The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl

Barry Lyga. 2006. New York: Houghton Mifflin. 320 pages. ISBN 0-618-91652-0

Plot Summary: “Welcome to the real world, fanboy.” Fanboy is the guy in school everyone picks on—in this case the straight-A nerdy student who secretly loves comics. He has only one friend, and this friend won’t even allow himself to be seen in public with him. He feels anonymous at school and that’s on a good day—on the bad days he’s being bullied. At the beginning of the book, while he’s “out” in dodgeball, another guy repeatedly punches him in the arm. Over and over. No one does anything. He himself does nothing: just ignores it.

Meet Kyra—aka Goth Girl. She’s in the gym bleachers and take photographs of Fanboy while he’s being punched. She Instant Messages the photograph to him and they form an edgy, uneasy friendship. Kyra has her own problems, but is enigmatic about them. But there are the scars on her wrists that she shows Fanboy. And he finds himself telling her things he hasn’t told anyone before; not even his only friend. The thing he shares with her is the one thing that keeps him sane—the graphic novel he’s been working on for years.

Unlike Fanboy, Kyra is a rebel. Even with her own problems she doesn’t let people walk on her like Fanboy does. But they both have wisdom they share with each other. For example, she tells Fanboy that he’s not ugly. He’s a chrysalis—he’s in the process of becoming. By the end of the book he has courage to defend himself against Punching Boy and to stand up to authority. Life still isn’t easy but he knows now it’s not all bad and that he is worth something. One hopes that Kyra feels the same.

Critical Evaluation: The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl is a darkly humorous read. It touches on serious subjects: divorce, death, suicide, violence in schools, but ends on a hopeful note. Readers interested in comics and graphic novels should be able to empathize with Fanboy and enjoy his descriptions of the art. While Fanboy’s solution to the bullying seems a little contrived, it does give readers hope that they can do something positive in that situation.

Reader's Annotation: Can a geek guy and a Goth girl ever find happiness in the bleak world that is public high school?

About the author:

Barry Lyga has a degree in English from Yale. He worked for ten years in the comic book industry and was responsible for developing “Free Comic Book Day.” He was the unofficial spokesperson for the industry and for promoting the use of comics and graphic novels in schools. The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl is his first novel, and received excellent reviews. He has since written four more books for young adults, with the fifth on the way. He considers himself “a recovering comic book geek” (barrylyga.com). You can view his website at http://barrylyga.com/new/

Genre: Realistic fiction.

Curriculum Ties: N/A

Booktalking Ideas: Straight-A student fanboy feels invisible in high school--that is, on a good day when he's not being bullied. But he has a secret project that he's been working on that keeps him sane. He's shared it with nobody. When he meets Goth girl Kyra everything changes.

Challenge Issues: None.

Why I picked it: The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl was the School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
and the ALA Best Book of the Year.