Review by Booklist Review
Students like the introspective Hakata Soy, the space-gymnastics-obsessed Doug Hiro, and the snooty rich girl Maribelle Mellonbelly meet up at Astronaut Academy, a middle school where the zany mixes with the postmodern. At Astronaut Academy, kids keep flashbacks in their bellybuttons, are allergic to trouble, and learn to sew up broken hearts. Amid the comical, but also curiously poignant, personality clashes and pining would-be romances, an existentially confused robot powered by one of Hakata's hearts (apparently humans can have up to nine) arrives on a mission of destruction. Not to worry, though: although the tone can strike surprisingly thoughtful notes, silliness is high on the agenda, aided by minimal, cartoonish art that plays on manga tropes but also manages to build character into the simple lines of a face. The panels and word balloons are often densely packed, and with the occasionally unexpected tone of the humor, this is one for readers looking for more involved and complex comedy than a cursory glance at the images might lead one to expect.--Karp, Jess. Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Roman previously adapted the X-men as a shojo manga, so he certainly knows his way around the "special academy" story. This time out, it's the story of mech-riding superhero/ordinary school kid Hakata Soy, and his attempt to make a fresh start at a new orbital school filled with a bunch of colorful, aspirational classmates. Hakata struggles with the typical social drama of middle school, as well as the occasional evil twin robot assassin. It's a zany setup designed more for random fight scenes and one-liners, and the book contains a mix of short stories and one-page gag strips. The dialogue reflects this, with the kind of manic every-line-has-to-be-a-joke dialogue that reflects contemporary kids' cartoons like The Fairly OddParents. The artwork is very cartoony and cute, and uses free-floating layouts to add to the whimsy. Ages 10-14. (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 3 Up-This charming graphic adventure follows the exploits of child space hero Hakata Soy. Enrolled in an intergalactic boarding school, he navigates his way through the over-the-top personalities of many of his melodramatic classmates. An element of danger is added when fellow hero Gadget creates a new best friend-a robotic duplicate of Hakata Soy that includes one of his "broken hearts." This robot is co-opted by villainous bird people that set him upon the academy to kill his flesh-and-blood doppelganger. While this title is obviously geared for and can be enjoyed by school-age children, there is also tongue-and-cheek humor that older readers are sure to enjoy. Each supporting character is highlighted in mini-chapters, which gives the book a kind of newspaper comic-strip feel. The black-and-white pencil illustrations invoke the artistic style of a manga, but many of Roman's unique theatrical elements, including boys concerned with "cool hair" and wheeled dinosaurs used for moon racing, create a universe unto its own.-Ryan Donovan, New York Public Library (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
In this anime-style graphic novel, Hakata Soy arrives at an outer-space school dedicated to training young astronauts. Soy's arch-nemesis sends a robot to the school to destroy him and generally wreak havoc. Laking a cohesive narrative, with lots of perspective shifts and many loose ends, the volume leaves plenty of room for future books to develop and explain Hakata's story. (c) Copyright 2011. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
This book will make readers want to flip through the author's doodle pad, in case he has ideas that are even wilder.Dinosaurs show up early in the book. They're in outer space. They come with wheels, so students at Astronaut Academy can race them. The school also has a time-traveling panda and a league of villains in footy pajamas. There is a plot heresomething about a student being chased by his robot doublebut Roman is more interested in playing with language than anything else. He uses intentionally awkward syntax ("ATTACKING is something frowned upon by people because someone may get hurt in the process") and made-up spelling: At one point he even uses "bee" as a verb, as in "To bee or not to bee." Some readers may be looking for a more focused plotthe author seems just to be finding his footing in the early chaptersbut it's hard not to like a school where Wearing Cute Hats is on the lesson plan. Fans of Harry Potter or Archie comics might appreciate the romances among the students. As in those series, the couples don't get together in the first volume, but there are talking bunnies to see in the meantime. Some of them know karate chops.Roman's quirks may irritate a few readers, but many children will run to their own scratch pads to draw fierce bunnies, wearing cute hats.(Graphic novel. 10-14)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
