Blue Stars: Mission One: The Vice Principal Problem: A Graphic Novel

Two everyday superheroes set out to save the world—starting with their school—in an exciting new middle-grade graphic series from two award-winning authors and a debut illustrator.

When cousins Riley Halfmoon and Maya Dawn move to Urbanopolis to live with their activist grandma, they get off to a rocky start. Outgoing Riley misses her Muscogee cousins but is sure that she and Maya will be instant BFFs. Meanwhile, introvert Maya misses her parents, on active duty in Japan, and just wants some space to herself. At school, Maya joins Robotics Club and Riley bonds with fellow gymnasts. Just when they start to feel at home, their school culture is threatened by an influential foe in disguise. Joining student council feels like a way to help, so both cousins toss their hats in the ring for sixth-grade class president. But when they realize what they’re up against—money, power, and lies—they quickly shift from competition to cooperation, joining forces as superheroes. Riley is savvy with people; Maya is a whiz with gadgets. In no time, this dazzling duo is off to save the day! Relatable and rich in themes of family, community, and compromise, the Blue Stars series will entertain and empower, inspiring readers to be the stars they are.

Bustling slice-of-life plot beats by Magoon (Chester Keene Cracks the Code) and Smith (Harvest House), paired with animated art by debut illustrator Murakami, culminates in a realistically rendered and impeccably paced graphic novel series opener that accessibly highlights the importance of youth involvement in local politics.
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

This middle-grade graphic novel, the first in a series, has everything: nuanced and empowered protagonists, a funny, gripping story, age-appropriate treatment of social issues, and expressive comic illustrations begging to be lingered over. Readers will come away inspired to raise their own voices and take action to create positive, peaceful change in their communities. A fresh new graphic series sure to engender a devoted following.
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Kekla Magoon is the renowned author of numerous fiction and nonfiction titles for young readers, including Revolution in Our Time: The Black Panther Party’s Promise to the People; X: A Novel, cowritten with Ilyasah Shabazz; How It Went Down; and The Season of Styx Malone. She has received the Margaret A. Edwards Award, the John Steptoe New Talent Author Award, an NAACP Image Award, the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award, and three Coretta Scott King Honors, among others. Kekla Magoon lives in Montpelier, Vermont, and teaches at Vermont College of Fine Arts.

Cynthia Leitich Smith is an NSK Neustadt Laureate and acclaimed author of Hearts Unbroken, winner of the American Indian Youth Literature Award; Harvest House; Sisters of the Neversea; the New York Times best-selling Tantalize and Feral series; Rain Is Not My Indian Name; and Jingle Dancer, illustrated by Cornelius Van Wright and Ying-Hwa Hu. She also edited the anthology Ancestor Approved: Intertribal Stories for Kids, is the author-curator of Heartdrum, a Native-focused children’s and YA imprint, and served as the inaugural Katherine Paterson Chair at Vermont College of Fine Arts. A Muscogee Nation citizen, Cynthia Leitich Smith lives in Austin, Texas.

Molly Murakami is a cartoonist, illustrator, writer, and creator of several webcomics. The Blue Stars Series: Mission One: The Vice-Principal Problem is her publishing debut. She lives in Minnesota.

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