Kirkus Review
A group of students at a British school all become friends with a strange new boy who eats onions; one student suspects something odd's afoot and must discover the truth before it's too late. Shauna, Lottie, and Mildred are all second-years at Griswalds Grammar, ready to tackle a new term. This year, however, a new studentorange-haired, onion-eating Lemhas arrived, and despite his aloofness and strangeness, he's slowly winning over the student body. In fact, soon Mildred and Lottie have fallen under his spell. Shauna is instantly suspicious, since every student befriended by Lem identically affirms that Lem is a "right good laugh when you get to know him." She takes up her cause with a group of bespectacled loners, and suddenly Lem and his secrets might not be her biggest problem. This small-press charmer, based on an ongoing webcomic, is a stylish jumble of pop-culture references, sly humor, eye-catching characters, mysteryand, oddly enough, aliens. As the fourth volume in the series, the mystery itself stands alone well enough, but an abrupt and ambiguous ending may frustrate new readers who aren't already invested in the series. Funny and clever, but most likely to only satisfy fans who have been with the gang since the beginning. (Graphic mystery/sci-fi. 12-16) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Shauna finds herself at loose ends when her fellow crime-obsessed classmates Lottie, Mildred, Jack, Linton, and Sonny fall under the spell of mysterious Lem. With the help of Little Claire and a trio of D&D nerds, Shauna must find the out-of-this-world secret behind Lem's appeal. Allison's series, originally a webcomic, is a truly unique blend of fantastical occurrences, British small-town life, and middle-school troubles. Here he focuses on smart, sensitive Shauna, who muddles along despite knowing that the nerds helping her aren't a good substitute for the friends who have left her behind. The mystery is an amusing one and ends in a satisfying manner, though the puzzling final page is likely only to be explained in a later volume. New readers might be a bit at sea with the large cast of characters and the off-kilter storytelling, but the cheerful, silly art combined with the realistic frustrations of young adolescence, make this a wonderful addition to graphic-novel collections.--Wildsmith, Snow Copyright 2015 Booklist
