Gabby Torres is a lively nine-year-old girl who has recently joined the Sea Musketeers Club at school. The club was named after Jacques Cousteau’s infamous sea divers who explored the ocean and performed experiments. The goal of the school’s club is to make everyone aware of the ocean and how humans are ultimately destroying the ecosystem and offer ways to help save the oceans.

Gabby is in charge of the club’s social media and creates a web site. However, there is a caveat to her work; her parents allow her to be online ONLY on Mondays and requiring their approval for whatever content she wants to post. For her protection, she is never to go on the internet unsupervised. With her mother’s help, Gabby is able to post her first web page to the Sea Musketeers’ web site which eventually gains followers. On the same token, Gabby loses – friends that is. Her BFFs Kat and Priya want in with the Sea Musketeers Club, which is rather exclusive. When Gabby’s half-hearted attempts to get her BFFs into the club (but not really because this is something Gabby enjoys doing on her own without her friends), Kat and Priya sense her efforts are not sincere and start giving her the cold shoulder.

Eventually Gabby becomes obsessed with knowing how many are following the Sea Musketeers web site and starts to take sneak peeks online without her parents knowledge or supervision, making Gabby lose focus on the club’s goals. Will her parents find out? Will her BFFs start talking to her again? Will the Sea Musketeers eventually get a billion followers?

While at first glance, you’d think the story was about a girl being on TikTok, Instagram, or some other popular social media platform. But this story is also has an ecological impact, providing some education on how to save our oceans. The illustrations are delightful and the colors are bright. What I really enjoyed was the illustrations interspersed with text on the pages, in similar vein to Terri Libenson’s Emmie & Friends series and Maria Scrivan’s Nat Enough series. Fans of those series will enjoy this new series as well with an excerpt for the next book in the series.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a review copy.

This was the book I needed in elementary school when my teachers said I was too old for Junie B. Jones but I didn’t want to let her go! 😂 Gabby Torres Gets a Billion Followers is perfect for elementary students with a passion for literally anything, as Gabby shows examples of zines that would inspire any kid to make one, teaches us small and easy ways we can help protect our oceans, and shares facts about social media that will help prepare parents for when their kids enter that world. All of this information and passion is tied into in a short and inconclusive mystery, which is the one part of the story I wasn’t thrilled with since we didn’t dive too deeply into that investigation (and I’m still convinced I know who did it even if the story doesn’t agree). Overall, though, I’d happily recommend this and share it with my patrons!

This was such a fun read going through Gabby's life from her perspective. The illustrations throughout really made it even more enjoyable and I look forward to grabbing a physical copy of this for my daughter.

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.