SANITY & TALLULAH

Hijinks ensue when a clandestine “carnivorous bioengineering experiment” escapes on a space station.

This effervescent tale begins as Sanity Jones, a budding scientist, gets a tongue-lashing from her best friend’s mom—and Wilnick Station’s senior scientist—Dr. Vega, after the discovery of her completely unauthorized experiment, which involved a modified stasis chamber and other illicitly procured materials. Best friends Sanity and Tallulah have tried to keep the experiment, Sanity’s brainchild, under wraps: a white, three-headed kitten they’ve named Princess Sparkle, Destroyer of Worlds. Although she’s been grounded for aiding and abetting, after this bioengineered kitty escapes, Tallulah helps Sanity search the space station for Princess Sparkle, Destroyer of Worlds. (The repetition of the cat’s three names—one for each head—is just one of the many funny jokes that run through this graphic novel.) Meanwhile, the space station is experiencing technical problems that seem to point to the escaped kitty—but Sanity and Tallulah discover a much bigger vermin problem that has the potential to destroy the entire station. Sanity Jones, who is black, and Tallulah Vega-Davisson, who is biracial (Latinx/white), headline a thoroughly diverse supporting cast (Sanity’s dad, who’s also black, is station director; Tallulah’s has a leg prosthesis), creating a fresh, realistic representation of future space exploration.

Interlaced with spot-on dialogue that is full of humor, this page-turner delivers.