unOrdinary, Vol. 1

Gr 9 Up–The highly popular webcomic finally sees its print release. John lives an ordinary life attending Wellston Private High School, in a world that’s absolutely “unordinary.” It’s a world where strength defines a person (the elite are born with powerful special abilities), and John simply wasn’t born with any—right? As the story unfolds, John’s secrets begin to come to light, and pretty soon everyone’s going to want him on their side. Characters are well developed as readers watch John navigate the waters of high school and beyond, often with his best friend Seraphina at his side. The two are wonderfully written, with great chemistry. Artwork is detailed, particularly its coloring which is vibrant and brings the book to life. Language can be strong, even with asterisks taking the place of key vowels. But the story is well paced, the worldbuilding is on point, and everything’s entertaining without giving all secrets away in this opening volume. With the market for webcomics continuing to prove robust amongst today’s reader, unOrdinary coming to a print format should be a boon to libraries looking for a bump in physical circulation.