review: Kid X

title: Kid X (Boy 2.0 series)
author: Tracey Baptiste
date: 24 Feb 2026; LBYR
middle grade; super hero

Kid X is the next book in the Boy 2.0 series. In the series, 13 year-old Win “Coal” Keegan isn’t just any Black boy growing up in the foster care system, he’s an emerging superhero with the power of invisibility. In this volume, Coal is further exploring what his responsibilities are to others because he has these power, and he’s trying to stay alive.

The foster care system has placed Coal with the McKay family. They are aware of all that he brings, and they’re protective, perhaps overprotective, of him. They are comfortable financially but, Coal has dreams and aspirations that test the limit of his own finances so, he tests the limits of his own powers as well as the ethics of the best ways to use his invisibility to benefit others and to benefit himself financially. This is a typical super hero dilemma, but Coal is trying to find answers without the benefit of others who can truly relate to his predicament. In this second installment, he’s about to learn more about his biological family; and family, regardless of having super human capabilities or not, can provide support, build trust, and nurture this budding young man. That family is crucial to him because he’s facing real life challenges from forces that seek to destroy him because he’s so special.

Baptiste keeps the story relevant by embedding emerging technologies into the story while also dropping fun facts of information that add layers of interest.

Coal reaffirms the everyday as well as the extraordinary specialness in Black boys. He struggles, he’s not perfect, but he’s such a good guy! Particularly pleasing in the promise of a third installment as the book ends.

Be well and do good

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