Like Lava in My Veins

Barnes, Derrick, Lucas, Adriano and Martinbrough, Shawn. 

Like Lava in My Veins
July 4, 2023 by Nancy Paulsen Books

E ARC and copy provided by the publisher

Bobby Beacon is enrolled at AKWAA (the Academy of Kids With Awesome Abilities) to learn how to manage his powers of light and fire. He's a bit apprehensive, since a girl named Pause was just expelled for freezing a teacher, and he's not sure his own teacher, Ms. Flores, understands him. He can't sit still in class, so she reprimands him frequently, and when he tries to behave and raises his hand with the answer to a question, she doesn't call on him. He ends up in the office, where they threaten to send him to the Institute for Supervillains if he can't get himself under control. To help him, the school does send an aide to his classroom. Miss Brooklyn is calm and complimentary, and her soothing presence and suggestions for anger management coping skills do help. She even creates a quiet zone for children who need to go and decompress. When Headmaster Chaos from the Institute shows up with Pause in tow, looking for Bobby, he is worried. He doesn't want to be a villain, so he uses his fire powers to neutralize Pause's singing and put an end to Master Chaos' attempts to take him. Miss Brooklyn is even willing to give Pause a second chance at the school, since Bobby believes that if you are loved and appreciated, you can do anything. 

Strengths: This is a very short graphic novel. Once I saw a physical copy, it was clear that this is formatted more like a picture book. The book is 8.5" x 10.25", and the font is larger than in the trade paperback size that  graphic novel usually are. It would work for elementary or middle school, and seems like it might be the start of a series. It felt very much like a comic book, and I half expected there to be another story after this one, ala Cat Ninja. Barnes' artwork is always stunning, and a shorter graphic novel might not fall apart from the weight of the pages quite as quickly! Miss Brooklyn is a calming influence, and her techniques for self calming are something that parents should be teaching all two year olds! There are several secondary characters who might be given larger roles in subsequent books. 
Weaknesses: In order to be true to the comic book form, I feel like there should have been an origin story for Bobby. What did he do to get sent to AKWAA? When and why was the school founded? Tell us more about Pause! I frequently feel that graphic novels don't provide all of the background information that I would like to have to become really invested in the story. 
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who enjoyed Reynolds' introspective Stuntboy: In the Meantime or Libenson's Invisible Emmie, which both deal with a variety of behavioral issues.