Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Book review - Mighty Jack and Zita the Spacegirl

Title: Mighty Jack and Zita the Spacegirl
Author: Ben Hatke
Genre: sci-fi/graphic novel
Similar books: Foiled by Jane Yolen
                      Estranged by Ethan M Aldridge
Rating:
what a delight

Summary (provided by publisher): Jack and Lilly are no strangers to heroics. They’ve befriended dragons, battled giants, and even earned the loyalty of a goblin army. So when they meet Zita the Spacegirl, fresh from her interplanetary travels and seeking their help to face a new threat, they’re more than ready for another adventure.
But the danger growing just outside the door to their world is greater than anything the new friends could have imagined. An army of giants and screeds stands ready to lay siege to Earth, determined to put the age of humans to an end.
With the gate between worlds growing weaker and time running out, can the heroes come together to save their world from their greatest enemy yet?


My opinion: No joke, I've been eagerly awaiting this book for 2 years, from the moment I finished Mighty Jack and the Goblin King and realized that Hatke was bringing Zita into Jack's world. Because the only thing better than getting a resolution to Jack's story would be reading more about Zita. And this is more than just a continuation of the Zita we knew in the original trilogy. This is an older Zita, a Zita who still feels like an outsider on Earth but is starting to gain some distance from her adventures. Jack and his crew, on the other hand, are in the midst of their adventures and have literally, physically been changed. Goblin blood, magic seeds, psychic links. They are noticeably abnormal at odds with Jack's determination to return to the status quo. Zita feels different but appears like any other kid. These ideas and petty jealousies crash together with an intersection of fairy tales, Norse mythology, and sci-fi adventure. It's a grand, sweeping story with constant action and a fair dose of social complexity. Hatke invites the reader to consider the giants in life, both literal and metaphorical. Well worth the wait.

More information: Mighty Jack and Zita the Spacegirl releases September 3.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.

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