Booklist Review

Late of Dalrymple's Wrenchies (2014), teenage wizard Sherwood is now trapped on Proxima Centauri, a stupid planet or space station or whatever, along with a cast of characters who are sort of dismissive and mean to him but also sort of have his best interests at heart. Stuff happens an irate interdimensional gunman comes after him, tiny blue robots try to take him over from the inside but each amounts to some dumb thing that doesn't really matter. Notionally more linear than most of Dalrymple's work, this story is still mere embellishment for the emotional turmoil of the teen protagonist, anxious about how to act around others, guilty over the way he sometimes treats people, and frustrated with the adult limitations on his situation and his life, which together incites a refrain that will resonate keenly with many readers: How do I deal with all these shitty feelings? This heartfelt ode to teen disenfranchisement is powered by Dalrymple's incomparable vision, impossibly intricate with imagined aliens, machines, and technological landscapes, but seething with the most human emotions.--Jesse Karp Copyright 2019 Booklist