Saygar the Superhero

Saygar #2

by Elizabeth Jurado

You've never seen a superhero like Saygar! He's an average kid-sized ant trying to do what's right. Joseph Mateo didn't mean to turn Saygar into a superhero! He just wanted to get him ready for Halloween Night. Now, Saygar believes he's a REAL superhero. Suddenly, Joseph finds himself facing down ancient curses, avoiding the meanest bully in school, and dealing with more wacky problems than he can handle. All the drama threatens to uncover Joseph's secret that could be the end of Saygar! Will Joseph be able to keep Saygar safe? Or will the "weird truth" be revealed?

123 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 16, 20

About the author

Elizabeth Jurado was born and raised in the border city of El Paso, Texas. Living in El Paso, with the Rio Grande River just down the street from her childhood home, allowed her to experience life in a unique way. As a child, Elizabeth stood on the embankments of the river that separated two countries and watched children from Mexico playing on their side of the river. Throughout her life the two cultures, the American and Mexican, merged into one. Elizabeth saw it in the people around her, in the food, in the language, and in the music. She saw it in the schools she attended as a child and later as a teacher. It was those experiences that inspired her to write Saygar the Magnificent.

Elizabeth worked as a substitute teacher and a first grade teacher for several years. Her inspirations for her book came from a life long observation of the world of children as a child herself and through her work as a teacher. Her characters like bossy Marcie, "little accident" Ezequiel, to brainy Irwin and Saygar were all inspired by some child she met somewhere in her life.

Elizabeth worked as a teacher for several years before making a difficult decision to put her career aside to become a full-time mother to her three sons. With two of her sons close to graduating from college and her youngest a senior in high school, she has made another life altering decision to pursue her dream of becoming an author into a reality.

Reviews

[Nour · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm currently sick and spending the day in bed, and this was the perfect way to cheer me up (I like to imagine that Joseph saying "sana sana colita de rana" applies to me too). I loved this book even more than the first one: there were so many adventures and lots of character growth. I found myself rooting for the kids over and over throughout the book! I also appreciated seeing Joseph and Saygar's friendship blossom further and become more meaningful. The plot is well-grounded in local and culturally significant stories, a layer that made the story extra special. You can tell that this book is infused with love, care, and subtle but meaningful nuggets of wisdom (rather than in-your-face lessons, which I have in other books and find kind of annoying). Highly recommend to this book + series anyone, including if you are no longer a middle-grade reader (I am a college student and found it very moving!). I would give this 6 stars if I could :).

[Lisa McCombs · Rating 5 out of 5]

The chapter book Saygar the Superhero is the perfect blend of humor, fantasy, and realistic fiction. When third-grader Joseph makes a promise to return for his best friend in three days that ends up being two weeks, he can no longer keep his pesky, cute as a button cousin at a distance but is forced to let her tag along. Joseph’s best friend is not like most best friends. Saygar is a giant ant that dresses and behaves like a human boy.

[Autumn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received Saygar the Superhero as an ARC through Booksirens. And I have to admit, it was an interesting read to say the least. It's been a while since read about giant ants attending third grade (as in I've never read about an ant attending third grade.) I admit I did not read the first installment but this book does a good job of catching the reader up. So let's begin:

Prose:

Saygar the Superhero is enjoyable in that the syntax varies enough to remain stimulating. The flow is also forward moving, so it is easy to breeze through the chapters. And unlike most middle grade I read, this seems to steer much closer to a younger audience. With a main character in the third grade, this is to be expected. However, the prose is simple while not being 'simple.' As an adult, I could still enjoy it, so I am certain a child could too.


Plot:

The story picks up two weeks after the first book, with Joe keeping his promise to Saygar that he would come back to get him from the anthill. Soon La Llorona, Big Herman- a massive spider, and other dangers emerge. The story is quite episodic, with many chapters being mostly self-contained. So a lot of the story is comprised of watching the adventure of Joseph try and survive Life and Saygar's antics. A few plot points are woven throughout the entire story to varying degrees of importance. I will say the mostly episodic nature of the plot made the stakes feel a bit weak overall, as it felt as if the reader simply moved from one point to another. However, it overall is humorous and cute.


Characters:

The characters were the most lively. The characters were very 'bouncy' in that they are cartoon like in their expressiveness. There is a wide range of personalities that work well together. Personally, Joseph was my favorite. He was brave, yet at times being nervous and a scardey-cat, but also a good friend having to deal with the responsibilities of Saygar and the shenanigans that followed.

[Estela A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was great! I was curious how Joseph was going to keep his promise to Saygar to bring him back to being a human size boy again, following Saygar's return to the ant hole. It was not an easy task due to the fact that Joseph had to deal with his adorable, and brattish, four year old cousin Julia. The secret that Saygar was really an ant , had to be kept by all means. There was alot of fast thinking , but Joseph was able to to get Saygar to become human again and keep the secret! Saygar loved being human. He felt he could do anything, even being a super hero. After the rescue of the beloved family dog, La Budget, Saygar indeed was looked upon as a Super Hero!

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes, Superhero's comes in unsuspected packages, and can become best friends.
I don't like ants but this Superhero story makes me more aware of all the tiny creatures around us.
This was a super fun read. So well written and put together you don't want It to end.
Thank you, Ms. Jurrrado. This story has inspired my grandson to read more. He loved the story and is ready for a new adventure. Please, read and enjoy, people.
I received an ARC free from BookSirens and this is my voluntary honest review.