Sanity & Tallulah

Sanity & Tallulah
Molly Brooks
Disney/Hyperion, 2018 229 pages
Grades 3-7
Graphic Novel/Science Fiction

Best Friends, Sanity and Tallulah, are super smart, have a great sense of adventure, and a penchant for trouble. The remote space station in which they call home gets turned on its ear when a science experiment gone wrong-a genetically enhanced kitten with three heads-escapes and causes power outages and chaos throughout the planet. Sanity is the scientist who does the high-level thinking and whose father is the head of the entire space station. Tallulah brings the personality and charisma to the team and, although her mother is the head engineer of the station, tends to wreak havoc whenever she starts meddling with experimentation. After the kitten gets loose and the space station is in danger of shutting down and killing them all, the girls try to locate the missing feline and correct the damage. Although complications ensue when it appears to be coming from more than one place. Could there be other evil forces at work? It is up to this power team to locate the root of the problem and save the day before it is too late.

Debut author, Molly Brooks, creates two lovable characters, embracing friendship, science, and girl-power. Sanity and Tallulah have different personalities, which helps them to work well as friends. It is a refreshing break from the currently popular heavy graphic memoirs and science fiction is a welcome change. Yes, the space station may be exploding, but in a super-hero sort of way, and at least none of the families are getting divorced and nobody is getting bullied or discriminated against. This book will serve as a fun and entertaining diversion for both science-loving and science-challenged kids. The main characters are girls, but boys will enjoy this books as well, as the adventures are universal. The illustrations are well drawn and easily scanned, shaded in grey/blue with pink accents. The action never stops, the humor never flags, and everything comes out okay by books end. Plus, there is a diverse cast of characters, an adorable kitten with three heads, and a really cool first name (Sanity) that I think I might legally change my name to. What's not to like about this book? The last page promises more adventures to come, which young readers are certain to snap up.