Kate Foster, The Unlikely Heroes Club, Walker Books, 2023, 208 pp., RRP $16.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781760655969
Eleven-year-old Oli likes to spend time on his favourite Design-a-House app where he can explore his love of design and architecture without the ridicule of his school peers for being a nerd or a wimp. To make matters worse, Mum goes and does something really annoying like enrolling him in a holiday program called The Heroes Club, designed to help kids like him with social skills, understanding their emotions a little better and managing their anxiety. He thinks he’s the only kid in the world who is going to have the worst holiday ever.
But then he meets zany, theatrical Max, quiet, clever Brian, aloof, loyal Layla, and gentle kind Tiffany and begins to learn how to navigate not only different personalities but the range of emotions that come with it. As the week progresses, the group bond over a common interest in the mysterious stray dog that lurks around a soon to be demolished building on the site opposite The Heroes Club. Hatching a daring plan to save the stray, Oli begins to realise his own strengths and the importance of working with and trusting his new-found friends to save the dog. Their plan is a daring one. Can they pull it off without serious consequences?
A beautifully evolving story of finding the strengths within. Kate Foster cleverly builds her characters, gently exploring the world of kids with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and how their idiosyncrasies are something to be valued and celebrated.
Highly recommended 8 -12 years
Reviewed by Mem Capp
