The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: Squirrel Meets World By Shannon Hale and Dean Hale

Summary (from Goodreads):

WHO RUNS THE WORLD? SQUIRRELS! Fourteen-year-old Doreen Green moved from sunny California to the suburbs of New Jersey. She must start at a new school, make new friends, and continue to hide her tail. Yep, Doreen has the powers of . . . a squirrel! After failing at several attempts to find her new BFF, Doreen feels lonely and trapped, liked a caged animal. Then one day Doreen uses her extraordinary powers to stop a group of troublemakers from causing mischief in the neighborhood, and her whole life changes. Everyone at school is talking about it! Doreen contemplates becoming a full-fledged Super Hero. And thus, Squirrel Girl is born! She saves cats from trees, keeps the sidewalks clean, and dissuades vandalism. All is well until a real-life Super Villain steps out of the shadows and declares Squirrel Girl his archenemy. Can Doreen balance being a teenager and a Super Hero? Or will she go . . . NUTS?

Review:

Yes, yes, yes! This book was exactly what I needed. A kick butt girl hero, check. A girl who puts others (including babies, animals, and mean kids) before herself, check. A hilarious non-stop joke of a story that made me laugh out loud on several occasions, check. Homage well paid to the comic, check. A brand new origin story for one of my all time favorite super heroes, check.

I just love Squirrel Girl. I love her graphic novel series. I love her powers. I lover her satire. I love her good spirit. I was ecstatic to learn of this YA version of her.  I was a tiny bit worried that the book in no way could live up to my crazy high expectations. But, I should have known it would be fabulous just because of the authors. I love them too.

If anything, this origin story was funnier than the actual comic. Seriously, I could not stop laughing. There are cameos and text conversations with other famous superheroes.  And some of these conversations were just the best. Also, the hilarious footnotes of the graphic novel are here too.

I also loved seeing how Doreen met Tippy for the first time. I loved Doreen’s human best friend too. It was great watching her become the super cocky, brave, unbeatable hero I know her as now. I love the idea of a superhero with strict parent rules. I also love the high school backdrop. This was a bit reminiscent of Spider-Man’s teen years for me.

All in all, this was a great book. The characters were amazing. The humor was remarkable. The plot was a lot of fun, and just a tad over-the-top, which is perfect for this hero. This is the story where Squirrel Girl learns what she’s capable of. She breaks out of her shell and learns to always do what’s right. It’s a fluffy, un-put-downable girl hero story. And I give this a 10/10.