In this sequel to Meems & Feefs: Ferrets from Planet Ferretonia, Meems & Feefs: The Council of Ferrets, Meems repairs the travel opal and opens a portal to return him and Feefs to Planet Ferretonia and brings Liza along for a visit. However, Meems and Feefs are in quite a bit of trouble due to creating and using banned technology and so must answer to the Council. Together, the three of them uncover more of the mysteries of the banned ancient technology of Ferretonia and Meems’ missing mentor…
Cooper’s world-building is incredibly detailed for a whimsical fantasy graphic novel series for children. The premise of a young girl meeting cute intelligent ferrets is a good one no matter what, but Cooper has developed a full society for her ferret characters as well as depthful lore that is revealed in parts throughout the story. Still, the premise is easy to follow as the human character Liza serves as the reader’s liaison to Meems and Feefs’ world.
Liza is more than just a projection of the reader though. The majority of the first Meems & Feefs book took place on Earth, and the reader was introduced to Liza’s life, and it seems like there is more to be revealed about Liza and her life back on Earth. Liza’s development takes a backseat to the ferrets and the revelations surrounding Ferretonia in this volume, so hopefully future volumes will explore her and some of the Earth characters a little bit more.
The art in Meems & Feefs is perfect for its charming and fantastical story. Cooper’s work is the epitome of a story made for the graphic novel format. Previously, Cooper worked as an Art Director for the animated web series Simon’s Cat, and that animation experience serves her well as a graphic novelist. Her dynamic panels pack a lot of movement into each page without being overwhelming. Her characters are expressive and unique – she is able to make each ferret individuals not only with physical design but with facial expressions as well. They are fully realized characters with their own emotions and motivations. There is one sequence in which Meems and the character Leeloo are trying to escape, and the reader can almost hear their banter instead of simply reading it due to the combination of Cooper’s panels and word bubble placements as well as the characters’ movements. Though the graphic novel format is perfect for the story, it almost feels like an animated series due to Cooper’s mastery of sequential art.
The publisher’s age rating for The Council of Ferrets is ages 10-12 and Grades 3-8. It definitely will appeal to that age range, but older teens and some adults who like a magical adventure with touches of whimsy and humor will enjoy Meems and Feefs’ adventures with Liza. The adventure is ongoing, so it is beneficial for readers to have read Ferrets from Planet Ferretonia before reading The Council of Ferrets, andhopefully their tale continues in future volumes. The Meems & Feefs books would make great additions to libraries with juvenile readers looking for a funny but intriguing fantasy series.
Meems and Feefs: The Council of Ferrets By Liz Cooper Andrews McMeel, 2025 ISBN: 9781524876715
Company Age Rating: Ages 10-12
NFNT Age Recommendation: Middle Grade (7-11), Teen (13-16), Tween (10-13)
The story opens with David, a brown-skinned, lanky middle-schooler, imagining the “spark” of creativity and ideas as a cute little cartoon creature. He arrives home and meets up with his neighbor Marta, a lively homeschooled 2nd grader with red-rimmed glasses and the two investigate an explosion in David’s basement. It turns out his mom has successfully created a tool to shrink herself down so she can travel between dimensions into a “micro universe.” Unfortunately, she’s left the tool behind.
David and Marta go on a brief adventure to rescue David’s mom and, while in the microscopic dimension, encounter the blue spark of David’s imagination. It’s pictured as a blue ball with a purple cape, gloves, and boots on it’s stick-like arms and legs and a splash of blue “hair.” Together, with the help of David’s experiments, they rescue his mom from a crowd of purple creatures like Spark that seem to be sucking her creativity.
Inspired by Spark and their adventure, David tries again to start a Science Club and gets more interest this time. With the enthusiastic participation of Marta, he demonstrates how to make “space mud” at the club’s first meeting in his backyard and even gets the interest of a girl, Lisa. She’s shown wearing tights, a long skirt, and a loose jacket with curly black hair and a blue knit cap. David’s audience includes a kid with long blonde hair in a wheelchair.
However, the story is far from over – Spark isn’t the only creature that came through the portal from the microscopic universe and David’s mom is working on a new project in their basement that could mean disaster! David will have to bring out his trusty experiments and depend on Marta’s inexhaustible energy to save the day with science and keep the spark of inspiration alive.
There’s not a lot of variation in body types pictured, but that’s due more to Loux’s art style than a studied lack of diversity. Loux’s characters all have long, thin, flexible limbs and show exaggerated emotions with their wide mouths, heavily-drawn eyebrows, and the rapid changes in their eyes. The science experiments have a few illustrations, but these are mostly part of the story – the instructions are primarily in the text.
The other dimension is colored in orange-hued pinks, pale purples, and yellows with lots of ripples, creatures with multiple legs, and speech bubbles that look like tropically patterned easter eggs. This contrasts with the everyday suburb where David lives with blue skies and green trees and lawns.
The story includes 18 simple science experiments, from slime to a straw rocket and there is a QR code that has videos to accompany each experiment. The book is sponsored by a science organization called High Touch High Tech which creates fun science experiences.
There is some disconnect in the story – David is supposed to be a middle schooler, but the science experiments are more something an elementary student, like Marta, would enjoy doing. They do somewhat interrupt the flow of the story. As Marta points out, they’re running from monsters so why didn’t David just bring a compass instead of magnetizing a needle in the middle of a chase? However, the story is mostly a vehicle to carry the science experiments and a younger audience will enjoy the light story and be interested in trying the different projects. Manning is an experienced author who is used to creating nonfiction/fiction graphic novel scripts and the plot moves smoothly despite the sometimes jarring science elements. Older readers who like Matthew Loux’s art and are interested in the science-fiction genre are more likely to enjoy his own graphic novel series, The Time Museum.
The Spark Experiment By Matthew Manning Art by Matthew Loux Andrews McMeel, 2026 ISBN: 9798881601928
This short graphic novel opens with a stereotypical bullying scene – Lucas, our main character, duct-taped upside-down to his locker by the bullies and his “friend”, eco-warrior Julia hiding in her locker. Lucas, a skinny little kid with pale skin and huge glasses, is determined that nothing is going to ruin his thirteenth birthday, but soon finds himself stuck in detention with Julia. Julia, a tall, stocky girl dressed in all black with white hair dyed green that contrasts with her brown skin, is exasperated by Lucas, but goes along with his escape plan and helps him get home in time for his birthday dinner.
She’s startled by the tiny, run-down house where Lucas lives, but drops him off. Lucas enters and the house is revealed as a giant, maze-like mansion, complete with stuffy elderly butler. As Lucas searches for his parents, readers find out why he’s so excited about his birthday: Family tradition rules that he takes control of the magical Gloom Stone that grants wishes when he turns thirteen. He’s shocked and outraged when his parents, a wildly eccentric duo who are wrapped up in their own projects and his baby sister, decide he’s not mature enough to handle the stone.
Naturally, things get even more chaotic from this point with Lucas promptly proving his parents’ point, a talking stuffed cat named MewMew (sorry, majestic red panda), foolish wishes old and new, and even Julia getting mixed up in the story as she tries to get everyone to care as much as she does about climate change. Lucas optimistically thinks he can fix everything, until the true secret of the stone comes to light – even his optimism may not be enough to fix this disaster!
This graphic novel originates in France and the art and story have a slightly European flair. Lucas is a very young thirteen, especially compared to the graphic memoir-style comics like Raina Telgemeier. He wears a puffy-sleeved jacket, shorts, and has a mop of messy blue-black hair. His eyes always seem to be surprised and shocked by the consequences of his actions. Julia is a somewhat one-sided character; her aggressive “friendship” and gloomy demeanor are paired with her more mature appearance and it’s only near the end of the story that she shows concern for Lucas as a person outside her focus on climate change and teaching people, including Lucas, “a lesson.” The villain is a Victorian stereotype, complete with tall hat, mustache, and world-conquering plans.
This is a quick, fun read with plenty of humorous touches and a cliffhanger that leaves room for sequels. The comic panels are smaller and more detailed with a lighter palette than many kids are used to reading, but the book still pulls the reader along from each fresh wish and the disaster it brings. A light-hearted, humorous fantasy about the dangerous of wish-fulfillment that will attract readers who enjoy graphic novels and short, quick reads.
Atomic Lucas By Pirate Sourcil Art by Francesca Carita Andrews McMeel, 2026 ISBN: 9798881601720
Lindsey Cheng is like most college freshmen, trying to find herself even as everyone is trying to tell her who she should be. This includes everyone from her overbearing and very traditional Chinese mother to her best friends and bandmates. It seems like everyone has an opinion on who Lindsey should be and where her attention should be focused, be it the band or her studies.
The sole exception to this is Jason—the super-chill lead-singer of a different band, who stuns Lindsey by calling her his girlfriend as he tries to give her a gift while shopping for old records. This stuns Lindsey, who barely started dating Jason and never had a boyfriend before. This makes her anxious to be everything a good girlfriend should be. More, she wants to be cool enough to be the girlfriend of a cool guy like Jason. But is Jason really the best thing to ever happen to her? Or is she just stunned at the idea of any boy being interested in her after a sheltered childhood?
The early press for Lindsey Cheng Dates a White Boy described it as “perfect for fans of Bryan Lee O’Malley and Mariko Tamaki.” I can see why it might draw comparison to the Scott Pilgrim series. It is based around young adults and indie band culture in the early 21st century and Asia Miller’s art shares a certain aesthetic. The general plot even emulates the lessons of that comic, albeit through the female lens. However, it dramatically oversimplifies the story to write Lindsey Cheng off as an older Knives Chau, who has the good sense to realize that Jason is scum before it is too late.
What really sets this comic apart—and indeed inspires the need for a sequel—is the final chapter. This is told from the perspective of Lindsey’s friend and bandmate Mel; a fierce romantic who loves love. It is she who first gets an inkling of who Jason really is but puts on a false face because she wants to support her friend. At the same time, Mel copes with her growing attraction to their third bandmate, V, and the hint that V (who loves video games and hates boys) might return her feelings.
The opening of the book focused on Lindsey does deliver an important message upon the dangers of repressing yourself for the sake of a relationship. And yet, the chapter with Mel is the strongest and feels the most genuine. Personally, I’d love to read a comic about the awkward romance between tomboy V and girly girl Mel as a follow-up to Lindsey’s hard lessons regarding her first love.
There’s no official publisher rating for Lindsey Cheng Dates a White Boy!!! I would personally consider it appropriate for most teen audiences and indeed perfectly suited for that audience given the ultimate moral of the story. There is no sex or even so much of a mention of it. The closest we get is Lindsey taking off her T-shirt to reveal her bra while hanging out with Jason while lounging on his bed. There’s no violence or nudity and no language worse than what might be heard on broadcast cable.
Lindsey Cheng Dates a White Boy!!! By Asia Miller Andrews McMeel, 2026 ISBN: 9798881605827
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+), Older Teen (16-18), Teen (13-16) Creator Representation: Chinese-American, Queer, Character Representation: Chinese-American, Bisexual,
In the middle of a forest, a yellow bear pops out of a bush. It’s the heroic, and aptly-named, Pillow, here to do battle with the dragon in the cave, earn badges, and save the villagers’ cheese! However, this particular dragon turns out to be much smaller than expected and introduces themselves as Fae. Pillow slays them with a joke and the two set out to find the real cheese-stealing culprit. Their journey will lead them into lots of cheesy adventures (and cheese puns) and frequent appearances of Badger the Badger, popping up to deliver badges to Pillow.
The book ends with some simple activities and badges for kids to earn, from collecting leaves to a stakeout badge in your own kitchen. Stickers are included for each of the badges – the page with stickers is not perforated, but could be removed or laminated in a library setting.
Pillow the bear is a lumpy yellow shape with small ears and a lighter patch on their belly and around their mouth. Fae changes shape, but is generally small and pink with a blue bow on their head. As a dragon, they have an adorable little snout and their “real” shape looks like a cartoon cat. Pillow makes lots of dramatic faces and their simple body shape only changes slightly as they move. Only Badger, a small blue torso that pops out of the ground wearing themed headgear, has faint fingers on his stubby blue arms. Most of the story is dialogue between Pillow and Fae, with lightly-sketched backgrounds. They move from the outdoors to the village at night, shown by the background turning a deep violet, and then during the day they are in an outdoor setting again with a light blue and green wash of colors behind them.
The story is short and simple, with lots of silliness. Pillow resolves their battle with the real cheese thieves by being nice (and gets a conflict-resolution badge) and the story ends with more adventures in store as they travel to Fae’s home world. However, with all the puns the text is a little more challenging than the average easy reader and the font is definitely smaller than is usually used for a beginning reader. This is what I’d call a transitional chapter book – not long or complex enough to be considered a middle grade book, but not as short or easy enough for an easy reader. Libraries that don’t have sections specifically for transitional chapters will probably want to put this with easy readers though, since the layout of the book fits that section best.
Kids who enjoy light and simple stories like Taco & Pizza or Bug Scouts will find this a fun choice and even older kids will enjoy the goofy humor and cheese puns. A fun addition to most public and school library collections.
Badge Quest Vol. 1: A Cheesy Brie-ginning By Guy Kopsombut Andrews McMeel, 2025 ISBN: 9781524892302
When I reviewed the first volume in this series last year, I found it intriguing but with an unsatisfying ending, especially for its middle grade audience. I hoped the second volume would explain more of the background and tie up some of the loose ends of the first volume and I was delighted that it did exactly that.
The sequel opens with a written and illustrated preface, recapping the previous story and showing the menacing Lazarus Gallington, dictator and sentient washing machine, still searching for Iggie, the boy who started it all in the first volume. Iggie feels lost and confused after the strange events he’s been through, as well as the reappearance of his aunt and uncle, Jane and Bernard, who were raising him until he went to live with his mom, Jill. He brings his new friend Angie into the secret of the sentient items and the dangers posed by L. G., and with some old and new friends they set out to solve the multiple mysteries, save Peculiar Woods, and keep their friends and family, human and creature, safe. In the course of this adventure, Iggie resolves his own dilemma, finding reconciliation between both his old and new families.
This sounds like a lot to fit into just 200 pages, especially in a comic that has minimal text, but Colmenares pulls it off, reintroducing characters seen only briefly in the first book, like the mysterious gray-haired man, and each character fits neatly into the plot, with nonstop action knocking down one plot point after another, revealing secrets and solving mysteries.
Colmenares’ style of cute, doll-like characters fits well into a world where everything from cups to washing machines can be alive. The pink-spotted cheeks of snarky Boris the chair don’t make him any less snarky and L.G. looks positively menacing, with patches of rust and random popping bubbles drifting through the woods. Much of the action takes place at night, in the snow, with the gleam of holiday lights adding a ghostly green and blue sheen to the characters’ round topknots. Side characters are both cute and creepy, like the army of cups with tea bag bolases and the straw-hatted lamp who has their own attached cord weapon.
It’s a wild ride from start to finish and kids who want a relatively quick read, lots of mystery, adventure, odd happenings, and tidy resolutions will enjoy zipping through these two titles. I strongly recommend purchasing both together, since the first volume leaves so much hanging. The second volume hints at the possibility of more adventures, but resolves everything enough that readers will be satisfied if the story stops here. A fun additional purchase for most graphic novel collections.
Peculiar Woods, vol 2: The Mystery of the Intelligents By Andrés J. Colmenares Andrews McMeel, 2024 ISBN: 9781524880316
Publisher Age Rating: 7-9 years NFNT Age Recommendation: Middle Grade (7-11)
When Iris starts her new job at Olympus, she quickly discovers several things. First, the two demigods she embarrassed herself in front of last week work here. Two, she’s one of only a handful of humans working in the building (the rest are demigods and gods). And three, she’s essentially a mail delivery person despite her fancy title. Oh, and on her first day, the god Eros discovers she’s not interested in his help to find a love match, so he becomes obsessed with helping her. This is a typical office romcom with the added bonus that the Greek gods are real and living among mortals.
Although there isn’t anything new to the formula here, it’s a fun read. It has the elements of a promising reverse harem or love interest triangle. It’s hard to tell when Iris isn’t interested in anything that isn’t excelling at her mundane job in a world filled with gifted individuals. The comedy is created by misunderstandings and bad timing. In the first volume of the print edition, there are a few jokes made at the expense of human incompetence when compared to the inherent “better”-ness of demigods and gods.
Although this series would fall into the new adult category based on the age of the main characters, the story and humor feel like they would appeal more to teen readers or adults who want the mental break from heavier narratives. The simple illustrations and neutral colors seem to support this as well. The story continues on Tapas for those who can’t wait for the next physical volume release.
Office Gods Vol. 01 By Catharina Octorina Art by Liz Hiikariin Andrews McMeel, 2023 ISBN: 9781524886042
Author Chesca Hause created the Litterbox Comics webcomic to share her family’s funniest struggles and stories. Because she never liked drawing humans, she portrays herself, her husband, and their two sons as anthropomorphic cats. Fran and Joel are a pair of frazzled but highly adaptable cat parents. Their kittens are Vincent, a six-year-old with major attitude, and Cooper, an adorable three-year-old who often causes trouble by accident.
In this volume, Fran and Joel muddle and flail through—and sometimes triumph over—sibling squabbles, mealtime mishaps, their kids embarrassing them in front of other adults, and more. They tackle it all with humor and manage to find time for each other and for their own interests, like video games. In addition to the relatable parenting challenges, the comics sometimes include nods to the fact that this is a family of cats and their friends are all other anthropomorphic animals. For example, the whole family goes into berserk hunter mode when a fly buzzes through the room, and Fran accidentally yells about the song “Baby Shark” in front of a family of actual sharks.
In this new format, the author includes a new feature: each section of the book begins with two pages that can be flipped back and forth to create the illusion of motion, showing small scenes like Joel tossing Cooper in the air, or the kittens jumping on a bed. Readers of the webcomic will note that the book does not include the bonus panels that often accompany the pages in the online version. However, there is some fun bonus content, like stickers, character bios, notes about the real-life incidents that inspired some of the comics, and a “photo album” of comics at the end.
The art is colorful and features lots of fun visual humor, like the dad jokes on Joel’s t-shirts. Besides the central cat family, the characters include animals from birds to bulls to hyenas, all roughly the same size and all wearing clothes in a variety of styles. They are highly expressive, emoting with not just their faces but tails and other animal-specific features (for example, a chameleon changes color when smelling something gross).
The art also grounds this comic in the current time: readers will notice lots of franchise-specific toys and accessories, including Pokémon, Star Wars, Minecraft, Marvel, and more, as well as Starbucks cups, Capri Sun drink pouches, and Goldfish crackers. Some objects mimic identifiable brands, but with a humorous twist, like chips that come in what is clearly a Doritos bag but are labeled Spicy Triangles.
These comics will probably be most relatable—and most amusing—to parents and other adults who spend a lot of time with children. They are much more parent-focused than some other family-centered comics, and they include the very occasional swear word as well as several humorous instances of the word “penis” (no actual penises appear in the comic). Parents, teachers, and other kid-adjacent adults will likely be familiar with some of the scenarios in this volume, and will laugh at how those scenarios play out for Fran and her family.
Parenting is Weird: Tails from the Litterbox By Chesca Hause Andrews McMeel, 2023 ISBN: 9781524879358
The story opens on Planet Ferretonia, where the wide-eyed and lovable Feefs (short for Fee-Foo) has, as usual, a question. To the exasperation of the council member teaching the younglings, Feefs is curious about the world beyond Dook Dook Island, but the conversation is derailed when Feefs’ gadget-obsessed brother Meems (Meemoo) shows up to whisk Feefs away.
Meems has a plan for exploring the forbidden worlds beyond—using forbidden technology—in search of his vanished mentor. After an exciting (and humorous) adventure, the two pass through a portal to a new world…
Meanwhile, on Earth, Liza, a red-haired tween, is dealing with a lot of things. She misses her absent parents, her deceased guinea pig Pushkin, and hasn’t figured out a way to tell anyone that she’s struggling in school. Her concerned adult brother, Sasha, who is caring for her while working as a chef at the local diner, insists on dropping her off at the local animal shelter where she’ll have to talk to her best friend Lexi, whether she wants to or not. The meeting with Lexi is awkward, but he’s sympathetic to Liza not wanting to talk and takes her to meet their newest rescues—a pair of ferrets!
Liza’s problems are put to the side for the moment, as she becomes thoroughly invested in helping Meems and Feefs return to their planet and the three learn some gentle lessons about friendship, kindness, making mistakes, and not eating everything in sight. The story ends on a cliffhanger, with Liza poised for an adventure with her new friends.
Cooper’s art is chunky and goofy; Meems favors goggles and toolbelts while Feefs prefers dressing up in whatever he can find, including “borrowed” clothes from Liza’s stuffed animals. Both are fluffy with blends of beige, brown, and white fur, but their personalities are clearly different. Meems, with a little more fluff around the face, is nevertheless clearly the serious one, with fangs poking out from his habitual frown. Feefs is goofy and open, with big, exaggerated cartoon eyes and a wide, happy grin as he goes through life making friends with everyone he sees.
All of the human characters appear white; Liza has a thick curve of reddish hair and a little cowlick, her brother Sasha’s blonde hair is pulled up in a short ponytail and he has a shadow of beard and blue-inked tattoo. Liza’s friend Lexi has short, wavy brown hair and thick dark eyebrows and wears casual jeans and loose t-shirts and Leslie, the eccentric older woman they visit in the woods has a messy scruff of gray hair and a pointed, reddened nose. The most attractive part of Cooper’s art is her ability to capture the ferrets as both intelligent, sentient personalities but also as goofy pets. Meems wraps himself up in a blanket to brood, Feefs delights in soft blankets, and the guard ferrets in the Citadel, like real ferrets, prefer a good nap. Carson’s own ferrets and models are shown in the back of the book.
This is a light and fluffy but fun offering. There are a few thoughtful moments included, from Liza introducing herself with her pronouns to Lexi’s sympathetic listening and Leslie’s robust advice on making mistakes, but it’s mostly a lighthearted adventure story with lots of humor, silly drawings, and cute ferrets. The only caution is that this is very definitely the first book in a series, with a major cliffhanger, and that’s always a risk when you don’t know if the series will be continued or not. Hand to fans of Investigators, Ninja Cat, and Cat & Cat Adventures.
Ferrets from Planet Ferretonia! Vol. 1 By Liza N. Cooper Andrews McMeel, 2023 ISBN: 9781524876708
NFNT Age Recommendation: Easy Readers (5-9), Middle Grade (7-11)
Picking up right where volume one ended, Sorceline must face more than one secret about her family in order to save her new friends from a mystery assailant. Meanwhile, a new apprentice, Charlie, arrives on the island to everyone’s surprise, including Charlie’s since he can’t see mythical creatures at all. This causes some confusion as they work to further unravel the mysteries presented in book one, which lead to new and more dangerous mysteries. As the overarching story progresses, the characters explore different areas of the island to help cryptids in distress, discover new and unexpected abilities, and learn about old enemies that may not be as helpless anymore.
This was an excellent second volume that manages to answer questions posed in the first book while introducing new storylines that will hopefully be expanded on in volume three, which does not currently have an English release date. I continue to be impressed by the use of color in the illustrations. The illustrator uses them to evoke emotions to great effect and enhances the storytelling by juxtaposing bright, cool color schemes with darker elements.
All of the characters are given more definition, building on volume one. Because there are so many side characters in this series, it is hard for each of them to have the same depth of characterization, especially when they do not appear central to the main plot. However, each character does contribute to solving the mysteries presented. This volume also includes a bestiary that highlights the name, habitat, special characteristics, and life span of the various cryptids found on the Isle of Vorn.
I still highly recommend that this series be added to any library with a middle grade patron population that enjoys magical schools, mythical animals, or a layered mystery. There is a little more violence in this volume than in the first, but not much.
Sorceline Vol. 02 By Sylvia Douye Art by Paola Antista Andrews McMeel, 2023 ISBN: 9781524882310
Publisher Age Rating: 9-12
NFNT Age Recommendation: Middle Grade (7-11) Creator Representation: Italian,
In this sequel to Meems & Feefs: Ferrets from Planet Ferretonia, Meems & Feefs: The Council of Ferrets, Meems repairs the travel opal and opens a portal to return him and Feefs to Planet Ferretonia and brings Liza along for a visit. However, Meems and Feefs are in quite a bit of trouble due to creating and using banned technology and so must answer to the Council. Together, the three of them uncover more of the mysteries of the banned ancient technology of Ferretonia and Meems’ missing mentor…
The story opens with David, a brown-skinned, lanky middle-schooler, imagining the “spark” of creativity and ideas as a cute little cartoon creature. He arrives home and meets up with his neighbor Marta, a lively homeschooled 2nd grader with red-rimmed glasses and the two investigate an explosion in David’s basement. It turns out his mom has successfully created a tool to shrink herself down so she can travel between dimensions into a “micro universe.” Unfortunately, she’s left the tool behind.
This short graphic novel opens with a stereotypical bullying scene – Lucas, our main character, duct-taped upside-down to his locker by the bullies and his “friend”, eco-warrior Julia hiding in her locker. Lucas, a skinny little kid with pale skin and huge glasses, is determined that nothing is going to ruin his thirteenth birthday, but soon finds himself stuck in detention with Julia. Julia, a tall, stocky girl dressed in all black with white hair dyed green that contrasts with her brown skin, is exasperated by Lucas, but goes along with his escape plan and helps him get home in time for his birthday dinner.
to tell her who she should be. This includes everyone from her overbearing and very traditional Chinese mother to her best friends and bandmates. It seems like everyone has an opinion on who Lindsey should be and where her attention should be focused, be it the band or her studies.
In the middle of a forest, a yellow bear pops out of a bush. It’s the heroic, and aptly-named, Pillow, here to do battle with the dragon in the cave, earn badges, and save the villagers’ cheese! However, this particular dragon turns out to be much smaller than expected and introduces themselves as Fae. Pillow slays them with a joke and the two set out to find the real cheese-stealing culprit. Their journey will lead them into lots of cheesy adventures (and cheese puns) and frequent appearances of Badger the Badger, popping up to deliver badges to Pillow.
When I reviewed the first volume in this series last year, I found it intriguing but with an unsatisfying ending, especially for its middle grade audience. I hoped the second volume would explain more of the background and tie up some of the loose ends of the first volume and I was delighted that it did exactly that.
herself in front of last week work here. Two, she’s one of only a handful of humans working in the building (the rest are demigods and gods). And three, she’s essentially a mail delivery person despite her fancy title. Oh, and on her first day, the god Eros discovers she’s not interested in his help to find a love match, so he becomes obsessed with helping her. This is a typical office romcom with the added bonus that the Greek gods are real and living among mortals.
Author Chesca Hause created the Litterbox Comics webcomic to share her family’s funniest struggles and stories. Because she never liked drawing humans, she portrays herself, her husband, and their two sons as anthropomorphic cats. Fran and Joel are a pair of frazzled but highly adaptable cat parents. Their kittens are Vincent, a six-year-old with major attitude, and Cooper, an adorable three-year-old who often causes trouble by accident.
the exasperation of the council member teaching the younglings, Feefs is curious about the world beyond Dook Dook Island, but the conversation is derailed when Feefs’ gadget-obsessed brother Meems (Meemoo) shows up to whisk Feefs away.
Picking up right where 
