Gabby Gets It Together [PAWS]
by Nathan Fairbairn and Michele Assarasakorn; illus. by the authors
Intermediate    Razorbill/Penguin    176 pp.    g
3/22    978-0-593-35185-7    $20.99
Paper ed.  978-0-593-35186-4    $12.99

This lively graphic novel set in Vancouver, Canada, tracks friendship ups and downs along with a shared animal obsession. Gabby is the youngest member of her friend triad, which also includes all-star athlete Priya and stylish cool-girl Mindy. The girls all have big personalities and are desperate to interact with any kind of animal—but Gabby’s dad is a neat freak, Priya’s mom is allergic to pets, and Mindy’s landlord doesn’t allow canine or feline tenants. When a serendipitous dog-walking opportunity falls into their lap, they turn their good luck into a business: PAWS (Pretty Awesome WalkerS). While it’s easy to love animals in cute online videos, the three friends learn the hard way that running a business while dealing with actual animals isn’t everything they thought it would be. Fairbairn and Assarasakorn have both worked for DC and Marvel, so traditional serialized superhero comics inform their combined writing and art style: thick black lines border the panels, the fonts are referential and nostalgic, and the exposition fits neatly inside boxes at the top of panels. The bouncy, rounded art offsets the text’s slight overemphasis on telling, and inclusion of visual background info about the three friends’ families makes the characters feel bouncy and rounded, too. Animal lovers, burgeoning entrepreneurs, and fans of friendship sagas should look forward to planned future installments.

From the March/April 2022 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.