Certainly an odd book but oddity works in it's favor. It feels sort of like a spiritual sibling of Imogene's Antlers with a bit more pathos. Our protagonist is visibly different and no amount of magical powers makes that easier. The emotional aspect of the plot is honest and realistic. While it's off beat, it's well done and compelling.

When his best friend is kidnapped and taken to the Underworld, a boy with newly discovered magical powers must unite with a cat and a talking muffin to save them. This one has thrills and chills for the kids, lots of humor and inside jokes for the adults. It looks to be the start of a promising series.

A boy with a unicorn horn discovers he can be a superhero with the help of a taking enchanted muffin and his neighbor. Brian is a normal boy until he develops a singing unicorn horn. When the shadows kidnap his neighbor and friend Avery, Brian becomes a very reluctant hero as he journeys to save Avery with guidance from an enchanted muffin.

Friendship and self-affirmation have never been cuter. When one boy doesn't want magic or to be extraordinary, he finds out the hard way that sometimes you have to rise to the occasion when people need you.

What is a boy to do when he grows a unicorn horn that plays background music and speaks to him about a great destiny? Run! Or at least pretend the horn isn't there. His best friend Avery disagrees, telling Brian that he can be great if he wishes. Soon Brian has to prove it when shadows take Avery to the Underworld. The police are no help, and the other adults have no idea what to do. A talking muffin agrees to provide advice, in the hopes that Brian's unicorn magic can break his curse.

This is such a cute, feel-good comic! I was spellbound from beginning to end, and excited to see how Brian's foray into the Underworld would go. His moments of going undercover, contrasting with when he unleashes the unicorn powers, are great. As a bonus, there are talking black cats! What is there not to love?

A talking muffin who was once a life coach to “several notable magical artisans”. A horn that springs from our reluctant hero’s head and sings out judgy asides like “Turning awayyyy from your destinaayyy 🎶” A forecat in a long line of thirsty cats who, when they’re apologetically offered oat milk (“It’s all we have”), gamely responds, “We’ll deal.”

I really like Dave Roman’s sense of humor.

Thanks due to #netgalley for access to a digital ARC.

(Also posted to Goodreads)

Oh my GOD. I ADORED this duo of Unicorn Boy and Cat Angel! I wonder if we'll find out in book two how Unicorn Boy came to be?

I love the message of staying true to yourself and fighting for what's right. I love the non-binary representation! I love the encouragement of imagination and believing in yourself and others. And, of course, the friendship! I just loved it.

Brian Reyes is a normal, average kid- until he isn't What could make him change you might wonder. A bump that isn't a bump but is a horn. That sings.
L:uckily, Brian's friend Avery stands by his side even when others do not. So when Avery is kidnapped by shadowy creatures, Brian has to find the courage to go after him and try to save him.

When I first started Unicorn Boy, I did not think I was going to like it as much as I did. The writing gets increasingly clever as the story goes on. The characters are engaging and funny and the story full of fun moments.

I received an electronic ARC from First Second Books through NetGalley.
Middle grade readers will love engaging with Brian and Avery as they begin adventures in this new series. Brian is a shy boy living a quiet life until an unusual bump appears on top of his head.
To everyone's surprise, a horn grows and Brian's quiet life disappears. Avery is excited for his friend and offers encouragement and information on superheroes. All heroes need a mentor, and readers will love the humor of Brian's being a talking muffin. As expected with any new superhero adventure, early on they encounter an evil foe. Brian has to find the courage to enter this foe's realm and rescue his friend before it's too late. He also rescues the black cats stolen by the Skull-King to build his power. By the end, Avery also has super powers and they have shared their adventures with their families. Looking forward to more adventures to come.
The artwork is colorful and brings out additional details to support the story. Upper elementary readers will love the humor with just enough creepiness to entertain. They will connect with the struggles the characters face at school. They'll appreciate Brian's struggle to figure out who he is and what he will do with this new power.

Unicorn Boy is a funny, fresh fantasy story about friendship and coming to terms with your unicorn powers. It will appear on lists of books for kids that counter toxic masculinity with better role models and is likely to also end up on some challenged lists simply for having a non-binary main character. But at it's heart it is a story that kids will relate to and cheer for. Cardboard Kingdom and Dog Man fans in particular are going to love this one.

Shy, quiet Brian just wants to be a normal kid, but the sparling, singing unicorn horn on his head is a sign that destiny has other plans for him. As much as Brian tries to hide from his fate, he eventually has to embrace the magic inside to rescue his best friend who was captured by shadowy creatures and taken to another realm. This delightfully weird graphic novel is perfect for young readers in search of magical worlds full of loveable characters who embrace what makes them unique and celebrate their friends’ exceptional talents, as well.

Thank you to NetGalley and First Second Books for this DRC.
Brian Reys is a normal average kid, until a unicorn horn begins to grow on the top of his head. Your life has to change when you have a magical unicorn horn on your head. And change it does. Brian must learn to use the magic of his horn to become Unicorn Boy to save his friend Avery and various black cats from the Skull King.
Fast and funny, with plenty of puns and mythology for older readers, the wild pictures are sure to capture the imaginations of younger readers.

#UnicornBoy #NetGalley

4 stars

Little Brian is living my childhood dream as a seemingly human child who one day realizes that the magic of the unicorn is within him...and then also outside of him in the form of the horn, which is both inextricably attached to him and also breaks into its own songs at times. If you're thinking, "Whoa! Cool! Wild!" at this point, you haven't seen anything yet.

The experience of reading this graphic novel was like a fever dream in a good way (like a Jess King New Year's Eve ride with DJ John Michael - IYKYK): fulfilling, action packed, cool to look at, and highly quirky. Along with Brian, there are so many great characters and details. Brian's buddy, Avery, becomes the impetus for Brian to push himself to next level heroics, and the evolving relationship between these two was a lot of fun to chart. I expect readers will see much more of both of them in future installments. There's a talking muffin (more complicated), a chair that isn't a chair at all, and a lot of really adorable and resilient cats, among many others.

I'm cracking up as I write this review because this book is chaotic in a good way, and I also feel that's the best way to discuss it. This was an unexpected treat, and I'm looking forward to the next in the series!

Unicorn Boy is a cute story about a kid who grows a unicorn horn out of his head and gives him superpowers. Brian just wants to be left alone to blend in, but fate has other plans. His best friend Avery is psyched about this development and thinks Brian would be an awesome superhero, but Brian wants nothing to do with it. One night, Avery is taken to the underworld by some dark spirits and Briand doesn't hesitate to go after his friend. Very sweet story about magic and friendship.

This was a fun graphic novel about a boy named Brian that one day had a bump on his head that ended up growing into a unicorn horn that sings. So he doesn’t know why he has a unicorn horn, weird stuff keeps happening around him like his muffin from lunch which starts talking or when he saves a black cat he gives him his business card. Brian’s friend Avery helps him stay calm as all these weird things start happening until while he is defending Brian from these shadows that are trying to catch him and ends up sucked into the underworld where Brian has to go and rescue him. This was a really great read and I liked how Brian had to figure out his powers so they could defeat the bad guy and save his friend Avery who ended turning into a Cat angel at the end.
Thanks to First Second Books and Netgalley for the complimentary copy of this book. All opinions in this review are my own.

I really enjoyed this book. The story is laugh out loud funny, and full of themes of friendship, inclusivity, belonging and adventure. The characters are well developed and fun, and artwork is just gorgeous!

This book is adorable. I loved reading about Brian coming into his own as the Unicorn Boy and meeting all the quirky characters along the way. These characters include his best friend, Avery, a talking muffin, and a quick-witted black cat. Even the 'villain' had me cracking up. This book was a really cute read that you could devour in one setting. I definitely recommend to fellow graphic novel lovers as well as anybody looking for a fast, fun read.

What a fun, odd, silly, adventurous graphic novel!! Brian’s new unicorn horn is more than just a horn, and it leads to a whole adventure, including needing to save his kidnapped friend Avery who was sucked into another realm by shadow creatures. With a fun cast of characters, including a talking muffin and talking black cat, Brian must go save his best friend!

I had high hopes for this book but it just didn't do it for me. It was cute enough and I really liked the art style, but the overall story was not very compelling. I did really like that even though he was different, he had a really good friend by his side. I also liked that they portrayed him with long hair when he was using his unicorn magic. I am also a big fan of talking muffins.

I know that this book will be loved by students! Was it my cup of tea? No, but I am not the intended audience for this book. That being said, fifth graders will love the story (who can blame them when there's a talking muffin) and the illustrations. The "cast of charming oddballs" is the perfect way to describe the characters. I enjoyed seeing where their destinies would take them. Will I buy this book for my classroom? Absolutely! Will students love it? Absolutely!

Cute comic filled with unicorns, magic, cats, and talking muffins. Is it ~literature~? No, but would a third grader love this? Yes, absolutely. As an adult I enjoyed the referential jokes the most. Sheboygan Convention Center made me laugh harder than necessary because it was so unexpected.