Illegal by Eoin Colfer & Andrew Donkin

My favorite book of last year was not a typical choice for me. Rather than a novel, my favorite book this year was both historical fiction and a graphic novel--Illegal by Eoin Colfer and Andrew Donkin.

Illegal is about a boy named Ebo, who journeys across the land of Ghana and through the sea. His goal is to reach the Europe to escape the war in his home country. His parents are dead, so he and his brother travel the entire way together, hoping to meet with their sister who escaped years before. Their journey takes them through Africa and to the Mediterranean, all in the hopes of finding their sister.

When most people think about graphic novels, they think about an adventure that is often fun or exciting. This book was different. Illegal still is an adventure, but it explains what is happening in Africa and the struggle people have to go through to even have a chance of escaping. Even though so many attempted the journey to Europe, only a few actually survived.

This book helps you gain insight about the migrant issues around the world. Even though this book is a fictional account of the migrant journey to Europe, stories like Ebo’s are still happening today.

This book connected with me. It showed me what happened to people and the struggle they endured. Historical fiction is usually not my favorite genre, but this book was definitely an exception.

The Bad Guys Series by Aaron Blabey

The Bad Guys series is about a wolf named Mr. Wolf and his pals, Mr. Shark, Mr. Snake and Mr. Piranha. These naturally bad creatures have decided to stop being evil and unite as heroes and become good guys. To prove themselves worthy of the name "Good Guys", the guys will have to do various acts of kindness such as:

• Breaking out the dogs from the local pound.
• Freeing thousands of chickens.
• And stopping the evil mastermind guinea pig.

Will the bad guys complete these tasks and be heroes?

I think this series is hilarious! All of the books are action packed and full of laughs. Even in life or death situations, the author makes it funny. I also like how the evil mastermind is a guinea pig who hates cuteness even though he is adorable.

There are already four books in the series and two more in the making. I can't wait to continue reading the adventure of the Bad Guys.

CatStronauts: Mission Moon by Drew Brockingham

I found this book while browsing through books at the library.  It looked kind of cute, so I decided to check it out.

CatStronauts: Mission Moon is the first graphic novel in a new series.  In this book, Earth has an energy shortage.  The best astronauts are sent to the moon to plant solar panels to collect solar power.  They have five day to train, build a rocket, and complete their mission.  But, by the way?  The whole world is made up of cats.  Can Major Meowser and his team save the planet?

This book was really funny.  It was a shorter read for me, but it really made me laugh.  I liked how everyone in the book was cats, from the President of the United States, to the astronauts, to regular citizens, but they also still had very "cat" names like PomPom and Waffles.  My favorite character was Waffles because he was always eating and he reminded me of myself.

Jellaby: The Lost Monster by Kean Soo

I received Jellaby: The Lost Monster and some other dinosaur themed books from Capstone Publishing.

Jellaby is about a girl named Portia whose life is pretty dull, until one night, she hears something outside!  She goes outside to check to see what it is and she finds a little dragon.  She names it Jellaby.  Portia keeps him a secret until, after an incident, a young boy named Jason finds out about Jellaby.  They work together to keep Jellaby safe.  Finally, they figure out that Jellaby's real home is through an odd door at the fair.  How can they get Jellaby to the fair without anyone noticing?  And will they get Jellaby home?

I really liked how this book was a graphic novel because I think comics help explain a story better.  I think the characters are cool, especially Jellaby, because I think it would be awesome to find a real dragon of your own.  Also, this story doesn't really end for Jellaby and his friends!  It's a cliffhanger, and I really want to read the next one.

Apocalypse Meow Meow by James Proimos

Apocalypse Meow Meow was a preview copy from NetGalley.

This book is about 4 dogs and a cat who set out on a search to find a man who can lead them back to their owners.  On their way, they run into a rat who tells them there is a factory of all-you-can-eat "Twonkies"  The rat tells them they can have all the Twonkies they can eat, *IF* they can chase out a cat first.  Will the animals get their Twonkies?

I like this book because it is about a bunch of silly dogs who go on adventures.  I really like the graphic novel format, I just wish it was longer.  One of my favorite parts of the book is that the one guy the dogs are chasing is naked.  I really want to read Apocalypse Bow Wow by the same author now!

I Was an Eighth-Grade Ninja by Andrew Simmons

I Was an Eighth-Grade Ninja is about a girl named Hana who has to move from Japan to the United States after her mother died.  She lives with her grandfather and trains with him in his martial arts studio.  She meets a new girl who is really nice to her, but the girl's friends don't like Hana.  The friends are planning to make Hana regret ever coming to California. How will Hana be able to keep her new friend.

I really liked that Hana is already good at martial arts, so that when she trains with her grandfather, she is kind of like a superhero.  She already knows all the patterns and how to fight with all the weapons.  I also like that Hana seems like she is a regular girl but she is really a ninja.  I also like Tomo, a little raccoon-ish creature, that is Hana's grandfather's best friend.

Fangbone! Third-Grade Barbarian by Michael Rex

Fangbone! Third-Grade Barbarian is about a kid named Fangbone who is sent to Earth to protect the Big Toe of Drool.  But, he decides once he is there that he will need an army to protect.  He sets out to find his army, but lots of things stand in his way, like hound-snakes and dirt devils.  On his journey, he finds a really good friend who can be useful and help him protect the Toe of Drool.  What else will happen to Fangbone?  Will he be able to protect the Toe?

I liked this book because, when there is something that can take the Toe, Fangbone reacts and is able to destroy it.  I also like that Fangbone is always telling stories from his world and that everybody else wants to be like him.  One of my favorite parts of the book is when the other people all start to dress like Fangbone because they wanted to be like him.

The Tale of Despereaux: The Graphic Novel

The Tale of Despereaux is about a mouse who is different from all the other mice.  He is not afraid of anything and doesn't like to live the way of a mouse.  In this book, Despereaux gets into a lot of trouble, so much trouble that he gets sent to the dungeon forever.  In the dungeon, Desperereaux barely escapes with his life.  When he finds out that the really nice princess he met is in danger, he sets off to get help.  He decides that only he can save the princess.  Will he succeed in saving the princess?

This book is the graphic novel version of The Tale of Despereaux.  While I really like books, some books are really long, and a graphic novel is a good way to get the idea of the story and see if you want to read the full novel.  I also really like adventure comics and seeing the pictures that go with the story instead of just all words.

Check out my review of The Tale of Despereaux novel here.

Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute by Jarrett J. Krosoczka

Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute is the first book in the Lunch Lady series.

This series is about a lunch lady who is actually a secret agent and her co-agent Betty who helps her make gadgets.   There are also three students, known as the Breakfast Bunch, who find out about Lunch Lady's secret life.  

In this book, one of the Breakfast Bunch's teachers gets sick and there is a substitute.  The substitute says that the teacher left them a lot of work to do, but Lunch Lady thinks something is up.  With the help of Betty, Lunch Lady has to find out what is wrong with the new substitute!

When I first read this book, I really liked it, so I had to get the rest of the books in the series.  I really like it because it seems like the Lunch Lady is just a normal lunch lady, but then she starts attacking like a ninja and no one knows she is there.   My favorite thing in the book is that Betty creates all these cool gadgets for Lunch Lady to use, like the Spatu-copter.