REVIEW: #56 The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy & Goth Girl

Reading time: 3 – 5 minutes

Title: The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy & Goth Girl

Author: Barry Lyga

ISBN: 0618916520

Pages: 320

Rating:

Synopsis: (Taken from Amazon.com)
Fanboy has never had it good, but lately his sophomore year is turning out to be its own special hell. The bullies have made him their favorite target, his best (and only) friend seems headed for the dark side (sports and popularity), and his pregnant mother and the step-fascist are eagerly awaiting the birth of the alien life form known as Fanboy’s new little brother or sister.

Fanboy, though, has a secret: a graphic novel he’s been working on without telling anyone, a graphic novel that he is convinced will lead to publication, fame, and—most important of all—a way out of the crappy little town he lives in and all the people that make it hell for him.

When Fanboy meets Kyra, a.k.a. Goth Girl, he finds an outrageous, cynical girl who shares his love of comics as well as his hatred for jocks and bullies. Fanboy can’t resist someone who actually seems to understand him, and soon he finds himself willing to heed her advice—to ignore or crush anyone who stands in his way.

Book Trailer:

Review:

Donnie seems to be your average fanboy – lean, gangly, and pretty much invisible to everyone. Except for the fact that some of the more popular people see him enough to give him a hard time – enough to where you’re waiting for this quiet loner to blow up and take some harassers out.

Now that I’m standing, it’s easy to slip my hand into my pocket. As usual, I feel an immediate calm when I touch the bullet that I keep there. I started carrying it about a year ago. Everything is OK; I’ve added Mark to The List. – pg. 5, The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy & Goth Girl.

Then he meets another loner-of-sorts, Goth Girl Kyra Sellers. She’s angry. She’s got issues. She tells it like it is. Although Goth Girl hates people, somehow she’s drawn to Fanboy and their mutual appreciation for graphic arts (and hatred of Jocks) pulls them together in an unthinkable (and almost unspeakable) friendship.

Kyra discovers one of Fanboy’s secrets – he’s been working on his very own graphic novel called Schemata. Kyra is also surprised that – even though their tastes in comics are fairly different – she loves Schemata and she wants it to be a success. In her own negative influenced, trouble-making ways, Kyra pushes Fanboy to learn some things about life. Can someone so pulled within her own shell, help influence someone to come out of theirs?

The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy & Goth Girl was brilliantly written – witty, honest, and at times – just hilarious. Although touching a bit deeply on stereotypes, I found the book entertaining and well written. I found Fanboy to be a truly lovable character, who I truly sympathized with on multiple levels. I read this novel in record time (about 2 days, considering how sick I’ve felt) and immediately wanted to continue reading the next novel by Barry Lyga (centered around Goth Girl, called Goth Girl Rising).

If you have an inner-geek (especially if you like comics or manga, and can appreciate discussions) – or heck, if you like Neil Gaiman (as he comes up quite often) – then I definitely recommend this book.

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