Teen Boat!: transforming into a reading habit near you!

Dave Roman and John Green’s YA book, TeenBoat! from Clarion Books, has exactly what it promises: the angst of being a teen paired with the thrill of being a boat. The main character, Teenboat!, (that is literally his name) can turn into a small motorboat at will or when his inner ear sensor is triggered (think Ranma 1/2 without the gender-bending).

TeenBoat! faces a lot of problems today’s teens encounter like needing wheels to take girls out on dates, illegal gambling and best friends in love. Hats off to Roman and Green for including the pressures of drug use and the oddly fitting yet still appropriate story of object sexuality when TeenBoat! goes out on a date with a gondola. But the sincerity of the book with lively splash chapter breaks still acknowledges its own ridiculousness in a charming way. TeenBoat!‘s name, for instance, can’t even be said sans exclamation point let alone the badass font.

Nice lil’ detail, Green, TeenBoat! is the only one prepared for class with his pencil.

Green’s lively drawings open the book up to a younger audience while the transforming powers will amuse any child of the 80’s who enjoyed Transformers or Voltron. The creative pair also hide delicious secrets about another character who transforms into well . . . something. In every scene with the character, there is a visual or verbal clue (pardon the enigmatic nature of this description but I won’t give away my theory!). The next installment of TeenBoat! will surely reveal this other character’s transformation.

TeenBoat! would be a great addition to your library, personal or public, for it’s varied appeal, friendly artwork and episodic nature.  New artwork featuring TeenBoat! and pictures from the book tours are uploaded to the TeenBoat! Tumblr site for avid fans of what goes on behind the scenes. Transform into a book consumer today and buy TeenBoat!

John Green, Dave Roman and wife, talented cartoonist Raina Telgemeier at TCAF

–Jen Vaughn

Rogue CCS Librarian