I ordered this for my library. I wanted to read it to see if it was a level that would be suitable for middle grades and under and I think it is.

There's a whole lot going on in this graphic novel and not all of it is good. One Trick Pony begins when Strata, a young girl who belongs to a tribe of people working to save technology from the metal gobbling Pipers, finds a robot horse and an underground technology cache. Unfortunately, the cache was too close to a Piper "hot zone", so now Strata, her brother, friend, and a "feral" are stuck running for their lives . . . sort of.

There was a lot that I liked about this graphic novel. The general concept is pretty cool. It's like a tech adaptation of Fahrenheit 451 where members of the caravan strive to save parts of human knowledge from being destroyed forever, but also gives readers a head strong protagonist with a cool "animal" companion.

Unfortunately, there's even more I don't like here. The plot seems really rushed. At some point I began actively wishing for Inby to die because he was so freaking annoying. What story we do get, isn't all that fleshed out. I think Hale probably could have had a much better if the book was about 50 pages longer. As it is, there's no time to focus on any one character (and there are lots, believe me) or even care all that much about the back story of the Pipers(which turns out to be stupid). The whole vibe of this graphic novel balances upon being post apocalyptic, yet still futuristic and it just doesn't work for me with what's given.

I'm giving One Trick Pony a three out of five.

A REVIEW COPY OF ONE TRICK PONY WAS PROVIDED BY THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY IN EXCHANGE FOR A FAIR AND HONEST REVIEW. NERDOPHILES WAS NOT COMPENSATED FOR THIS REVIEW. OUR OPINIONS ARE OURS AND OURS ALONE.

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Title: One Trick Pony
Author: Nathan Hale
Release Date: March 14, 2017
Publisher: Amulet Books (ABRAMS Kids)
Review Spoilers: Low

Nathan Hale has made quite the name for himself with his middle grade books graphic novel series Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales. Informative and fun, they are a graphic novel retellings of various events throughout history. Topics that Hale has covered include: The Alamo, the Donner Party, Harriet Tubman, and more.

But his latest book, One Trick Pony, is not a part of this series.

Instead, this time around he's telling his own story - a story he not only wrote but also illustrated.

One Trick Pony takes place in a world very different from our own. It's a post-apocalyptic world where humanity struggles to survive after an alien invasion has left the world in ruins. These strange, alien creatures called Pipers effectively consume electricity which means technology is basically off limits. They're drawn to it - and so people have to survive without it as best as they can or at the very least hide what little they've managed to salvage.

The main character, Strata, her brother, and their friends are scavengers and one fateful day they find a mechanical horse left behind in a dormant state inside an otherwise untouched, secret laboratory full of robots and technology. Strata takes to the horse, called Kleidi, almost instantly. But when they find the horse they also call the Pipers to them and Strata and her friends have to somehow find their way back to safety.

Of course, this is a dangerous world and with aliens and other deviant scavengers on their tail, they may never make it back to their families. But when the opportunity arises, Strata and Kleidi might just have a chance to strike back at the Pipers and save the world once and for all.

Nathan Hale tells a phenomenally unique story with One Trick Pony. His world building is great and he comes up with some truly menacing aliens in the Pipers. They literally take chunks out of things and collect robots and technology in strange bubble like structures. And they're basically a mechanically mix of bugs and octopods. If they were chasing me I definitely wouldn't be as brave nor kept together as Strata and her friends.

Now I will say that the story gets a little weird towards the end. But all great science fiction stories tend to get at least a little bit weird at some point. For the most part everything comes together really nicely and the book owes most of that to it's pacing.

The pacing in this book is really great.

It's hard to believe that Nathan Hale fits as much story into this book as he does - especially considering the fact that the book clocks in at just over 120 pages. The story breaks off into multiple strands at certain points and yet nothing feels rushed. We get enough background on the characters and their community and the way this world came to be that we aren't lost but we don't spent too much time on it. The focus really remains on the story at hand.

If you're looking to check out great, standalone science fiction graphic novel then you can't go wrong with One Trick Pony! Excellent world building and engaging storytelling coupled with great pacing make this a really fun read and one that's definitely worth checking out.

'One Trick Pony' by Nathan Hale drew me in with a very artistic cover. The story and art inside turned out to be just as engaging.

It is the dystopian future and hungry aliens are eating electrical devices. Strata and her friends and family live in a caravan staying one step ahead of these aliens. They scavenge for the technology of the past in the hope of one day rebuilding. Strata and her brother are on a scavenging trip when they find a room full of robots and an unusual mechanical horse named Kleidi. Triggering these devices brings on the aliens, who are looking for such things. The kids find themselves separated from their family, but they also find some unusual allies along the way. What will be the purpose of this strange golden horse.

It's a graphic novel for younger readers, but I felt like it was solid science fiction story. The art has minimal colors, but that only enhances the amazing line work in the pages. The level of menace is strong, even though this is a story for younger readers, and I didn't ever feel like any character was completely safe. I really liked this one.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from ABRAMS Kids and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

Enjoyed this graphic novel set in a post apocalyptic world were aliens and humans fight to have access to electricity.

My 9-year-old son is a huge fan of Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales books. According to him: "I'm super glad there's another Nathan Hale book coming out. I think his drawings are really cool. I don't really love stories about aliens, but this was a good book. I hope he writes and draws more and more."

Nathan Hale weaves stories into action pact graphic novel narratives that consume and mesmerize readers of all ages. One Trick Pony takes us into a dystopian future of buried technology and menacing monsters in a fast paced adventure led by a golden robotic horse and two tough and driven heroines.

Sadly can't give a review as the file wouldn't load and the novel was withdrawn unexpectedly from the site.