REVIEW: Astronaut Academy: Zero Gravity (Astronaut Academy, #1) by Dave Roman

Astronaut Academy: Zero Gravity
(Astronaut Academy, #1)
by Dave Roman
Paperback, 192 p. 

Synopsis
Hakata Soy's past life as the leader of a futuristic super team won't stay in the past!

The former space hero is doing his best to keep his head down at Astronaut Academy. Things aren't going so great, though. The most popular girl in school has it in for him. His best friend won't return his calls. And his new roommate is a complete jock who only cares about Fireball.

Hakata just wants to make a fresh start. But how will he find time to study Anti-Gravity Gymnastics and Tactical Randomness when he's got a robot doppelganger on its way to kill him?

My Review

Okay, before I start, read that synopsis again.  Futuristic super team.  Anti-Gravity Gymnastics.  Robot doppelganger.  TACTICAL RANDOMNESS.  Is is any surprise that I wanted to read this super bad?  The cover just made me want to squee in adorableness.  So already, my review is going to be positive, yes?

Like I said before: this book is adorable.  The art style is very simplistic and clean, and it only adds to the plot.

Well, not really.  There isn't really much of a plot.  It's more of a slice-of-life type of book, and although there is an overarching plot involving the doppelganger, it doesn't really feel like one.

There are lots of POVs in this comic, and every time it switches over, a new page and a small title on the top announces the change.  The title is a running gag, as it introduces the  character narrating and a phrase that explains the correlations to Astronaut Academy.  For example, the opening page can be found here.  Although I hate reading multiple POV in "normal" books, this novel somehow manages to make it work, and that makes it fine with me.

You can tell that the author had fun making this, because he throws in plenty of humorous lines that you normally wouldn't find in literature.  Very sarcastic stuff.

All that chirping is so OFFENSIVE!  Especially since it is a racial stereotype to ASSUME that birds all chirp the same way. ~pg. 45

But even with all that snarky humor, you'll occasionally find some very poignant stuff.  A character named Doug Hiro usually provides very quiet and insightful observances.  He's a student who loves space so much that he wears his spacesuit all the time, and prefers to stay outside in the eternity of space.  He really brings another side to this otherwise bright and cheerful book, and it really illuminates the vast array of differences among the characters.

I should have known better.   Underneath the pretty exterior everyone is exactly the same. Empty shells with NO APPRECIATION for the majesty of the infinite cosmos.  They're all too busy to step back from themselves and take it all in.  To be engulfed in true beauty.  I don't need companionship to feel fufillment or comfort.  I have the WARMTH of a billion stars...wrapped like a blanket around me. ~pgs. 136-137

And the accompanying artwork just makes me want to bawl my eyes out over Doug.  T-T

Rating

How can I say this...This book won me over by the synopsis and cover alone, and went above and beyond any pitiful expectations I might've had.  It can't really be categorized as anything but everything; it contains a little bit of everything.  And through the multiple characters, you get to see a patchwork of so many different ideals and wishes and hopes and dreams.  This is truly a wonderful book that you should read, and it definitely deserves...

5 out of 5 stars

Happy reading!