Sanity & Tallulah (Graphic Novel)

Book 1 of the Sanity & Tallulah Series* by Molly Brown

* This review is ONLY for the book described in this post, NOT the series in its entirety.

Recommended Audience: Middle School and Up

Opinion: Recommended w/ Advisories

Synopsis: This action-packed graphic novel would be a great find for science fiction lovers ages 10 years+. Readers tag along as best friends Tallulah and Sanity work to figure out who–or what–is wreaking havoc on their beloved space station. Could it be Sanity’s recently-escaped science experiment–a cuddly three-headed kitten–or something else? While there aren’t many overt moral lessons, the story is entertaining and enriching. If your reader enjoyed the cat-chasing antics of novel Grounded by Aisha Saeed, they’ll likely enjoy this book as well.

Advisories: lying, sneaking around, one LGBT+ inference, moderate crude language

Details:

This was a fun, engaging read filled with action and fun sci-fi STEM jargon. Sanity and Tallulah are best friends and partners-in-adventure living on a futuristic space station. When someone, or something, starts causing damage throughout the station, they suspect it might be Sanity’s latest science experiment: a three-headed kitten that has escaped from the lab! The two girls quest to find their fugitive furry friend without getting in to too much trouble along the way.

This was a captivating graphic novel that I would encourage my Middle Schooler to read. Engaging storytelling, strong female leads, STEM representation, and opportunities for critical thinking make this book of value for readers. I would recommend it for even younger grades if it weren’t for the moderate crude language (damn, hell, etc.) and higher-level sci-fi concepts and vocabulary that might leave them a bit lost. The illustrations’ limited color scheme and frequent transitions from dark to light palettes left something to be desired for me, however. If I were to put this on my shelf at home or in an Islamic school library, I’d censor the one LGBT+ inference found on p. 157.

Things I Liked:

• engaging, fast-paced storytelling
• diverse cast of characters
• STEM/sci-fi related themes and vocabulary
• strong female friendship
• fun adventure with an element of mystery

Detailed Advisories:

• sneaking around/trespassing (recurring) (p. 25, 32, 119)
• death of pets (p. 56-57)
• lying (p. 59)
• moderate crude language (heck, damn, jerk, hell) (p. 125, 130-1, 143, 145, 179, 222)
• one LGBT+ inference — male character says he had a crush on another male character in grade school (p. 157)
• dead animals (p. 166)

Advisories Note: This list of advisories is not exhaustive and may not capture every instance of questionable content, but rather is intended to give an overall sense of the content of the book.