The Gumazing Gum Girl: Chews Your Destiny by Rhode Montijo (review)

When a piece of "MIGHTY-MEGA ULTRA-STRETCHY SUPER-DUPER EXTENDA-BUBBLE BUBBLE GUM" combines with a low-hanging power line to produce a shock that completely coats Gabby Gomez in pink goo, she's worried about getting herself cleaned up before her mami finds her. On the way home, she stops a purse thief, in the process discovering that she's not covered in gum; instead, she's become Gum Girl, complete with sticky, elastic appendages that are perfect for saving the world. Gabby must discover how to hide her powers from her classmates and family (peanut butter turns her back to normal) and how to get them back so that she can stop planes from crashing (popping a bubble allows her to metamorphose). The chapter book-cum-graphic novel is an exploding format, and Montijo's tale fits right in, with lines of text alternating with full-page art that moves the story along with speech bubbles, comics-style omniscient narrations, and mood-setting sound effects (several chapters end with a dramatic "DUN! DUN! DUN!"). Montijo's thickly outlined and stylistically simple drawings are playful, pleasing, and easy to parse, making them a foil for the detailed text and rich vocabulary. The story is also lightly peppered with Spanish words, easily decoded from their context by non-speakers, bringing some diversity to a world populated mostly by characters like Babymouse and Captain Underpants. Gabby's also more gender-neutral than either of those, lacking the frills of the former and the potty humor of the latter, but she maintains the spunk of both. Her good heart and realistic struggles with her mom and classroom bullies make her eminently relatable, and her exuberant voice (she bursts into song when excited) makes her a welcome addition to the ranks of early-elementary superkids. A final "DUN! DUN! DUN!" sets Gum Girl up for future exploits.