Villain's Vacation

Secret Supers, Book 2

By: Andy Zach

Narrated by: Michael Stafford

Length: 3 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

Four disabled seventh graders with superpowers take a vacation at Coaster World. They need a break from fighting criminals. Ever since the beginning of the school year when they acquired their unusual abilities, they've been training and using those powers to fight crime in their town.

Little do they know, the arch villain they recently defeated also loves coasters and is vacationing at Coaster World. Worse, the villain wants revenge. Nothing less than turning these teens to a life of crime will satisfy.

Can Jeremy, Dan, Kayla, and Aubrey withstand the villain's attacks? Or will they become Super Villains?

You can only find out by listening to Villain's Vacation.

©2020 Jeffry John Smith (P)2021 Jeffry John Smith

Overall, I really enjoyed this!

I really enjoyed listening to this story. I haven't read the first book, but I was still able to follow along easily. Stafford did an excellent job of bringing the characters and story to life. I absolutely adore Dancer. How can you not love a Hamster that can read and type?! I really appreciate the team of heroes and how they're disabled, yet unlike what we often see in media, that isn't an impediment. This positive representation of the community made my heart soar. Although the story is definitely middle-grade aimed, if you're reading along as an adult, you'll appreciate the pop culture references peppered in. I really enjoyed this book, and it's made me want to check out book one! 

5 stars

Well done. Well narrated. will be looking forward to the next from this author. I received this copy free in exchange for an honest review.

Secret Supers are back for another vacation!

In this sequel to Secret Supers, Jeremy has been experimenting on his hamster. As a result, Dancer has learned how to read, and is reading everything he can to learn about the human world. When Jeremy discovers this, he gets Dancer one of his old cell phones so Dancer can text the group.

As for the superhero business, the group needs some downtime and goes on vacation to Coaster World. What they don't realize is that the villain they defeated also loves roller coasters and wants revenge against the Secret Supers.

Will the Secret Supers be able to defeat the villain and enjoy their vacation, or are their crime-fighting days numbered?

This was a fun sequel to Secret Supers. Not only did we have Andy Zach as a character in the book, as though the events were true and actually happened, but I loved the inclusion of a Super-Hamster helping out Jeremy and his friends. In this battle against the villain, the Secret Supers struggle, as the villain seems to have figured out how to neutralize their powers, and they not only have to call in support but also reveal themselves to some non-Supers.

The action was well-paced throughout, and the mystery of the identity of the villain was well-done. While I had suspicions, I wasn't sure before the reveal, which was nice. If you enjoyed Secret Supers, I feel confident that you will also enjoy Villain's Vacation.

For this book, I listened to the audiobook, which was narrated by Michael Stafford. This was a different narrator from The Secret Supers, which was a little odd to my ears at first, but I think that was only because I had listened to Secret Supers so recently. Stafford gave a wonderful performance, and I would certainly listen to this audiobook again.

What a ride!

A talking hamster named Dancer. What more could you ask for in an audio by Andy Zach? A vocal appearance by the author himself.The Supers have another unbelievable adventure that kept me giggling and listening straight through. An enjoyable listen for kids and adults alike.

Like a an old spy movie

Great performance for a feeling of nostalgia of my childhood, reminding me of watching them with my father. It was very enjoyable as well as very entertaining. It also had good humor sprinkled throughout.

Hero Hamster

An exciting and fun story starring a group of middle school superheroes. Narrated exquisitely and professionally.

Cute Superhero Story with Positive Disability Rep

Villain's Vacation is the second book in the Secret Supers series. I admit I haven't read the first book, but I didn't feel lost at all. Clearly the first book was the introduction to the human characters, and possibly the team's formation, but there isn't any critical information left out. Four disabled preteens are saving the world X-Men style and their handler writes their adventures as fiction novels.

In this instalment, the team gets a mascot in the form of Dancer, a hamster owned by one of the team members who also gained special abilities along with the team but no one noticed before now. He's literate! Dancer reads everything he can get his paws on and ends up communicating with the team via cellphone.

I love all the positive disability representation in this book full of unstoppable kids with powers that replace and complement what they've lost. The addition of a talking hamster is adorable and will definitely make this book more appealing to the kids who might have been hesitant to read a superhero book.

My one criticism of the book itself is that the dialogue, though definitely reading level appropriate for a middle-grade audience, sometimes ventures into painfully blatant exposition territory. Middle-grade readers might not mind, but the parents and teachers reading along with them (if this is a group or family read) probably will.

On the flip side, there are so many pop culture references in this that those adult reading buddies will catch onto and laugh at. Scooby-Doo fans? There are easter eggs in here for you!

The audiobook narration was good overall and I appreciated the narrator's effort to make the different characters sound distinct. With that said, I nearly turned it off in the beginning when Dancer the hamster was thinking his dialogue rather than typing it. Thank goodness his voice shifted when he started using technology because the pitch-shifted squeaky rodent voice was indecipherable at my preferred 2x listening speed!

Overall this is a cute superhero story with a lot of important positive representation, and I highly recommend these books to scifi and superhero fans looking for a good middle-grade series.

I was granted complimentary audiobook access to Villain's Vacation as part of my participation in a blog tour for this title with Audiobookworm Promotions. Thank you to all involved in affording me this opportunity! My thoughts are my own and my review is honest.

Kids with Disabilities Saving the World + hamster

Note: While this is Book 2 in the series, it works pretty well as a stand alone story (tho book 1 is a lot of fun).

Once again the Secret Supers (Jeremy, Dan, Kayla, and Aubrey) combine their skills to fight evil! Well, actually, they were having a bit of a vacation and evil found them. But evil will certainly be sorry! Once again, Andy Zach gives us another delightful kids’ book. I’ve listened to his other audiobooks, including the Zombie Turkeys books, and this is a great addition to that collection.

The first half of the book is pretty much told from Jeremy’s point of view, though we do get to know his hamster (who has developed some great communication skills). The second half lets us see the story from other points of view as one after the other gets kidnapped and then rescued, until finally all are held under the steel robotic thumb of our Evil Overlord. (cue sinister music).

The settings are so much fun and my favorites were the Coaster World and the submarine. I also like that the Secret Supers have to pull in more allies, like parents. Their circle of support staff grows! And this will mean better costumes in the future.

Each of our superheroes has a disability but it doesn’t leave them disabled (even before they get their powers in book 1). Their physical limitations have given them a ‘think outside the box’ attitude, coming up with creative solutions. It also lets them be very accepting of others, including the unexpected texting hamster. It’s a fun story suitable for kids and adults with a happy ending. 5/5 stars.

The Narration: Michael Stafford did a great job with this story. He had the perfect voice for Jeremy and I liked his voices for the other kids as well. His robot voices were good too and I like how he added a little something to the telepathic discussions that let you know right away that it was telepathy. The pacing was good & there were no tech issues with the recording. 5/5 stars.

I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Andy Zach. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.

As electrifying as their powers!

"Villain's Vacation" by Andy Zach, narrated by Michael Stafford, whisks you on a thrilling ride as four disabled seventh graders with superpowers take on Coaster World. The writing is as electrifying as their powers, keeping you glued to each twist and turn. Stafford's narration brings each character to life, adding an extra layer of excitement to this action-packed adventure.

Hamster Vs. Super Villain

My 12 year old read this one too and really liked it a lot better then the first book. It could stand on it's own but will flow better if you read the first one before this book. This story has a great flow and plot that will definitely keep you engaged. Turns out that the hamster did change with the electromagnetic exposure.... The tweens go to Coaster World for a much needed break from their superhero duties when it gets interrupted by a villain. The tweens must work together again and reach out for help. It's a great read for the younger elementary to adult reader.

This narrator was a lot better. He did a good job with the voices, differentiations and acting.

—I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.