I finally decided to check out the sequel to the Hales' 'The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: Squirrel Meets World' novel, and holy acorns, it is adorbs! And funny as chitter-y heck, too. The wordplay and sentimentality are too precious!
Who knew that a children's Marvel book about an evil opening mall could be so delightful and sweet? For it is also about the dangers of propaganda and advertising, the importance of kindness and finding common ground with troubled people, nonviolent solutions to conflicts and problems, friendship, loving and supportive family, middle school angst, animals, and overcoming fears with the help of a close-knit (preferably fuzzy) group.And Squirrel Girl/Doreen Green is at the centre of everything, so the book is an instant win.
Shannon Hale and Dean Hale write her voice and actions so well; that are so true to her character. She really is a fuzzball of goodness and light personified, even at fourteen-years-old, and struggling to survive middle school.
Tippy-Toe and her family of heroic and intrepid squirrels are great. Like any good 'Squirrel Girl' story, there are hundreds of the fuzzy little rodents present, saving the day either unnoticed, or by attacking and covering bad guys who cower at their mercy, or by covering Squirrel Girl herself for dramatic hero posturing.
Squirrel Girl's best human friend, Ana Sophia Arcos Romero, is given equal page time, and her own chapters from her viewpoint. She is wonderful - a fully-rounded, three-dimensional Hispanic deaf girl who may also be on the autism spectrum. What a brave young teen. Squirrel Girl learns a lot from Ana Sophia, as Ana Sophia learns a lot from Squirrel Girl. Empathy, listening and understanding are key to any healthy, lasting friendship.
How fun! I read '2 Fuzzy, 2 Furious' in two days. Delectable! Bonus: It ends on a 'Squirrel Girl' minicomic! Anything with Squirrel Girl in it is fun, cheery and charming; I shouldn't have been surprised, and I should have read it sooner. This girl is an optimistic, peppy pick-me-up pill with a bushy tail and buckteeth.
However, the novel sequel only mentions Captain Marvel in one Avenger group chat chapter, disappointingly. Same goes for She-Hulk. I wish those two would have been actually, physically present, and not merely in texts. Thor (Odinson) is the only Avenger who participates in the story (discounting the minicomic). A couple of spoilerific cameos at the end are cute, though. And there's a mistake where one of the Squirrel Scouts - they're the middle school group of fans of Squirrel Girl, plus LARPers, who're kind of useless, annoying and not-so-supportive, aka whiny interferers and nuisances - Janessa, is called Lanessa once.
One big point of criticism: In the scene where Squirrel Girl incapacitates a cat woman villain, Mistress Meow, by using a laser pointer (which she got at the beginning of the story from a Laser Lady...it's Squirrel Girl, so why not?) to lure the cat-person-hybrid out of a supermarket and towards the authorities...why doesn't she keep using it, as Mistress Meow proceeds to wreck havoc outside in traffic, endangering far more people?
Oh well. Those things don't tarnish this nugget gem of a sequel, starring one of the greatest superheroines of all time.
Experience joy by reading it, like I did!
Sidenote: '2 Fuzzy, 2 Furious'? They really missed a grand opportunity in the pun game by naming the book '2 Fuzzy, 2 Furrious' instead.
Read my review of the first book here.
Final Score: 4/5
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