The Unforgettable Logan Foster

Gr 3-7–What starts as a story about a kid in the foster care system trying to find a family morphs into an action-packed superhero adventure. The book is written as a letter from Logan to his unknown younger brother, from whom he was separated when the children were abandoned at an airport. Diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and developmental coordination disorder, Logan always has lots of questions. He also has an eidetic memory, so he remembers everything he has seen, read, or heard. While this can make him socially awkward, it also makes him extremely special. His meeting with Gil and Maggie, the latest in the line of foster parents, is interrupted by a weird, localized earthquake, and things keep getting stranger from there. Logan soon puts together the pieces that his foster parents, while well intentioned, are not typical and maybe not quite human. After recognizing Maggie’s alter ego from the comic books he frequently reads, Logan realizes that superheroes are real. Friendship with his new next-door neighbor, the popular and sporty Elena, connects Logan with a powerful ally in the neighborhood, in school, and on the quest to save his new family. Although Logan does not know his parentage, in the illustrations that pepper the text he appears to have curly hair and brown skin. Elena is biracial. The alignment of a group of superheroes fighting against each other doesn’t tread new ground, but the way the teens bring their own skills and ingenuity to the fight is novel. The book is fun, and the main characters are well developed.