Reviews

Lowriders in Space by Cathy Camper

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jbmorgan86's review against another edition

2.0

I saw this (and it’s sequel) on display at my local library, so I picked them up. I wasn’t too impressed with the first volume. There’s little-to-no plot: a Hispanic fox (dog?), mosquito, and squid use rocket ship parts to restore a lowrider. They fly into space and the car is “decorated” by the cosmos. This is a Spanish primer more than anything.

Cool art work though.

crystal_reading's review against another edition

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4.0

I enjoyed this funny and slightly wacky car themed graphic novel. It manages to share the glories of the lowriders for those familiar with the concept as well as readers who don't have that as part of their experience. There are explanations for the Spanish words and phrases that crop up throughout the text. There is also a bit about the history of lowriders at the end of the book.

wafflegirl564's review against another edition

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2.0

The art was very good but the story wasn't exciting.

literatehedgehog's review against another edition

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3.0

Deliciously fun and lighthearted story with active, classic cartoon style drawings and a loving homage to cars and Mexican culture.

annebennett1957's review against another edition

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4.0

Cute little graphic novel chalk full of Spanish words. A fun read.

dlberglund's review against another edition

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4.0

There's a lot to love about this book. #weneeddiversebooks, and Camper delivers. The characters are funny, and they have a dream which they will go to great lengths (and heights) to make a reality. The natural infusion of Spanish words and phrases works well with the tempo. The details of the Bic pen illustrations are fantastic and enrich the text. The is a great graphic novel for middle / middle school readers, but i bet some high schoolers would love it as well.
I had to take a mental break in the middle and suspend my disbelief for the middle section of the book. Just as the story is a great addition to truly diverse books in regards to culture, it is a disaster for science. This is not the Magic School Bus. The characters steal Orion's belt, gather dust bunnies from la luna de conejo, steal a ring of Saturn for pinstriping, and shut down a black hole in a surprising way. A book can't be perfect, and I'm not sure how I'd want this to be different and still keep the flavor of space magic happening, but I had a hard time with the lack of any kind of reality based space. I know that nobody will read this as a nonfiction book about space, but I'd hate to think that kids will read it and have misconceptions solidified about what comets really are, or how close planets are, or that a ship could go through a solar flare...
I'm still looking forward to the next book (and hoping it will be a little more grounded, so to speak).