Review by Booklist Review
Both about to start sixth grade, cousins Maya and Riley clash when they have to share a room at their grandma's house. Maya, who's missing her big family in Muscogee Nation in Oklahoma, is athletic and quick to make lots of friends, while Riley is a genius inventor who keeps to herself and is sad about living away from her military parents for the first time. When they start school, though, they find something they can rally behind together, after the devious vice principal sets about gutting funding for school clubs. This first entry in a new graphic novel series from acclaimed authors Magoon and Smith is a great introduction to the main characters and focuses on kids having a voice. It dips slightly into community activism but focuses more on the girls' transition from a rough start to bonding over a mutual desire to make their school a better place for everyone. Presented in modern, stylized cartoon artwork, this thoughtful and timely story featuring a multigenerational, multicultural family will find wide appeal.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Estranged cousins--Riley Halfmoon, who is of Muscogee heritage, and bespectacled Maya Dawn, who is Black--reunite in Urbanopolis to live with their community-centered activist grandmother as they prepare to enter sixth grade. While adjusting, they both experience a few hiccups along the way. Extroverted Riley is eager to befriend her cousin, whom she hasn't seen since early childhood. Reserved Maya, on the other hand, wants to maintain her privacy and focus on her inventions. When they learn that a lack of funding is jeopardizing beloved school activities, the cousins each run for class president. But nefarious vice principal Mr. Balderdash seems intent on stemming their efforts and landing them in detention. As it becomes clear that the cousins won't accomplish anything on their own, Maya and Riley team up, Holmes and Watson style, to win the presidency, take down Mr. Balderdash, and save their school. Bustling slice-of-life plot beats by Magoon (Chester Keene Cracks the Code) and Smith (Harvest House), paired with animated art by debut illustrator Murakami, culminates in a realistically rendered and impeccably paced graphic novel series opener that accessibly highlights the importance of youth involvement in local politics. Ages 8--12. (Mar.)
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Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 4 Up--Riley Halfmoon and Maya Dawn are cousins who have very different personalities. This never made a difference until they both moved to Urbanopolis to live with their grandmother, and their personalities began to clash. Riley is used to being part of a big Muscogee family in Oklahoma and makes lots of friends on the gymnastics team. Maya is used to living with her parents on an Air Force base and doesn't mind being one of the only members of the robotics club. Riley and Maya soon find themselves united by two things: The first is that they each have different sentimental reasons for loving blue stars; the second is their dislike of Vice Principal Balderdash, an over-the-top bad guy who wants to cut everything they love, such as after-school programs and the school library, out of the budget. This story has layers that will appeal to many different kinds of readers. It's a sweet and thoughtful story about military families, friendship, and girls learning to trust each other. At the same time, it evolves into a weird and funny adventure as the girls scheme to combine their strengths and reveal their vice principal's diabolical plans to the world. Murakami's cute and cartoony artwork pops with color and will hook readers into the excitement of the story. VERDICT A thoughtful, funny, and memorable story about family, friendship, and cooperation. Purchase for all middle grade collections.--Andrea Lipinski
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Review by Horn Book Review
In their first graphic novel collaboration, Magoon and Smith introduce readers to cousins Riley Halfmoon and Maya Dawn. Riley is used to being surrounded by her Muscogee cousins and aunties. Maya is an only child and lives in Japan with her parents, who are on active duty. The girls both move to Urbanopolis to live with their paternal grandmother when Riley's mom gets a new job and Maya's parents get a new assignment. At first they find sharing a room to be a difficult adjustment; when school starts, the two continue on their separate paths until they realize the vice principal plans to cut afterschool programs for more detention space. The girls work together to expose his plans and to "be the stars" their grandmother wants them to be. The story and illustrations are a wonderful representation of a multiracial (the cousins' paternal grandmother is Black; Riley's mom is Muscogee, and Maya's mother is white) and multigenerational family. The graphic novel format, with varied panel layouts in the digital illustrations, helps create a fast-paced adventure middle-grade and middle-school readers will appreciate. Nicholl Denice MontgomeryMarch/April 2024 p.98 (c) Copyright 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
Can two cousins overcome their differences to save their school? Sixth grade cousins Riley Halfmoon and Maya Dawn may be united by family ties, but they couldn't be more different. Popular, outgoing Riley (who is Black and Indigenous) grew up among extended family and friends on Muscogee Nation land, while bookish Maya, the biracial daughter of active service members (her mother presents white, her father Black), has never had a permanent home. When both girls move in with their Black-presenting artist/activist grandmother Gayle, their personalities clash, with each girl struggling to adapt and find her footing at school--no easy task with draconian, white-presenting Vice Principal Balderdash ruling the halls. Newly empowered by the mayor, Balderdash slashes funding for supplies and programs to buy portable classrooms to increase detention space. Afraid of losing the school programs and services they love, Riley and Maya must work together to stop him. After their attempts to work within the system fail, only one option remains: a risky, Mission Impossible--style plot to expose the VP's diabolical plan. This middle-grade graphic novel, the first in a series, has everything: nuanced and empowered protagonists, a funny, gripping story, age-appropriate treatment of social issues, and expressive comic illustrations begging to be lingered over. Readers will come away inspired to raise their own voices and take action to create positive, peaceful change in their communities. A fresh new graphic series sure to engender a devoted following. (authors' note, illustrator's note) (Graphic fiction. 8-12) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
