A 2014 Top Ten Graphic Novel for Teens
The cheerleaders need new uniforms. The robotics club wants to to take their robot to the national championship. There's only enough funding for one group to get what they want.
This means war. Glorious, nerds vs. jocks, all-out-kind-of-war-that-only-happens-in-high-school war.
And Charlie Nolan finds himself caught in the middle. Captain of the basketball team, he was recently dumped by head cheerleader Holly. He's also best friends with robotics club president Nate Harding, unlikely though it seems. Since the student council has been tasked with deciding who gets the money, Nate's idea is to become the new student body president. But when Holly finds out, she and the rest of the cheerleaders nominate Charlie for student body president, making it clear that if he wins, he'll help them get the money. Of course, this doesn't sit well with Nate, and soon the campaigning escalates, though that's putting it mildly (three words: industrial weed killer). Who will win? And will Charlie be able to survive?
This is one of the most fun graphic novels I've read in a long time. Prudence Shen infuses a lot of humor into this story, from the aforementioned industrial weed killer to Nate shouting "Chainsaws, people, we need chainsaws!" in a hardware store. But in the midst of all this teeange angst, there's a more serious thread woven in, as Charlie deals with his parents' divorce. Naturally, Nate is the only one who really knows what's going on with Charlie, and it's those middle-of-the-conversation moments of their friendship that really make their relationship hit home. And Faith Erin Hicks's art is just fantastic. Rendered in black and white, she brings the story to life better than the most well written descriptive paragraph. If you loved, or even just liked, Bryan Lee O'Malley's Scott Pilgrim series, you'll enjoy this.
(Read as part of YALSA's Hub Challenge)
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