Prudence Shen and Faith Erin Hicks have fashioned a fun, sweet but not syrupy story about two friends: Charlie and Nate and the strange competition that they find themselves in.
Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong begins with Charlie reluctantly dating a cheerleader. His friend Nate is running for Student Body President for one reason only- he wants the authority to claim the funds necessary to send his robotics team to competition. The cheerleaders catch wind of this and decide to put up their own candidate, Charlie, so that he can procure those same funds to go towards new cheer uniforms. The two groups ultimately decide to work together to create a “killer” robot and compete in a Robot Rumble to gain enough funds for all to get what they want.
The story is lighthearted but not over simple. It is like an original graphic novel film with the heart and story of a John Hughes teen film from the 1980s. The characters on the surface appears to be “types” but as is true with the best of stories there are plenty of surprises. For example, Charlie is proven to be the worst cool kid in history. The text is direct and funny and the talented Faith Erin Hicks’ illustrations at times tell pages of stories on their own. There are a few alcohol references and a light peppering of swearing but for the most part this is a squeaky clean fun story that would be enjoyed by almost any and every reader from junior high up.
HipMamaJenn 