Sanity & Tallulah (Sanity & Tallulah Series #1)

by Molly Brooks

Overview

Best Friends. Mad Science.

It can get pretty dull living on a small, out-of-the-way station like Wilnick SS. Best Friends Sanity Jones and Tallulah Vega do their best to relieve the monotony of every day space life by finding adventures, solving mysteries, and taking turns getting each other into and out of trouble. But when Sanity's latest science project-an extremely-illegal-but-impossibly-cute three-headed kitten-escapes from the lab and starts causing havoc, the girls will have to turn the station upside down to find her-before the damage becomes irreversible!


Readers will be over the moon for this rollicking space adventure by debut author Molly Brooks.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781368008440
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	10/16/2018
Series:	Sanity & Tallulah Series , #1
Pages:	240
Sales rank:	1,249,295
Product dimensions:	5.80(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.00(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Molly Brooks wrote and illustrated the Sanity & Tallulah series, and is the illustrator of Flying Machines: How the Wright Brothers Soared by Alison Wilgus, as well as many short comics. Her work has appeared in the Guardian, the Boston Globe, the Nashville Scene, BUST Magazine, ESPN social, Sports Illustrated online, and others. Molly lives and works in Brooklyn, where she spends her spare time watching vintage buddy-cop shows and documenting her cats.

Editorial Reviews

★ 09/17/2018
Two brilliant girls, a whole lot of a science, and a failing space station feature in a series opener with a good balance of wit and action. Sanity and Tallulah’s inquisitiveness may be the literal ruin of their families and their entire space station: Sanity uses unstable, obsolete technology to engineer and feed a white three-headed cat, Princess Sparkle, Destroyer of Worlds (a name dedicated to each of her heads), and Tallulah has aided and abetted. The feline escapessoon after, just as people report strange occurrences—a murdered animal, power outages, and chewed wires—throughout the station. Racing to find their cat while avoiding parents and crew members, they stumble upon a much bigger problem that could jeopardize everyone on the ship. But who will believe that it’s not their missing pet? Within a trichromatic color scheme in shades of purple and pink with white, line work renders characters and situations close up against the massive station, offering the adventure an intimate feel. Debut author Brooks’s inclusive vision of strong and diverse women engaged in science, variously abled bodies navigating the challenges of space, and positive family relationships is both enjoyable and commendable. Ages 8–12. Agent: Heather Alexander, Pippin Properties. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

"Debut author Brooks's inclusive vision of strong and diverse women engaged in science, variously abled bodies navigating the challenges of space, and positive family relationships is both enjoyable and commendable."— Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Interlaced with spot-on dialogue that is full of humor, this page-turner delivers."— Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"It's all invitingly envisioned with button-eyed characters in distinctive hairstyles and fashions inhabiting a convincingly down-to-earth space station and colored in a limited, muted palette that grounds this future and makes even more accessible."— Booklist

"Fans of fast-paced sci-fi graphic novels such as Zita the Spacegirl, as well as readers interested in humor, will be drawn to the plucky pair."— SLJ

From the Publisher

★ 2018-08-01

Hijinks ensue when a clandestine "carnivorous bioengineering experiment" escapes on a space station.

This effervescent tale begins as Sanity Jones, a budding scientist, gets a tongue-lashing from her best friend's mom—and Wilnick Station's senior scientist—Dr. Vega, after the discovery of her completely unauthorized experiment, which involved a modified stasis chamber and other illicitly procured materials. Best friends Sanity and Tallulah have tried to keep the experiment, Sanity's brainchild, under wraps: a white, three-headed kitten they've named Princess Sparkle, Destroyer of Worlds. Although she's been grounded for aiding and abetting, after this bioengineered kitty escapes, Tallulah helps Sanity search the space station for Princess Sparkle, Destroyer of Worlds. (The repetition of the cat's three names—one for each head—is just one of the many funny jokes that run through this graphic novel.) Meanwhile, the space station is experiencing technical problems that seem to point to the escaped kitty—but Sanity and Tallulah discover a much bigger vermin problem that has the potential to destroy the entire station. Sanity Jones, who is black, and Tallulah Vega-Davisson, who is biracial (Latinx/white), headline a thoroughly diverse supporting cast (Sanity's dad, who's also black, is station director; Tallulah's has a leg prosthesis), creating a fresh, realistic representation of future space exploration.

Interlaced with spot-on dialogue that is full of humor, this page-turner delivers. (Graphic science fiction. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews

09/01/2018
Gr 3–6—Tweens Sanity Jones and Tallulah Vega are best friends who live on the space station Wilnik and spend their time causing mischief. When Sanity, a gifted scientist, creates a three-headed kitten named Princess Sparkle, Destroyer of Worlds without permission and Tallulah helps cover it up, their parents are none too happy. Even worse, the kitten escapes and their space station begins to break down, possibly as a result of their furry friend wreaking havoc on the ship's already run-down interior. Sanity and Tallulah are relatable and well rounded, with an equally strong supporting cast filled with diverse characters. The plot moves quickly, and the high jinks will grab readers' attention. The muted palette of blues and reds works well for the outer space setting, and the artwork is clean, engaging, and easy to follow. Happily, the ending promises more shenanigans with the duo. VERDICT Fans of fast-paced sci-fi graphic novels such as Zita the Spacegirl, as well as readers interested in humor, will be drawn to the plucky pair.—Ellen Conlin, Naperville Public Library, IL

School Library Journal

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