Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Fizzy imaginative layouts paired with soda-pop colors draw readers into this deceptively simple science fiction comics novella from Galvañ (Press Enter to Continue), set in a world that mixes futuristic technology with a retro 1990s aesthetic. Best friends Nuria, Pepa, and Dani visit the fast-food chain McBurger's for their Once Party, a special promotion they can only request at age eleven. Lucky winners are offered access to a time portal and a five-minute glimpse of their future lives ("there's no turning back, friends!"). The abstracted, luminescent artwork, crafted from simple geometric shapes and overlapping colors, heightens the pop-art strangeness of the tale. But beneath the touches of surrealistic whimsy, such as singing Tamagotchi-like robots and winking burgers, the girls' lives are grounded in down-to-earth fears: bullies at school, abusers at home, parents too disconnected to protect their children, and friendships threatened by the test of time. This jaunt into a bizarre but all-too-familiar future leaves lingering impressions. Filled with visual and narrative invention, it's a small gem of a comic. (Dec.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
A trio of teenage girls visit a fast-food restaurant called McBurger's, hoping that they'll be selected for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity called the "Once Party." One of the girls, Dani, is already despondent, after a situation involving her erratic, violent brother; her mood doesn't improve when her friends Pepa and Nuri both win a Once Party, leaving her to wait for them. Led into separate chambers, Pepa and Nuri are presented with three points of time in their future and instructed to choose which moment they'd like to visit. The girls travel through time and return to assure Dani they took care of her problem. Suddenly, the meaning behind several mysterious scenes earlier in the plot becomes clear, revealing the warmth and keen empathy animating this narrative, which previously felt somewhat cold and ambiguous. It's a fascinatingly effective, slightly disconcerting effect, which is exactly what fans of Galvañ's acclaimed 2019 debut, Press Enter To Continue, have come to expect. VERDICT Galvañ presents this speculative fiction novella in oddly angular compositions filled out with bright blocks of pastel and primary colors, making it as visually distinctive as it is emotionally resonant.
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Review by School Library Journal Review
In a world that's simultaneously futuristic and retro, McBurger's is the place to be for those turning 11. Those kids can order from the Once Party Menu; the lucky ones are granted the opportunity to view one of three scenes from their future--but not everyone gets what they are wishing for. Three pals, Pepa, Dani, and Nuria, go to McBurger's hoping to be chosen, but only Nuria and Pepa are selected. This short novel is loaded with layers, and it takes a few readings to unpack meaning, but the look and feel are so hip that teens won't mind a reread. Galvañ creates a premise that feels familiar--best friends navigating trials of adolescence in the trappings of a '90s-esque burger joint--then seamlessly weaves in futuristic robots and Matrix simulations, as though it all goes together, and somehow it does. Race and ethnicity are not detailed explicitly, though Nuria is coded as Latinx. VERDICT A colorful, weird, and enjoyable ride. Good for collections that need some refreshing variety.--Michael Marie Jacobs, Darlington Sch., Rome, GA
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