Anti/Hero

Two dissimilar super 13-year-olds swap bodies in this introduction to a new East Gotham crime-fighting duo: the Hummingbird and the Gray Owl. Black-clad and pale-haired, loner Sloan MacBrute—known as Gray in the underworld—is the hyperintelligent granddaughter of the villainous Scotsman Bear, often working small jobs for him to help her mother make ends meet. Superstrong Piper Pájaro, of Latinx heritage, lives with her abuela and police officer uncle, and hopes that her superhero alter ego—the Hummingbird—will draw her absent scientist parents’ interest. When each girl sets her sights on nabbing an abandoned medical invention engineered by Piper’s parents, a body switch reveals its dangerous power. As they work to repair the broken device and keep it from falling into ill-intentioned hands, the girls’ forced alliance helps each develop an appreciation for the other’s unique skills and motivations; Sloan worries about her ill mother and her family’s damaging legacy, while Piper’s feelings of abandonment result in rash actions. Gil’s expressive characterization and thoughtful use of color create a distinctly cinematic feel, akin to that of an animated series. For these appealingly rendered opposites, empathy and understanding inspires unexpected friendship and unstoppable heroism. Ages 8–12. (Apr.)■