Clearly this wants to be funny without making the whole plot a joke. It takes itself mostly seriously, just including a lot of potentially silly details. It just doesn't quite get there. It's a simple enough story, just a bit bland.

The Doopers are a superhero-obsessed family, and always seem to live on the edges of super-heroism. Dad, David Dooper, keeps trying to help his kids get into the town's superhero school. Son, Little Davey, is obsessed with comic books, and has tried unsuccessfully to enroll in the superhero school. Daughter, Cooper, has no interest in the superhero life. Mom, Doris, is too fearful of speaking to others outside the family because of her backwards speech impediment, so mostly stays at home. But when the newest graduates of the superhero school all get disappeared by a villain called Dire, the Doopers jump into action.

First, I was expecting that it was a graphic novel from the cover, so I was disappointed. And okay, it's a middle grade novel. But... It's a little too on the nose about everything. The super family is called the Doopers. Super. Doopers. The dad and son have the same name, save the daughter's name is Cooper, which I've never seen as a girl's name in my life, and feels like it's only chosen because it rhymes. Doris's speech patterns, where every sentence is backwards, was extremely frustrating to read. Their town's name is literally "Hometown." It almost feels like the author put names in as place holders while he wrote, and then didn't bother changing anything. I SUPPOSE it's fine for the really little kiddos that won't notice the detail issues, but I feel like it could be better.

I received an Advanced Reader Copy via NetGalley in return for sharing my thoughts on this book. Thanks to the author and publisher for this opportunity!

I thought this book was a comic based off the front cover so I was a little thrown when realised it wasn't. Despite this I enjoyed it. I really liked the message that you don't need to have a super power to be special and to matter to people. I think a lot of the children at my school would enjoy reading it. The pictures are fun and really capture the characters personality. Mrs Dooper's character speaks backwards, which takes a bit of getting used to. I think that some children would find it difficult to get their heads round it, but that confident readers would enjoy this aspect. I can imagine one of the children in my Year 2 class in particular really loving this. The story line is funny and there is a nice twist towards the end of the book. Over all, this was an enjoyable read.

A sincere thank you to NetGalley for providing me an advanced copy of “A Dire Situation” in exchange for an honest review. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to read this story and leave my review voluntarily

Fun book for early readers and superhero fans.

If your beginning reader (1-2nd grade) enjoys superheroes and The Incredibles, they are sure to enjoy this fun book. The characters are SUPER silly and adventurous.

I would recommend this for 1st graders to early 2nd graders. My avid reader in 2nd grade lost interest early on.