Cape

By Kate Hannigan

Junior Fiction

Book 3 in The League of Secret Heroes series

Reviewed by Janine from the Winkler Branch

    Set during World War Two, Cape features Josie, a young woman obsessed with superheroes and puzzles, who wishes she could do something to help with the war effort.  While working at a diner to help her mom make ends meet while her dad is off fighting in the war, Josie decides to try out for a position as a puzzler in an effort to do something useful.  Josie's test is rejected, however, she meets two other girls, Akiko and Mae, and they are soon bonding over their love of comic books and superheroes.  The girls want to do what they can to help and they soon discover that they all have superpowers and they become the newest (and youngest) superheroes, ready to do what they can  

    Cape was inspired by real women from World War Two, the ENIAC Six, who helped usher in the modern computer age.  Originally, the women had been using their math skills to help plot the trajectory of bullets, but with the inception of the ENIAC (considered the world's first electronic, digital, general-purpose computer), the problems could be calculated much faster. This required the women to learn programming, figuring out different methods for getting the results they needed. Their top secret project soon became a target for German spies, but Jose, Mae and Akiko are ready to help save the day.

    Cape is a fast paced novel perfect for anyone who likes superheroes, alternate retellings of history, or wants to learn more about World War Two.  Some of the chapters are written in the comic book style, which helps move the story along. I liked that the author provided some of the actual history at the end of the book, as well as recommended resources.

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