• Age: 14 to 18
• Grade: 9 to 12

You wouldn't expect Nate and Charlie to be friends. Charlie's the laid-back captain of the basketball team, and Nate is the neurotic, scheming president of the robotics club. But they are friends, however unlikely—until Nate declares war on the cheerleaders. At stake is funding that will either cover a robotics competition or new cheerleading uniforms—but not both.
It's only going to get worse: after both parties are stripped of their funding on grounds of abominable misbehavior, Nate enrolls the club's robot in a battlebot competition in a desperate bid for prize money. Bad sportsmanship? Sure. Chainsaws? Why not. Running away from home on Thanksgiving to illicitly enter a televised robot death match? Of course!
In Faith Erin Hicks' and Prudence Shen's world of high school class warfare and robot death matches, Nothing can possibly go wrong.

Prudence Shen's profile page

Faith Erin Hicks draws and writes comics in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Her works include The War at Ellesmere, Brain Camp and Friends with Boys.

Faith Erin Hicks' profile page

• Long-listed, YALSA Great Graphic Novel for Teens
• YALSA Popular Paperbacks
• Long-listed, YALSA Great Graphic Novels for Teens
• YALSA Top Ten GN

“Smart and funny; don't miss this one.” —Kirkus Reviews
“This story has everything: basketball, dastardly cheerleaders, a robot rumble, conniving geeks, a house party, family drama, student body council elections, and a tiny sliver of romance.” —Booklist, starred review
“I love Hicks' artwork and I'm excited to see what new author Shen has in store. ” —Wired.com GEEKDAD blog
“Sounds like my kind of thing!” —Cory Doctorow, BOINGBOING.com
“The very first strip is a grabber.” —Heidi MacDonald, THE BEAT.com
“This lightweight romp could be just the ticket for latecomers to comics and GNs.” —BCCB