High School Heroes facts for kids

High School Heroes is an exciting young adult novel written by American author James Mascia. It first came out in September 2010.

The story follows a young girl named Christine Carpenter. On her very first day of her second year (sophomore year) at Thomas Jefferson High School, she discovers something amazing. Christine can suddenly read the minds of other people! At first, she feels like this new power is a problem. But soon, she learns to control it and becomes a true superhero. This book is special because it's a superhero story that isn't a comic book. It teaches us about what it means to be a hero, even if you don't have superpowers.

What's the Story About?

On Christine Carpenter's first day back at Thomas Jefferson High School, she finds out she can hear everyone's thoughts. After making sure she isn't imagining things, Chris has to learn how to control her amazing mind-reading ability.

Using her new power, she quickly realizes her crush, the captain of the football team, also has a special gift. Soon, Christine is pulled into a world she never knew existed. Two more of her classmates, and even a teacher, turn out to have powers too!

What should they do with these special gifts? They could help people, or they could cause harm. Christine soon finds out when a scary monster appears. This creature is hiding deep inside her school and threatens to hurt all the students.

When it becomes clear that the monster is someone she knows, Christine faces a tough choice. Should she try to save him, or should she stop the beast? This difficult decision changes her from an ordinary high school student into a hero. Christine learns that being a hero isn't just about having superpowers. It's about the brave choices you make.

More Adventures!

High School Heroes also has extra stories. These were published as comic books on WeVolt.com. These comic stories focus more on the characters who aren't the main stars of the novel. Characters like Savanah Stephenson and Bobby Barnes get their own adventures here.

How the Book Was Made

James Mascia shared how he got the idea for High School Heroes. He was at Comic Con and talked to someone about superhero stories. They noticed there weren't many superhero books that weren't comic books or graphic novels.

So, James Mascia decided to write a story that was just that: a superhero novel without ties to comics. He then created Christine Carpenter. He decided she would not only read minds but also show people their biggest fears. Christine's first story appeared in a magazine called A Thousand Faces. This magazine was all about stories of superhumans.

After several stories about Christine and her friends were published, Mascia felt it was time for a bigger adventure. In October 2008, he started writing the novel. It took him almost nine months to write the book. Then, it took another five months of editing. After many rejections, Mascia sold the book to L&L Dreamspell. The book was finally published almost a year later.

Images for kids

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  The first edition of the book.