Gabe Gomes reviews books as The Masked Reader

The YouTube book review opens like this: “Coming up, the first book of the series that is a fun yet very gucci — that means good by the way — way to teach kids about the gospel. It features fruits, snakes and one sick boy, and it’s coming up so don’t miss it. … If you’ve seen the intro, you hear me say one sick boy. That one sick boy is me.”

Gabe Gomes is an avid reader and was looking for a way to present book reviews and give recommendations for books he enjoyed. His parents, J. Moses and Marcia Gomes, gave him permission to set up a YouTube channel, and he has uploaded about a half a dozen videos.

There was one catch. His parents were hesitant for him to show his face on the internet, so when he’s sharing book reviews, he becomes The Masked Reader.

The videos are five or so minutes in length, but they are packed with the animated and fast-talking 11-year-old sharing humor, some bloopers, several eye-mask adjustments, wild hand gestures and a couple of dramatic off-camera glances.

In one of his most recent book reviews, Gabe appears on camera wearing a backward Incredibles ball cap and a green and black mask. Behind him, a bookshelf is filled with books and an assortment of tchotchkes.

“Ladies, gentlemen, boys, girls and animals, if you’re watching this … I want to introduce you to the first book of the series,” Gabe said in the video. “This is the comic book Bible. Well, actually, it doesn’t say, ‘the comic book Bible.’ It says ‘Power Bible.’ But it’s in comic book format, so that’s why I called it a comic book Bible.”

He said he had nothing negative to say about the book and recommends it for people who like comic books.

“This book captures all the highlights from the Bible in just one mini thin section,” Gabe said. “My favorite story in this book would probably be the story of creation. It talks about the reason behind why we’re made, and it explains why the Earth is where it is, the sun is where it is, everything is where it is, why we’re alive and why we have a meaning in life.”

More reviews are expected for other books in this series. So far, he has created 16 book reviews, he said.

His name, The Masked Reader, is a play on the title of Fox TV’s “Masked Singer.” He changes masks for each episode. His first — a review of “White Bird,” by R.J. Palacio — was uploaded Dec. 27, and for his debut he donned a superhero mask and Santa hat. He gave the book a thumbs up.

Gabe owns most of the books he reviews but said he will review a book borrowed from the library or given to him by a friend. Titles include “The Underland Chronicles,” “Survive Inside the Human Body” and “Starving the Anxiety Gremlin.”

He only gives positive reviews, so if he doesn’t enjoy a book, he won’t review it. He is a fan of James Patterson books and a comedy series called “Monica’s Gang,” which is written in Portuguese and can be read by Gabe, who is bilingual.

What’s next for Gabe?

“Spoiler alert — the book is going to be titled ‘Third-Grade Angels,’” he said.

New reviews are posted around 6 p.m. each Friday.

When he’s not reviewing books, Gabe is working on his writing skills. The Horizon West Middle School sixth-grader is taking a journalism class and working on a book.

“The book title is called ‘Madness in the Amazon,’ and it’s about a 12-year-old boy who is the luckiest person alive because somehow he happens to win every single raffle, every single lottery ticket.”

The book includes getting lost in the Amazon and running into jaguars and hostile villages, he said.

“I think it has a happy ending,” he said. “I left it off in such a way that it lets the reader decide. So, there might be a second book. … I’m thinking, in a few months, if we can wrap everything up, I’m going to review it, and I’m going to give it a perfect 100%.”

Gabe and his parents hope to make it available as an eBook.

Until that happens, though, he will continue reading and reviewing books and letting viewers know what is good about each of them.

“They’re really good guys; trust me,” Gabe said of the people in “Power Bible.’ “And my dudes, my ladies, my gentlemen and maybe animals that are watching this. This is a wrap on the newest episode of” — (deepens voice) — “The Maaaaaaaaaaasked Reeeeader!”

And with that, he signs off.