The Secret Super Powers of Marco - Hardcover

Willis, Meredith Sue

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0060235586 ISBN 13: 9780060235581

Publisher: Harpercollins Childrens Books, 1994

Synopsis

Marco believes he has special powers that help him make friends with the class bully and deal with some tough situations in the rough neighborhood where they live

About this title

From School Library Journal:

Grade 3-5-Marco, a winsome inner-city boy with street smarts; a soft heart for his mom, sister, uncle, and dog; and a firm belief that he has supernatural powers, befriends Tyrone, a hyperactive neighborhood bully. As the two test their friendship, they rescue Marco's dog from a local derelict, attack an undercover policeman whom they believe is kidnapping his sister, and work in his uncle's store. Characters are deftly developed in this brief, simply written novel. Marco's mother and uncle provide support, security, and love to both boys; in a particularly touching scene, Uncle Albert forgives Tyrone for stealing cigarettes from his store and gives him a second chance. Tyrone, with his spirit and loyalty to his new friends, rises above the classic neglected, misunderstood loner stereotype. And Marco, a likable, upbeat fourth grader, is a real charmer. He seems to have an extraordinary amount of freedom to roam for a child his age, given the drug-infested, crime-ridden neighborhood in which he lives, which gives the book a somewhat unrealistic foundation, but it is a fast-paced, thoroughly entertaining read.
Trev Jones, School Library Journal
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews:

Marco's new neighborhood may be better than his old one, though it still has its share of abandoned buildings, addicts, and homeless people--but he's left his friends behind, and the summer before fourth grade is shaping up to be a lonely one. He entertains himself by breaking off car antennas until, in a visionary moment, he realizes that he has Powers--he can talk to anyone without fear, and also visualize what's about to happen. Both come in handy--in converting Tyrone, a hostile classmate, from bully to friend; in preventing Tyrone from injuring a potentially violent homeless man; and when Marco figures out that Tyrone is stealing from his Uncle Albert's grocery, where they both work, and engineers a second chance for him. Though Willis's writing sometimes lacks grace (Tyrone is introduced as a mainstreamed ``hyper'' and the homeless man, Crazy Wee-wee, as an ex-``hippy''), and her characters are young for the book's probable audience, she makes a promising debut with this tale of a clever young peacemaker in a rough neighborhood. Illustrations not seen. (Fiction. 10-12) -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

About this edition

• Publisher: Harpercollins Childrens Books
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 0060235586
• ISBN 13: 9780060235581
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 104