Review by Booklist Review
A sneakered, T-shirted kid finds himself uncomfortably cast as the hero of one story after another, but neither fighting aliens nor wrangling cattle nor slaying dragons feels right to him. Novelist Uytdewilligen's debut graphic novel delivers much unpredictable metafictive fun as the boy speaks out from the page--to complain, bargain, and ultimately brainstorm with the author as, together, they try to find a story that fits. Further fragmenting the fourth wall, characters lean out of and abandon their panels, and manuscript pages drift across the page to ultimately be crumpled by the frustrated protagonist. Huyck varies the palette and rendering style to reinforce each changing story convention, from brooding darks in Transylvania to perky pastels in Paris. The boy's realization that his story is actually this, a search for a story, is a satisfying conclusion in this imaginative world. The author appears on the page to chat with the reader, reviewing the story types the boy encountered. This clever graphic presentation of fiction genres invites readers to further playful investigation of story conventions.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 3--6--Uytdewilligen and Huyck make a remarkable team in this interesting take on a graphic novel for young readers. The main character breaks the fourth wall often, speaking directly to the author and illustrator in a hilarious attempt to find his story. He begins as a captain on a spaceship only to realize this could not possibly be his story because he doesn't believe in aliens, and he has absolutely no idea what button to push. He then tries several other stories: a cattle wrangler, a knight, an investigator, and even a giant-hedgehog-riding boy in search of ice cream, but none of them are his story. This inventive graphic novel captures a young child's search for self-discovery and the wish for one's own story in a way that will resonate with all young readers and with enough humor to also fascinate writers. While Uytdewilligen's writing style is witty and engaging, the interactions between the main character and the author are especially entertaining and add a layer of playfulness that connects readers to the character's journey. Huyck deserves as much praise as Uytdewilligen for his captivating illustrations, in which the main character is expressive and where each of the rejected storylines that he explores tie in to the last--be on the lookout for the hidden characters from each one! VERDICT A great addition to any library and a wonderful way to pull in reluctant readers and kids just starting to figure out how to tell a story.--Jessica Clark
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A story about stories and genres. As the book opens, a brown-skinned boy is flying a spaceship, surrounded by green aliens in their own spacecrafts, but announces to the unseen author/narrator that this is the wrong story for him ("I definitely don't believe in aliens"). The boy ends up on a blank white page, looking startled, while the narrator considers other potential roles for him, such as Cattle King Carl, "quickest wrangler in the West," a dragon-slaying knight, the victim of a Transylvanian vampire, and a plant in a science textbook…all of which the child rejects. Flustered, the narrator leaves this poor boy on a blank page in only his underwear before finally asking the character what story he wants to be in. The narrator is similarly unsuccessful at coming up with that tale, but the protagonist has a solution. Huyck's artistic style remains relatively consistent while the settings and palettes change from story to story. Uytdewilligen's clever, inspired work of metafiction will have readers giggling at the boy's commentary and also getting a lesson in the concept of genre. The narrator appears at the end, a light-skinned adult, pen and sketchpad in hand, opposite a list of genres. A fun patchwork of stories that encourages out-of-the-box thinking. (Picture book. 6-10) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
