When I first stumbled upon this, I thought it was weird that they would write a regular novel based on a comic book character, but after reading it I LOVED IT. They fully captured the tenacious spirit of Squirrel Girl, and I thoroughly enjoyed getting her origin story. Extra stars for the utterly hilarious last few chapters that had me literally laughing out loud.

Plus, it could be a great bridge book - those not interested in comics before might pick up some USG, and reluctant readers who love comics might transition to this full length novel.

Can't wait to read the second one!

As the sole non-comic book fan in my family, I was interested in reading this before I told my daughter about it. It was very good. It was interesting to read about a character that I had never heard of. The writing was good for the intended age level. which can be expected from the Hales.

An absolutely fantastic companion to the comic book. Funny, sassy and true to character.

Would recommend for readers aged 9+.

This was a whole lot of fun. It doesn't go super deep, but it is a very entertaining book. I love Squirrel Girl as a character and I also love how we got to see a bunch of Avengers as well as other Marvel characters - so not only do we hear from a bunch of well-known characters like Black Widow, Iron Man etc., but we also see She-Hulk, for example. If you're looking for some light-hearted superhero fun, I'd definitely recommend this book.

THE UNBEATABLE SQUIRREL GIRL: SQUIRREL MEETS WORLD by Shannon Hale and Dean Hale introduces young teens to a new superhero.

Doreen Green is a typical teenager who tries to make friends after moving to a new neighborhood. When she decides to use her extraordinary powers for good, she soon becomes a hit at school. However, she also draws the attention of a villain. The author’s use of familiar language, alternative narrators, and contemporary situations including texting will appeal to teens.

Librarians will find a fan base among fans of superheroes as well as humor. Middle grade students will be attracted to this new kind of quirky superhero. Adults will appreciate the diverse cast of characters. This engaging novel provides the backstory of this fun new character. Connect the book with the collection of graphic novels about the same character.

Published by Marvel, and imprint of Disney-Hyperion on February 7, 2017. ARC courtesy of the publisher.

This was an adorable prequel that gave just the right tone to the humor to balance well with those reading the current comic series. It had nice easter eggs for fans of the character while balancing introducing the character to readers new to the world. I believe that fans both young and old will be happy to add this book to their canon of Squirrel Girl!!

Quirky, funny and a reminder of how we all need to enjoy the absurd especially in kids books. This is a fun refreshing and unique read!

Will definitely appeal to the middle school crowd.

A well-written and enjoyable book, I am glad I requested this title and will be more than happy to pass the title along to my fellow library purchasers.

I liked this a lot, it brought the great attitude from the new comics into a chapter book format and with a character at an age that makes it easier for younger kids to relate to her. Such an important story and approach in these days of bullying, and nice to see inclusion of a deaf character.

I will preface this review with the admission that I am not a comics reader. This is the first Squirrel Girl story I've read, in any format. However, my kids are fans and I was excited to see this ARC available through NetGalley. It took me a long time to read because I just don't have a lot of reading time these days, but I did enjoy it. The footnotes did not translate well to the Kindle, so I look forward to getting my hands on a print copy because they add a lot of humor to the story.

This book is very funny. It is a novel, not a graphic novel or even illustrated novel (at least in the version I read) so it will be a change for your Squirrel Girl fans who are accustomed to an illustrated format. But it's a fun hero story. Doreen (Squirrel Girl) is supposed to be 14 but she (and her classmates) really seem to behave more like younger middle schoolers, so I think middle school students will identify and enjoy this book. I am considering it for my elementary library. I do think it's more middle grade because of the age and experiences of the characters (plus a bit of language, nothing bad, but things like friggin', crap, etc.) but I think fourth and fifth graders will enjoy it.

Incredibly entertaining and light-hearted story of Squirrel Girls adventures! I particularly enjoyed her squirrel friends and the end notes of her quirky thoughts!

I had a hard time with the beginning of the book. It was very immature and I did not like the format of the footnotes. About a fourth of the way in it became more enjoyable and I was able to finish the rest of the story. I read a lot of middle grade and YA and most of the time I don't feel like they are too immature for adult readers.

Doreen Green is a Squirrel Girl in a peoples world. Moving to a new school is hard enough, but when you are a girl with squirrel powers, fitting in can be kind of hard. Determined to make friends, Doreen winds up befriending some squirrels and also a girl named Ana Sophia, who inspires her to use her Super Squirrel Powers for good. The only problem is when an evil villain begins to challenge Doreen. Her parents want her to keep her powers secret, but Doreen longs to be Squirrel Girl and save the world.

Super funny and loved all the Avengers bits, especially the trolling of Iron Man! A must read middle grade book.

If this book can not put a smile on your face then not much can. Doreen is just 14 and new to New Jersey. Making friends is not always the easiest, but it’s even harder to keep your tail and super strength to yourself. Plus, with some random super villain that keeps threatening babies on the loose, someone has to play the hero. But can Doreen be Squirrel Girl, or is she just an everyday girl with some quirks. This book was fun. Between messaging superheros after having a squirrel friend steal their phone numbers, to the crafty punch lines, and the inner thoughts that appear as footnotes, this is a romp for all ages, not just kids. And, I don’t want my Marvel card taken away, but I prefer the Hale’s version to that of the graphic novel. Graphic novel Squirrel Girl is way to annoying, where Hale Squirrel girl is endearing. Sequel please, and soon.

Added Goodreads
Added Litsy

THIS. WAS. AMAZE-NUTS!!! But seriously, any time I can get my hands on more Squirrel Girl goodness in whatever form it takes, I'm down. The Hales did a great job with this book. It felt very true to the character from the comics and still appropriate for middle grade kids (though truthfully even the comics are pretty appropriate for kids. They're just full of good super hijinks and nut puns and Squirrel Girl regularly settles her super-fights with talking and working things out so what's not to love?! Anyway), and I loved all the messages about embracing who you are and playing to your strengths and making friends and speaking up against bullying and the wonderfulness of socks and GAH! I could go on, this book is that fabulous. I loved all the squirrel names (how inventive y'all are!) and the birth of some catchphrases and the appearances from other superheroes (Rocket's text exchanges were brilliant and I loved all the Thor mentions). But seriously, if the Hales want to keep writing some chapter book adventures of Squirrel Girl and Tippy Toe and Ana Sofia I am more than down and will probably buy them as fervently as I buy the comics! Love this book!!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me early access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review. Seriously, though, thank you! I love this book.

Review - The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: Squirrel Meets World

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: Squirrel Meets World by Shannon Hale & Dean Hale

* Read via NetGalley for review

5 gnomes out of 5 gnomes

Heart + Fun + Nuts + a plethora of squirrels = The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: Squirrel Meets World. Doreen Green aka Squirrel Girl is such a fun character. This book is pure Middle Grade Marvelous. This story made me once again realize just how awesome it would be for Squirrel Girl to have a movie or a TV show.

Having multiple points of view including a squirrel’s makes for an extremely entertaining read. Seeing where she gets her start is enlightening and shows your where her great attitude came from. I really like all the footnotes too so you can really get into the whys and hows of how Doreen thinks.

I love how close she is to her parents and how supportive they are of everything. Her parent’s are very good at turning a negative into a positive especially at the Parent Teacher conference. I also love Doreen’s best friends both squirrel and human.

The squirrel viewpoint of the world and the view into squirrel society really makes the book shine. All the squirrel’s names are pretty darn hilarious too. I adore all the superhero cameos that occurred too.

If you’re looking for a book that is a burst of superhero sunshine and knows how to bring the funny then check this book out ASAP.

This book shows us Squirrel Girl's origins. While the footnotes are distracting and the nemesis predictable, readers will love the witticisms--particularly in the squirrels' names--sprinkled throughout.

That was super cute.

It's a YA novel based on the character of the Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, Doreen Green. In this version she's fourteen years old, and in high school. She and her --let's go with unique-- parents move from California to NJ and she has to start a new school.

Oh, and she has a squirrel tail, and apparently quite a few squirrel type powers, including being able to understand (and talk to in a limited way) squirrels.

When she does settle in at school (with her tail firmly in her pants), she meets a girl named Ana, and they sort of make a friend-ish sort of connection.

But soon Doreen's sense of right and wrong and he tail start on the fighting crime path. It doesn't happen all at once, but is a nice and steady progression.

I liked the book. I thought that the Hales really nailed the characterization of a teenaged Doreen Green. And I could totally see this as being a prequel to the Ryan North Unbeatable Squirrel Girl comic that was semi-recently released.

I also liked the secondary characters. Both the squirrel and animal ones as well as the human ones.

It was a fun read and I can't wait for the next Marvel YA novel.

I got this galley via Netgalley on behalf of Disney Book Group.

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: Squirrel Meets World by Shannon Hale and Dean Hale

Star rating: ★★★★★ 5/5 stars

Format: ebook galley

Summary: Doreen Green (over five feet tall and not an inch mean) moves to New Jersey from California. She is fourteen, previously homeschooled and she was born with a squirrel tail. In her attempt to meet new people and make friends in her new home Doreen keeps running into people (and squirrels) that need help. She soon embraces her secret alter ego Squirrel Girl to protect her new home.

Review: I received a free galley copy for review from NetGalley.

This book is written as middle-grade level but I still immensely enjoyed it. It’s super fun and Doreen is the absolute cutest ever. I honestly haven’t read many comics with Squirrel Girl so I was happy to read this book and be more introduced to her character.

The book is well written, I sometimes feel like middle grade is very much dumbed down I even felt that way when it was my reading level. But I didn’t feel like that here. I feel is the target audience was a little older that perhaps it could have been made a bit more complex but it was still great and didn’t suffer at all because of the target age group.

There is a lot of great humor in here. I love the way the squirrels talk, their dialect is great. I love that the only first person POV is for Tippy-Toe, Squirrel Girl’s best squirrel friend. All the squirrels have great names, I love them all. There are some great nods to other parts of the marvel universe in here. One of my favorites was a squirrel being named Varr-Noh (like a reverse of my favorite Kree boy Noh-Varr).

There are some interactions with Avengers but they don’t steal the focus off Doreen, but they are still super fun. I love when Doreen is blind texting Avengers (from numbers Tippy-Toe snuck out of the Avengers mansion for her) she gets a hold of Tony Stark at one point and she apologizes and says that she was looking for a hero or someone smart. I can’t help but love her for that, I’m not a huge Iron Man fan and I love when he is put in his place.

Doreen’s (human) best friend, Ana Sofía, is deaf and Doreen immediately catches on when she first meets her and shifts to ASL to try to talk to her. It was so great. I was super happy to see diversity in this book, a lot of characters in this are also not white which is great.

Recommendations: If you like Marvel or superheroes you should read this. Squirrel Girl is such a fun and not as well known as she should be. This book is a lot of fun!