kirkusreviews.com
In the sequel to Skye’s dystopian A Lame New World
(2018), awkward “semi-superheroes” hatch a plan to save their school from its
nefarious secretary—again.
Thanks to mutant spider bites, Tip can mentally activate
machines; Mindy can damage “almost anything” by clapping; Xen emits destructive
belches; and glowing-eyed Owen hears distant sounds “like a freak” but
struggles to hear up close. Having established “a little street cred,” the
League of Average and Mediocre Entities must thwart retirement-hungry
Darth Susan’s latest convoluted scheme to close Otto Waddle Jr. High Government
Outpost. Occasional political satire, with President Flake heading an authoritarian government from the Blight House, alternates
with self-deprecating humor and copious, clunky puns and parodies. Readers
wanting laughs will either giggle or groan (“There was trouble afoot, and afoot
trouble is almost as bad as abutt trouble”); those seeking character depth won’t
find it in Tip’s frequently expository narration or his friends’ plot-driven
dialogue. However, some readers might find zany catharsis for school woes as
LAME confronts bullies; geek and gender stereotypes; farcically misanthropic
faculty; and gleefully evil Darth Susan, who totes a tyrant-quoting “daily
cruel-planner.” Comic-style illustrations continue the characters’ dialogue—and
their puns. Mindy and Owen are depicted as kids of color, and Tip and Xen
present white.
Despite its Wimpy Kid–esque style, this uneven
entry may leave comic-diary fans echoing a lukewarm movie review within it: “[It’s]
okay, all right, fine, acceptable, and whatever.” (Graphic/fantasy hybrid.
9-12)
Add comment