.
Alex Sanchez has published nine novels, including the American Library Association “Best Book for Young Adults” Rainbow Boys, the Lambda Award-winning So Hard to Say, and Bait, which won the Tomás Rivera Mexican American Book Award. His graphic novel for DC Comics titled You Brought Me the Ocean came out in June 2020. An immigrant to the U.S. from Mexico, Alex received his master’s in guidance and counseling and worked for many years as a youth and family counselor. He lives in East Rochester, New York.
Each contestant has their own reasons—and their own secrets—for joining the new virtual reality show CUT/OFF that places a group of teenagers alone in the wilderness. It’s a simple premise: whoever lasts the longest without “tapping out” wins a cash prize. Not only that, new software creates a totally unprecedented television experience, allowing viewers to touch, see, and live everything along with the contestants. But what happens when “tapping out” doesn’t work and no one comes to save you? What happens when the whole world seemingly disappears while you’re stranded in the wild? Four teenagers must confront their greatest fears, their deepest secrets, and one another when they discover they are truly cut off from reality. Sci-fi, mystery, and romance converge in this high-stakes, fast-paced read that will leave you guessing to the very last moment.
Humans had their chance to be in charge and look where that got us. Temperatures are rising, ice caps are melting, and innocent animals are in trouble. It is time for someone else to take over and fix this mess. It is time for . . . the Endangereds. One super-strong polar bear. One pangolin with a genius for engineering. One extremely sarcastic narwhal. And one orangutan with a dream. What more do you need to save the world? Together, these four unlikely heroes are determined to save endangered species across the globe. But when two of their endangered friends get kidnapped by a villain with a dastardly agenda, the team find themselves up to their snouts in trouble. Can the Endangereds save the day? Or will this villain put humans and animals alike on the extinction list?