Gabby Torres Gets a Billion Followers by Angela Dominguez is such a fun, fast-paced read! Gabby is a relatable, hilarious character who’s just trying to navigate the world of social media, fame, and staying true to herself. I loved how the book explores the ups and downs of being an influencer, while also diving into themes of friendship, identity, and what it really means to connect with others. It’s a perfect mix of humor, heart, and modern-day challenges. I think our library patrons, especially younger readers, will really enjoy this one—it’s a great pick for anyone interested in social media, big dreams, and finding your own voice!

Lee a graphic novel and more of.a heavily illustrated children's book (think Wimpy Kid), Gabby Torres Gets a Billion Followers is about a nine year old girl whose tendency to function like a bull in a china shop gets her into a number of scrapes. The story focuses on her membership in a kid's ocean protection club. Gabby is the youngest member and proud of it, so proud she schemes to keep her two best friends from joining. She is eventually appointed the head of the club's social media account, but quickly spirals out of control when she encounters a vaguely negative comment on her first post and becomes obsessed with finding out who the anonymous poster is. This leads to more problems with her friends and, ultimately, just about everyone she knows. The story is largely silly and enthusiastic, which makes the sudden info dump on online safety feel out of tenor with the rest of the book as well as preachy.

Big thanks to both Netgalley and Angela's publisher at ALSC for an ARC of this book

You wanna know what this book reminded me of? Do you remember those Amelia's Notebook from American Girl back in the 90s. That what Gabby Torres reminded me of and I am very excited to recommend it to younger middle grade readers.

Gabby is likeable and her life situations in school are relatable. Additionally, I really appreciate the message about caring more about the people in front of you than the internet followers (or the haters.) Kids younger and younger need that memo!

The regular text mixed with the graphics were not cohesive. I felt that the graphics were boring and so was the storyline for a book title/cover that was luring. There was a lot of potential for this book, but the writing style and graphics were not interesting nor was the plot

A enjoyable middle grade novel that was fun and easy to read. I would suggest it to fans of New Girl or the Brave series. Gabby is a great MC and I loved how funny she was in a graphic novel with a look into the darkside of social media.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Gabby Torres Gets a Billion Followers by Angela Dominguez

Gabby has the “gift of gab”. She is nominated by her friends to create a website for the club. Her parents help. The website is an amazing success and the number of followers grows quickly. Before long she has an amazing billion followers checking her website. Yet, her parents have rules and she herself is not supposed to look at it every day, only once a week. One day she takes a peek, then gets in trouble. She graciously accepts her punishment. Then passes the website to another older girl who can handle the social responsibilities.

I think it’s a fun story. It feels very unrealistic that a first website would get so many views so quickly. All content seems age appropriate. Some children may enjoy it; but I feel just as many won’t. I didn’t share this with a child, so only my impression whether they may enjoy the story.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the DRC

Angela Dominguez creates fun characters with relevant storylines, and Gabby Torres is no different. As I read the dialogue, it was so clearly my 10 year old niece's voice. I love how relatable the relationships are, and the fact that social media usage is taken seriously. This is a great hybrid graphic novel and I will recommend to middle grade readers!

Gabby, who was a character in the Stella Diaz novels, is so proud of being a member of the Sea Musketeer environmental group. Her two best friends are interested in joining, but Gabby likes to be the only member from her grade, so keeps putting them off. Gabby is in charge of the group's social media presence, and works out a plan with her parents to post very infrequently, but when she sneaks onto her mother's phone and posts when she is not supposed to, she has to deal with the consequences.

This is a highly illustrated novel for younger readers, and addresses social media use in an age appropriate way. For my middle schoolers, Stella Diaz has ended up being a little too young, so this definitely wouldn't work for my library, but I would definitely purchase this for an elementary collection.

This book was lighthearted and a great lower grade read! Graphic novels are either a very beginner level or middle grade/YA. This novel comes in clutch for those lower elementary grades of kids craving independence without knowing the risks. I think it will be a popular read!

Gabby is nine and already a "go-getter." She is the youngest (and sometimes kind of annoying member of the Sea Musketeers, a group of kids whose mission is to protect the oceans. Gabby, trying to get involved, offers to start a social media site to promote the club and recruit volunteers. The only problem is, Gabby is not allowed to have social media and has very limited technology time. Of course, she ends up disobeying her parents and runs into some common social media issues.

Good graphic novel offering that focuses on the bad parts of social media and the dangers of children using it without being preachy. The author was able to address this issue in a realistic, natural way, but still get the message across that social media really isn't for young children and that everyone can fall prey to the dangers of the virtual world. This is a great addition for an elementary library graphic novel collection.