  | Travis Daventhorpe for the win! (Travis Daventhorpe) Author: Molebash, Wes | |
| Price: $19.78 | ||
Summary:
Middle schooler Travis Daventhorpe may be a genius, but he's always struggled to make friends. After his attempt to befriend the new kid Juniper Reyes results in an epic fail, Travis takes sentient robot, Travbot, out for a test flight. Travis and Travbot take a nosedive into the woods. There they discover a legendary sword, a warrior from another dimension, and a mysterious prophecy: Travis Daventhorpe is destined to save the multiverse! In graphic novel format.
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews (01/15/23)
School Library Journal (03/17/23)
Booklist (03/15/23)
Full Text Reviews:
Booklist - 03/15/2023 Travis Daventhorpe is an incredibly intelligent kid, but he severely lacks social skills. When new girl Juniper Reyes, who's equally smart, shows up to his school, he does his best to befriend her, with mixed results. Most of his free time is spent with his closest friend, Travbot, a robot he created. During an unexpected flight malfunction, both Travis and Travbot find themselves crash landed in a thickly wooded area with a mysterious sword stuck in stone. Travis frees the sword, releasing a magical mage who tells him an omnipotent deity, Creatrix has chosen him as the worlds savior and that it is now his duty to prevent the evil entity, Nol Invictus, from destroying the multiverse! Molebash's debut graphic novel blends an intriguing sf fantasy story line with refreshing video game–inspired artwork, featuring blocky figure designs, bright colors, and strength stats for each major character. Middle-grade readers who love video game adventures will appreciate this fast-paced comic, and a cliff-hanger ending will keep them on the hook for forthcoming volumes. - Copyright 2023 Booklist.
School Library Journal - 03/17/2023 Gr 3–6—In his first year of middle school after skipping a grade, Travis Daventhorpe is having an easier time getting bullied than making friends. It doesn't help that he's the smartest kid in school. So when new girl Juniper Reyes shows up, Travis goes all out trying to make sure they become besties. When that fails, he takes solace in a test flight with his homemade robot, Travbot. An unfortunate crash-landing puts him face-to-face with multi-dimensional wizard Belazar, who clues Travis in on his true destiny as the Hero of Solusterra! However, there are forces that do not want Travis to fulfill his potential, including evil king Nol Invictus. Will Travis succeed? Will he even survive the middle school science fair? This graphic novel is an excellent debut for both Travis and Molebash. In addition to the fun and fluid writing and simple but effective art, the book offers several clever references to other works, from Calvin and Hobbes to The Matrix. Molebash uses gaming tropes, and even gives the main characters their own sets of gaming attributes, making the story more accessible and enjoyable. This first entry in a planned series is a great start, but it's not entirely perfect; there's enough story in this one book to spread over multiple volumes. However, the story Molebash tells and the characters he introduces are compelling and will have elementary kids eagerly awaiting the next volume. VERDICT An excellent graphic novel debut that elementary kids will eat up.—Erik Knapp - Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.
