High energy, fun-filled, and stuffed with juvenile fart and butt jokes that appeal to the eternal 12-year-old in me. ( )

This is the 4th volume in the HiLO series and was another excellent installment in that series. This is a book that I think kids and adults alike will enjoy.

HiLo’s sister has joined the team and she is super smart (and super distracted). She is helping them to track giant robot monsters that are emerging from the Earth. HiLo can’t fight all of this on his own, so HiLo’s sister builds a supersuit for Gina. Now Gina and HiLo are our kicking some monster butt, but when things get too tough HiLo awakens into new and uncontrollable power.

I loved that Gina finally confronted her mother about cheerleading and that her mother was supportive about it. It was a good look at how parents can get a bit blind to what their kids actually want sometimes. I also continue to enjoy the friendship between our characters and the uniqueness of the characters.

The illustration continues to be bright and colorful, easy to follow, and just generally well done. The whole story has been fantastic fun and I am really loving it. There are a number of parts in here that are laugh-out-loud hilarious.

Overall an amazing continuation of this middle grade science fiction graphic novel series. I would highly recommend for all ages but especially for fans of graphic novel series like Cleopatra in Space, Mighty Jack, and Amulet.

Judd Winick's series continues with book 4 titled Waking the Monsters and we find ourselves back with HiLo and his friends as they continue to fight off the monsters that are being unleashed on earth by Razorwark. Two heroes are born: Comet and Star Burst. This is the book where we finally discover just exactly why Razorwark wants to destroy humanity and where all of the robots are coming from. If you've been following the series from the beginning, you'll be happy to learn that Gina finally expresses her true feelings about being a cheerleader to her mom. Eagle-eyed readers should pay special attention to the background of the illustrations for an especially funny jab at the U.S. government (unless you're a Trump supporter in which case you probably won't think it's that funny). It continues to be an action packed, humorous book about friendship and doing the right thing. Winick knows how to capture his audience's attention and keep it even when books are spread out (the next is sadly not due out until 2019). You're not even ready for the ending of this one, guys! I think the best part about reading the HiLo series is that I have quite a few kids here at the branch that are reading it right along with me. Since I'm always here I have the benefit of reading it first so when they come and check out the shelves and see it I can gush about how much they're going to like it. (Maybe I crow over reading it before them a bit but that's neither here nor there.) 10/10 for readability and 'inside' jokes + making a connection with my kids. ( )