Cover Image: Travis Daventhorpe Powers Up!

Travis Daventhorpe Powers Up!

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

Travis has the legendary sword and a magical mentor, Bela, not to mention a pretty amazing set of best friends, Juniper and Travbot, to train with him, but he can't seem to get his promised powers to show up. He thinks he can figure out a fix with tech, but Bela is certain it is rooted in Travis' lack of faith in the Creatrix. As a winter storm blows into town, Nol Invictus and his minion The Rogue are plotting a battle to steal the Legendary Sword of Legend from Travis. Can Travis figure out how to save the day, or will this battle go as badly as all the practice sessions lately?

I love that in the background of all the excitement, there's a duo of very average guys who have discovered the wormhole on the edge of town and are having fun chucking stuff through it while also adopting a lost dinosaur. Molebash knows how to pack in a lot of fun elements with android velociraptors vs mech suits and kids with magical powers. He also weaves in some pretty deep conversations about whether science and faith can mix or not. There's a surprisingly lot to chew on in this middle grade techy/magical chosen one graphic novel.

Notes on content:
Language: None
Sexual content: None
Violence: There is a battle and one person is thought possibly dead and another has a dino bite, but thanks to magic those with injuries are quickly healed (and neither are very gory).
Ethnic diversity: Travis is White, Juniper has darker skin tones and speaks Spanish with her mother, Bela appears to be Black.
LGBTQ+ content: A substitute teacher has the prefix Mx.
Other: Travis experiences some bullying at school. We learn the bully has parents who don't really care where he is and get hints it may not be an ideal home experience for him. Extended philosophical discussions about faith and science may trigger some readers to want to talk to an adult about such things.

I received an ARC of this title from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

This was such a fun action packed book! My son especially loved the way the characters and stories were described in game mode. He loved the first book and was so excited to get to read an early copy of the second. He also really loves the side quest at the end. Overall a great book!

Was this review helpful?

I received an electronic ARC from First Second Books through NetGalley.
Book two in this series picks up shortly after the first book ended. Travis and Juniper along with Travbot are still learning to fight. Travis is not able to do much with his sword of destiny but he tries in his own ways. Readers see him spend most of the book figuring out how science and faith work for him. Molebash continues to develop his characters and adds new ones to move the story forward. Readers see more depth to each as they prepare for the next battle. The story ends with the defeat of the Rogue and the dinosaur army but offers a look at Nol Invictus next plan. Don't miss the side story at the end along with character information. The artwork is fun to study to pick up more clues to the story. I love the farm story as Bobby and Carl play with the portal. Don't miss the second Epilogue to see the humor on the other side.
Molebash offers humor along with some serious undertones as the series continues.

Was this review helpful?

Super fun book for kids who want action and humor! Will definitely look for more from this author moving forward for my kids!

Was this review helpful?

The second book in this sci-fi graphic novel series is just as good as the first! Our adventure continues and the book powers up just as the title insinuates! It is full of action, our epic characters, and, of course, more adventures in the multi-verse. I really love this series and so many kid readers (like Trent!) will, too!

Was this review helpful?

A fun and entertaining graphic novel, with a healthy dose of good vs bad put within the story. Loved the drawings and the video-game-ish vibe this book has! Although, of course, the main story was not about a video game. This might be the perfect book for those middle-grade kids who want to play games more than read books – I can absolutely see those kids loving this story.

Was this review helpful?

This is very kid friendly, great graphics and good storyline. In the story it’s about believing in oneself and having faith…a good vs evil element that also is like a video game dynamic. This was a very fun book.

Was this review helpful?

I could not access this book. I downloaded it and my phone couldn't access the file. Normally I can send to kindle so my son can read the book, but this one wasn't able. I will give 4 stars to not weigh the book down.

Was this review helpful?

Reviewed by my 10yo - He thought it was funny and liked the characters. He would read more about them. He liked the action. It passed his approval, and he reads a lot of graphic novels.

Was this review helpful?

I really love reading comics because it feels like I'm back from my childhood days and this book is just light to read. Making me comeback to my childhood memories.

Was this review helpful?

Thank you so much to Wes Molebash and Netgalley for giving me this eARC. I don’t read a lot of comic books but I absolutely will after this. I loved how silly and magical this was. The designs were so detailed and I loved the style of introducing all the characters like in a video game with stats. Even though it’s geared toward children, anyone of any age can find enjoyment in reading this book.

Was this review helpful?

My 7 year old son (who was great for the target audience of an advanced reader) really enjoyed this book, the achievement unlocked and the video game vibe of the book really had him hooked from the start!
We will definitely be investing in more books by Wes Molebash.

Was this review helpful?

The artwork on this graphic novel was nicely done and the story was definitely full of action. I thought the 'achievement unlocked' and 'new move' video game vibe was super cute, as well as the character stats when introducing the main players (and parents).

Here is where I had a hard time with this story. First, this was a sequel and there was no real background up front. Anything we missed by not reading the first book in the series had to be pieced together as the story went along, some of it not even until 3/4 of the way through. Second, the characters were just okay. I ended up liking Trav-bot better than I liked Travis, and I'm not sure if that was intentional or not. Also, I know they were trying to do a 'don't judge a book by its cover' with Derek, but it was so quick that I still couldn't get behind Juniper being his friend when he was always such a jerk to Travis.

While I think the target audience will enjoy this book based on action and fun level I just feel like there was a lot of missed opportunity for a deeper storyline. Unless the purpose of this was a faith versus science hidden religion discussion?

Personally 2.5 stars rounded up for the target audience appeal.

Was this review helpful?