Super Problems

A Magic Pen Adventure

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Pub Date 17 Dec 2020 | Archive Date 31 Jan 2021

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Description

Before Monster Problems, there is Super Problems, the story of how Blue Hood first learned of the magic pen. Scott draws the comic book adventures of himself, Blue Hood, and their friends as the Alpaca Defense Squad fighting their archenemy the evil Stinky Sock. No one knows Scott’s using a magic pen and everything he draws becomes real. The middle schoolers and an alpaca named Bruce are thrown into a real-life superhero adventure! At first, they think it’s great. They’re living their superhero fantasy! What more could superhero fans want? But saving the day is not as easy as it looks! The Stinky Sock is a clever nemesis, and Bruce the alpaca is obnoxious and demanding. The Alpaca Defense Squad must unite as a team, master their powers, put up with Bruce, and solve their super problem…before the Stinky Sock rules the world!

Before Monster Problems, there is Super Problems, the story of how Blue Hood first learned of the magic pen. Scott draws the comic book adventures of himself, Blue Hood, and their friends as the...


A Note From the Publisher

Jason R. Lady is an army brat who moved a lot, living on military bases from Germany to Fort Knox, Kentucky. Jason made friends by drawing comics and writing stories that starred the kids in each new school. When he’s not writing, Jason listens to 80s music, is into superheroes, and is working on visiting every MLB stadium. Jason’s first novel, Monster Problems, came out in December 2019. He lives with his wife in Cleveland, Ohio.

Jason R. Lady is an army brat who moved a lot, living on military bases from Germany to Fort Knox, Kentucky. Jason made friends by drawing comics and writing stories that starred the kids in each new...


Advance Praise

“Another action-packed magic pen adventure!” –Christine Sromek Laforet, author of Being Bree series

“A wacky and ridiculous story in the best possible way!” –Zachary Fenell, author of Off Balanced


“Another action-packed magic pen adventure!” –Christine Sromek Laforet, author of Being Bree series

“A wacky and ridiculous story in the best possible way!” –Zachary Fenell, author of Off Balanced



Available Editions

EDITION Ebook
ISBN 9781684335961
PRICE US$6.99 (USD)

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Average rating from 5 members


Featured Reviews

In this prequel to Monster Problems, readers dive into the story of how Blue Hood, or Prudence, learned about the magic pen. When Scott draws him and a few of his friends as superheroes with his new pen, he makes the biggest mistake of his middle school career. That is because he is using a magic pen, which makes everything he draws real! Before they learn how to use their abilities, these newly minted superheroes have to fight the villain Stinky Sock and figure out how to keep their school's alpaca safe. This was a fun prequel to learn a little bit more about Blue Hood and why she knew about the pen in Monster Problem. While this was aimed at learning more about Blue Hood, I felt like I learned more about the actions and motivations of the three boys in the story. I would have preferred for Blue Hood to be more of a secondary character, like the original book, or to have made her a more prominent main character. However, I do believe that this book maintained the same type of wacky adventure that the first book had, while also introducing new abilities for the magic pen. I particularly enjoyed the evil villain Stinky Sock and the disappearance of socks all over town! If you have readers interested in superheroes and would love to find out what happens when middle schoolers get turned into them, this is the perfect book!

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This book was an absolute delight! sixth-grader Scott loves drawing comic books. The only problem is that since he and his parents moved to a new town, Scott has writer's block! Then a mysterious crow drops a golden pen at his window and things take a really weird turn. This isn't just any pen, it's a magic pen! And when Scott draws himself and his three new friends as superheroes battling their arch-nemeses The Stinky Sock, his drawings come to life! Can Scott and his friends use their new superpower to defeat The Stinky Sock? I loved everything about this. The characters felt authentic, and choosing a stinky sock to be a supervillain sounds exactly like something a sixth-grade boy would do. Scott's frustration about being moved to a new neighborhood and taken away from his old friends also makes total sense and felt really genuine. I really think kids will love this out of the box superhero story.

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I am reviewing this wonderful story of Scot and his magic pen. I was carried away with his drawings of magic characters and whisking his friends along with him into the world of children and comic fantasy. This book will be enjoyed by many children who love to be taken away to another world!

I am giving a 4 star rating. Such fun!

I WANT TO THANK NERGALLEY FOR THE OPPORTUNITY OF READING AN ADVANCED COPY OF THIS BOOK

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Scott is sitting on the curb as he has finished unpacking his boxes and arranging his bedroom. He starts to scold his pencil and hits the pad of paper so hard with his pencil, it bounced and fell into the storm drain. Two guys Barry an Joel meet Scott. They find out that they are in going to be in the same grade at school. Barry picks up Scott’s pad of paper and flips the pages. He says o Scott you’re good. Do you draw comics? When he sees them, he gets excited and Joel goes to look at them too. The guys become excited as they love comic books. When they find Scott has writer’s block, they say hat they will help him overcome it. Scott gets a visitor in his bedroom window that leaves him a old pen. He likes it but wonders why the pen was left. He takes it with him to school. In art class at school with Barry and Joel present, he starts drawing them as superheroes including a gal name Prudence as well as the school’s alpaca named Bruce for them to keep safe. The art teacher tells him that the pen will make the drawings real. How does he know? What will happen? Scott draws Joel’s smelly sock as the arch enemy. Is that a smart thing to do?

The author has written a funny story that made me laugh. It’s written for middle grade school kids. I enjoyed the unexpected experiences the guys had keeping Bruce safe. It’s fun to read.

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