Review: Frogman: The Incredibly True Confessions of a Sixth Grade Superhero By Emily Cosentino

Synopsis: Alex Addison is about to enter sixth grade, when his life is changed by a single frog. Overnight, his feet and identity are forever transformed as Alex becomes Frogman-a jumping, fly-eating super-hero. Alex decides to keep his new found abilities secret from his family and everyone else. Middle school is hard enough as it is. Eventually, Alex confides in his best friend Artie Brandt. However, the one person in the whole world who absolutely cannot find out about Alex's secret is his other good friend Joel Hutchins. Joel is bent on launching his career as a famous biologist. As a true believer in Bigfoot, Joel is convinced that proving its existence will bring him fame and money. But in the end, any weird animal will do. When Joel discovers Frogman's funky new footprints, his enthusiasm to unearth this new creature’s identity puts the three boy's friendship to the test while stretching Alex to the limit. (from the online description)

Review: Starting from an interesting and amusing premise, Cosentino’s Frogman follows 6^th grader Alex as he turns into a human frog! With the power to jump incredible heights, stick to walls, and stretch his tongue long lengths, Alex has the ability to do good – just as long as his habit of eating bugs and need for moisture don’t get him caught!

This is an excellent book for young boys, age 7-12. Alex and is friends struggle with school bullies, grades, girls, pressure from parents and teachers, and doing what’s right when it’s hard.  They react as young boys do, mostly, although Alex is a bit more self-aware than I remember being at that age. With a nice mix of sports, science, and gross humor (think eating bugs and spit pie), this will appeal to most young boys. There is nothing questionable about it, and would be perfectly safe for even the strictest parents.

Cosentino’s prose is good. Her secondary characters feel real, with actually personality, and not just props in a play. The plot is well-paced, with a good mix of action, adventure, tension, and mystery. Cosentino set’s up the series nicely and I’m intrigued to see where she takes the story. I highly recommend this for parents looking for good stories for young boys. There is a significant lack of stories like this and Cosentino’s work is a welcome book. 

Note: I was recommended to the author by a friend to read and write a review. I downloaded a copy for free off Amazon. 

Bookmarks: 7 of 10

Awards: None

ISBN: 978-1-4951-4075-4

Year Published: 2016

Date Finished: 4-17-2016

Pages: eBook