Unplugged and Unpopular

by Mat Heagerty, Tintin Pantoja (Illustrator), Mike Amante (Illustrator)

Overview

After Erin Song's parents ban her from using her phone, TV, Internet, and all her screens, she soon discovers mysterious, strange creatures and must foil their plot to take over Earth in this hilarious sci-fi graphic novel for tweens.

Erin Song lives in a digital world. Everyone has a phone, a tablet, a computer—more screens than you can count. Even with a world of information at her fingertips, Erin can’t figure out the secret to popularity at her clique-y junior high school. So when uber-popular Wendy asks for help cheating on a test, Erin jumps at the opportunity. This could be her big break! Unfortunately, she gets caught, and her parents ban her from all her devices. Suddenly, Erin Song is the only girl in the world who’s not allowed to look at a screen.

And that’s when Erin notices something funny: small, furry aliens making humans disappear with a weird device Erin’s never seen before. No one else notices them, though—except Erin’s grandmother and two old men who run the local library. They’ve discovered that the aliens are using screens to control the human race, tricking them into thinking they aren’t really there—and that anyone who’s been abducted never existed.

Now it’s up to Erin and her grandmother to save the day! But without technology on their side, do they stand a chance?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781620106693
Publisher:	Oni Press
Publication date:	10/15/2019
Pages:	144
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	10 - 14 Years

About the Author

Mat Heagerty super happily lives in Vermont with his best buds/family. He writes awesome comics like Lumberjackula, Martian Ghost Centaur, and Unplugged and Unpopular. Mat is dyslexic and struggled a bunch in school. Now he often travels the country talking to elementary and middle school kids about the strengths of learning disabilities. During the 2023–4 school year, Mat and his family bought an RV and traveled all across the US. It was amazingly life-changing!

Mike Amante is a freelance children's book illustrator who has worked on the SHAHNAMEH FOR KIDS series and on OMF Literature books such as DYARAN! ANG KAMBAL NA HEBIGAT! (TADA! THE HEAVYWEIGHT TWINS!) and ANG ALLOWANCE NA HINDI BITIN. He loves to drink tea, listen to lo-fi music and read comics. He thinks aliens are cool so he made a bunch of minicomics about them. Mike currently resides in Laguna, Philippines along with his family and their overly energetic poodle.

Editorial Reviews

"I loved UNPLUGGED!"

Steve Orlando (Supergirl

10/01/2019

Gr 4–7—In the not-so-distant future, technology is so ingrained in everyday life that nobody has noticed furry little aliens have slowly been kidnapping and brainwashing humans. Anyone who doesn't engage in screen time will become aware of the creatures. Like Erin Song, who notices these beings after she is grounded and prohibited from using her devices for a month. To defeat these otherworldly creatures, Erin teams up with an unlikely group: quirky twin librarians Joe and Charlie, and her grandmother. The characters are stereotypical—the tween characters are overly attached to their phones and obsess over their popularity; older people are described as weird and boring. However, these over-the-top characterizations might appeal to younger readers and to parents, teachers, and other adults who wish their children spent less time on their devices. The art is equally exaggerated, with vibrant colors and tons of movement. VERDICT With engaging illustrations, this is a great pick for fans of silly reads with a sci-fi twist.—Shazia Naderi, Bethpage Public Library, NY

School Library Journal

"Unplugged and Unpopular is a funny, vibrantly-illustrated graphic novel packed full of surprises. This book will convince readers to put down their phones and play outside... OR ELSE."

Kristen Gudsnuk (Making Friends)

2019-08-18
In the near future, a young girl and her friends fend off fuzzy purple extraterrestrials intent on domination.

Erin Song lives in a world dependent on smartphones and the internet, devoid of handwriting, bookstores, and DVDs. Erin's quest for popularity leads her to help the most popular girl in school cheat on a test. Inevitably, the scheme quickly falls apart. Erin's outraged boredom at her revoked technology privileges turns to panic when she realizes Culver City has been invaded by ETs using computers, smartphones, and TVs to transmit false information and erase any memory of the humans they abduct—including Erin's older brother. Can Erin and a gang of elderly Luddites defeat the aliens? Divided into five long chapters, this humorous, intergenerational story relies heavily on the digitally inked, full-color illustrations. Expressive characters, enticing layouts, and a pastel color scheme add comedic flair. Although there are a few plot points that get lost amid the sequential panels, overall the visual storytelling is clear. Unfortunately, top-notch illustrations cannot overcome a predictable plotline, underdeveloped characters, and a heavy-handed message. The final battle is awash with fun gadgets, but victory is disappointingly swift, too easily won. The illustrations depict Erin as mixed-race (white mother, Asian father) and show a realistically diverse community, yet the text fails to develop the supporting characters. Finally, lacking nuance, the beware-of-too-much-technology moral drags down the story.

Fast-paced, full-color fluff appealing to voracious sci-fi comic fans but few others. (Graphic science fiction. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews