Galactic Hot Dogs: Cosmoe’s Wiener Getaway by Max Brallier (review)

Cosmoe has a snarky response to every situation, and evil queens, monster worms, and killer robots aren’t going to keep him from sharing his perspective. Co-owner of the best food truck in the galaxy, the Neon Wiener, he’s cruising along just fine without a sidekick princess, thank you very much, but he gets one anyway after Princess Dagger decides to break away from her Evil Queen mother. The snappy dialogue, quick pace, and compact text (most pages are partially to mostly illustration, in a format appealing to graphic-novel lovers) keep things moving at the right speed for such an outlandish plot. Cosmoe’s tendency to shout irreverent things at any opportunity (“Butts!” is a favored exclamation), his fearlessness, and his cool alien best friends make him quite the appealing protagonist, and readers will be right there with him, hoping he can save the day and get back to making the best hot dogs in the galaxy pronto. Alien fact lists, clever sidenotes, and amusing, comic book–style art add to the party.