The Ultra Violets #2: Power to the Purple!
Gr 4–6—This second installment in the "Ultra Violets" series is a fun adventure starring Iris, Cheri, and Scarlet, best friends who have been transformed into superheroes with powers that include dance expertise and math genius. Readers would benefit from being familiar with the first title in the series, as their origin story isn't explained clearly at the beginning of this title. Illustrations throughout keep the book from feeling dull and help break up the narrative-at 336 pages it is fairly long for the reading level and age of the intended audience. The text throughout is peppy and youthful, though in some cases the pop-culture references might be out of touch for today's average 10-to-12-year-olds: Bell refers to the Beastie Boys and Jay Z's 1999 song, "Hard Knock Life." Bell has used language in a clever way-occasionally explaining unusual vocabulary words while sometimes misusing or making up words for comedic effect. Keeping their super skills secret, explaining what is taking up so much of their time to their parents, and combating their former best friend and current nemesis Opaline keep the characters busy. Overall, this is a good title for middle grade readers and will have no problem finding its audience.—Liz Zylstra, County of Prince Edward Public Library, Picton, Ontario