Be a Fanboy...

I picked up The Amazing Adventures of Fanboy and Gothgirl both because we have sold a number of copies to librarians and because the black lips on the cover just seemed to call to me. I am glad I decided to listen to the librarians on this one.

Fanboy is in high school, obsessed with comic books and Michael Bendis (creator of the Powers comic that I am also fond of), mostly without friends and surrounded by people who either don't understand him or like to make his life miserable.

His only real friend, Cal, is caught between being a geek and trying to fit in with the popular crowd by playing on the school lacross team. The effort of fitting in puts a strain on Cal and Fanboy's friendship, creating part of the dramatic tension in the book.

Fanboy them meets Kyra, AKA Gothgirl, who is also an outcast in the society of high school for her goth clothing and attitude.

Fanboy shares his artistic creation (a graphic novel) with Kyra, and the book goes on a wild ride of comic book conventions, principle's offices and for Fanboy, a great deal of growing up. This is a book for anyone who remembers feeling like an outcast in high school and has, hopefully, realized since then that we are all part of our own "in crowd" in some way.

---Bruce