Kid X (Boy 2.0 #2) by Tracey Baptiste

What worked:

This book is the sequel to Boy 2.0, so readers already know Coal can camouflage his appearance. He’s not exactly invisible since he casts a shadow in sunlight, but other people still can’t see him. He’s also staying in a foster home, but he likes his foster parents and their three kids. A major issue for Coal is his frustration and anger at not being independent from the control of others. He doesn’t have a say in where he lives, and an aunt shows up to aggravate the situation. She plans to force Coal into living with her next year, and Coal’s not sure how he feels about that. He wants people to listen to him before making decisions that will affect his life.

Coal’s foster family and his best friend, Door, now know about his camouflage ability, and that’s creating additional problems for him. His foster sister wants him to retrieve a pencil that was stolen by a classmate, but that’s only the beginning of his moral quandary. Getting the pencil back seems like righting a wrong, but what about actions like pranks? Coal realizes he must consider his morals and standards when using his camouflage. Ethics becomes a big issue in the plot, but for a totally different reason. The introduction of his aunt adds a change to the cast of characters, but it also opens the door for an unknown cousin. The story takes an unexpected turn that sends events out of control and will ultimately carry over to this book’s sequel.

Having a new, anonymous owner take control of Mirror Tech infuses a fresh mystique to the plot. Recall, the new owner’s alias, is never seen, but he (or she?) has eyes everywhere in the renamed company, Echo Biometrics. Recall has reassigned many of the former employees, and new cronies now control the camouflage technology. Also, news reports reveal numerous ghost “sightings” around town, and Coal knows he’s only responsible for one of them. Add in Coal’s antsy feeling that he’s being watched, and readers can deduce that someone else is moving around unseen. He discovers that one “ghost” moved his unconscious body to be rescued, so at least one must be friendly, right? What’s the explanation for these ghostly sightings?

What didn’t work as well:

It’s unusual for characters to tell others about their super abilities, so it’s strange to find Coal’s foster family, his best friend, and two characters from Mirror Tech know about his camouflage. Readers may wonder why characters in other books don’t ask for help, but Coal has ample support. His foster parents even know and are helping him manage his ability. It’s not necessarily bad, but it’s very uncommon in middle-grade books. Having a support team will be good in the long run.

The final verdict:

Readers probably don’t need to read Boy 2.0 first, but it will establish prior events more clearly. This book becomes an action-packed adventure story, and I recommend you give it a shot.