Review by Booklist Review
After escaping from Planet Stripmall (Rocket and Groot: Stranded on Planet Stripmall! 2016), the two errant Guardians of the Galaxy and their smart (not to mention smart-aleck) tape dispenser Veronica"! are fated to get no rest. A forced landing on Planet Happyhappyfunfun pits them against a traffic controller AI gone bonkers on racing video games. Getting to that central brain becomes a wild, nonstop demolition derby featuring many ridiculous feats of derring-do, from shark punching to violent encounters with high-speed trucks filled with garbage and other commodities. Interspersed with lots of small, garishly colored drawings, the narrative is framed as Rocket's spontaneously recorded Captain's Log, complete with exclamations and snark in various hues and sizes to reflect the urgency of the crisis plus described sound effects that occasionally take liberties (sound of totally awesome tape dispenser blushing). Mission is, of course, eventually accomplished, and the Guardians blast off to their next misadventure with one final I AM GROOOOOOOT! Readers fond of frantically paced tales, replete with crashes and explosions, will agree wholeheartedly. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Angleberger plus Guardians of the Galaxy make for a high-interest match made in heaven, and a national consumer media campaign will keep the momentum going.--Peters, John Copyright 2017 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 3-5-Rocket Raccoon and Groot, members of the Marvel superhero team Guardians of the Galaxy, have crash-landed on the planet Happyhappyfunfun. They were hoping to refuel but instead discover that the planet's peace-loving population is being held hostage by maniacal self-driving vehicles programmed to follow the most dangerous tropes of car chase movies. Sharp-edged, impatient Rocket and persistent Groot are perfect foils for each other, and Veronica, "the awesome tape dispenser," continues to ingeniously save the day with robotic intelligence and lots of tape. There are scrawled color illustrations (by Rocket), and the story is told through the characters' dialogue, with a different typeface for each character. This dynamic format conveys a large amount of action at a quick pace and will entice readers of heavily illustrated fiction, such as "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" and Angleberger's own "Origami Yoda" series as well as fans of quirky action comics, such as Jeff Brown's "Jedi Academy." This should have wide appeal, even to readers unfamiliar with the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise. VERDICT Lovers of comics and hybrid fiction, as well as reluctant readers, will race through this hilarious, action-filled, and text-light tale.-Lisa Goldstein, Brooklyn Public Library © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Escaping a planet-sized strip mall was a snap compared to surviving a planet full of computer-controlled vehicles running amok.Guardians of the Galaxy Rocket Raccoon and Groot and their sidekick, superintelligent tape dispenser Veronica, are out of fuel and forced to land on planet Happyhappyfunfunbut cars and trucks of all kinds attack them every time they set down. Planetary president Dina the Wonder Lizard explains (from the cave where she's hiding) that Big Mama, the safety computer that controls all the self-driving cars, is seriously buggy: its download of an update was crossed with every bad race car-driving action movie ever made. Dina enlists the help of Rocket and Groot to stop Big Mama, but the computer intends to see the streets run red with blood (and Groot's sap). Can our intrepid heroes surviveand refuel? Following series opener Stranded on Planet Stripmall! (2016), Angleberger returns with another gonzo adventure full of mayhem and impossibly action-errific narrow escapes. The story is written in the form of Rocket's captain's log, with plenty of "I am Groot" interjections and snarky comments from Veronica (and a few denizens of the planet too), with each character's voice presented in a different typeface and often color, and is liberally decorated with Angleberger's scribbly cartoons. Readers too young for the PG-13 movies or the adult-oriented comics will enjoy this age-appropriate and entirely silly adventure. Beware giant raccoon-eating sharks and enormous beavers! (Science fiction. 7-11) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
