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mrs_bookdragon's review against another edition
5.0
Such a great read full of humor and heart. I loved the robotics and robot wars!
linzer712's review against another edition
2.0
While this may be mildly entertaining for high school or middle school students, especially those who like to build robots, there didn't appear to be much of a resounding message or much real depth of characterization or emotion. Just ok.
barbarianlibarian's review against another edition
4.0
oh this book cracked me up. great art. great expression in the art. funny story. fun.
madisenmc's review against another edition
2.0
Ok. I read it really fast. Although it was a graphic novel...
saidtheraina's review against another edition
4.0
Sweet realistic story about friends and neighbors who find themselves in different cliques in high school. This becomes a problem when the administration threatens to give the robotics club's $$$ to the cheerleaders.
It's a plot-based book - most of the characters are pretty utilitarian and flat - but it's super engaging and fun to read. A quick pulpish read. I was pleased that the plot didn't go exactly where I expected it to, and the climactic scenes were my favorite part. There's a surprise main character, and some pretty fun robots.
I was a little frustrated with the tokenism, but that won't keep me from recommending it for what it is.
Hicks' illustrations are so masterful that they're basically invisible - I didn't notice them. Duh, they're awesome. Although I do appreciate that the geeky guy isn't visually a stereotypical nerd.
It's a plot-based book - most of the characters are pretty utilitarian and flat - but it's super engaging and fun to read. A quick pulpish read. I was pleased that the plot didn't go exactly where I expected it to, and the climactic scenes were my favorite part. There's a surprise main character, and some pretty fun robots.
I was a little frustrated with the tokenism, but that won't keep me from recommending it for what it is.
Hicks' illustrations are so masterful that they're basically invisible - I didn't notice them. Duh, they're awesome. Although I do appreciate that the geeky guy isn't visually a stereotypical nerd.
helpfulsnowman's review against another edition
3.0
Good story. Excellent art. This is a great choice for folks looking for something for a reader who has a good sense of humor but wants to avoid questionable content. There is one reference to donkey sex. Written in giant letters with weed killer on a football field. However, because it's in the book, it's really only like size 24 font. So it kind of evens out.
The plot revolves around a robot fighting tournament. Remember that show from a few years back? Where a couple remote-controlled robots would enter a ring and fight to the death?
It seemed like a great idea. But it turns out that it's not all that exciting.
I have a theory.
Once you're coming up with theories about why early 2000's robot fighting shows were not as good as they could have been, you're really getting a bit too expansive. This is a theory/cry for help.
The thing I never got into about wrestling, same deal with UFC, is that there's all this nonsense in between the actual fighting. How this guy hates that guy because he stole his imaginary wife or something. How this fighter has been training this way so he's ready to kick ass. All that boring nonsense that's not fighting at all. It's just filler.
The robot show was like that, if I remember.
Now, it could have worked. Because we're talking about huge nerds here. So we could have a montage where we see which snack foods are picked out. Which Doritos have just the right kick. Whether Mountain Dew classic or Code Red was the athlete's beverage of choice. I bet there were some very long, very deep conversations when it came time to name these robots. Rush lyrics, Battlestar Galactica references. All on the table.
But instead of showing fun nerd stuff, we got, you know, specs on the robots. Oh, Killer Kruncher weighs 85 lbs? Isssss that a lot for a robot or not a lot? Does any of this mean anything?
Plus, I'm pretty sure they weren't allowed to use guns or something that shot out saw blades or something. THAT would have been great. A robot that looks like a porcupine made of shotguns.
And with that image, I leave you and hope to spur on a young roboteer out there to make something truly spectacular that will teach us all the real meaning of terror.
The plot revolves around a robot fighting tournament. Remember that show from a few years back? Where a couple remote-controlled robots would enter a ring and fight to the death?
It seemed like a great idea. But it turns out that it's not all that exciting.
I have a theory.
Once you're coming up with theories about why early 2000's robot fighting shows were not as good as they could have been, you're really getting a bit too expansive. This is a theory/cry for help.
The thing I never got into about wrestling, same deal with UFC, is that there's all this nonsense in between the actual fighting. How this guy hates that guy because he stole his imaginary wife or something. How this fighter has been training this way so he's ready to kick ass. All that boring nonsense that's not fighting at all. It's just filler.
The robot show was like that, if I remember.
Now, it could have worked. Because we're talking about huge nerds here. So we could have a montage where we see which snack foods are picked out. Which Doritos have just the right kick. Whether Mountain Dew classic or Code Red was the athlete's beverage of choice. I bet there were some very long, very deep conversations when it came time to name these robots. Rush lyrics, Battlestar Galactica references. All on the table.
But instead of showing fun nerd stuff, we got, you know, specs on the robots. Oh, Killer Kruncher weighs 85 lbs? Isssss that a lot for a robot or not a lot? Does any of this mean anything?
Plus, I'm pretty sure they weren't allowed to use guns or something that shot out saw blades or something. THAT would have been great. A robot that looks like a porcupine made of shotguns.
And with that image, I leave you and hope to spur on a young roboteer out there to make something truly spectacular that will teach us all the real meaning of terror.
joyousreads132's review against another edition
4.0
I don't know why I assumed this was a queer graphic novel. Welp. Probably because i judged the cover without reading the summary.
Regardless, this was a quick and fun read. Basically about a couple of childhood buddies who treated each other as if they're brothers. They bicker and annoy each other but underneath it all, they both have each other's backs.
Regardless, this was a quick and fun read. Basically about a couple of childhood buddies who treated each other as if they're brothers. They bicker and annoy each other but underneath it all, they both have each other's backs.
sasha_in_a_box's review against another edition
4.0
Story is respectable, but all the stars go to the art and the ever-so-expressive faces and personalities of the artist.
bookishfoxes's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75