Imagine trying to fit in at middle school when you aren’t even human. Tommy Tomkins’s real name is Booger Lizk’t; he and his family are lizard people from far beneath the earth’s surface who escaped when their subterranean world was destroyed. Fearing how humans will react to them, they transform their appearance to pass as human. Despite looking like an ordinary boy, Tommy doesn’t feel like he fits in at his new school. Meeting Dung Tran helps. Dung is in Eagle Valley so his parents, Vietnamese scientists, can study a mysterious sinkhole (a remnant of Tommy’s family’s arrival). Dung seems able to ignore other kids’ taunts about his name and the food he eats, and he convinces Tommy to try out for the basketball team. Tommy eventually trusts Dung enough to reveal the truth to him. When they meet Scarlet, the custodian’s daughter, the three outsiders form a tightknit group … until Tommy sees Dung and Scarlet kiss. Worried they’ll have no space for him if they are a couple, Tommy betrays them both. Owning his mistakes and asking for forgiveness come with understanding that he must find a way forward, as there is no going back. This graphic novel examines the refugee experience, the importance of friendship, and the universal longing to fit in with humor and gravity both. A terrific author’s note connects the story to his own family’s experiences as Vietnamese immigrants. (Ages 9-13)

Drawing on the experiences of his Vietnamese American family and his love of ’80s sci-fi shows, Jonathan Hill crafts a funny, insightful graphic novel about the immigrant experience and the perils of middle school.

Threatened with diminishing resources, Booger Lizk’t and his family flee their lizard community deep below Earth’s crust to survive above among humans. The Lizk’t family of Elberon now passes as the Tomkins family of Eagle Valley. “Tommy Tomkins” wears a human face to school but can’t seem to fit in no matter how he looks. The basketball team becomes a pipe dream when bullies label him a bug eater, and only Dung Tran, an immigrant from Vietnam and fellow outsider, sees Tommy for who he is inside, which is nothing like the outer-space lizard invaders on TV’s hottest series. Can their friendship survive the truth? In his first solo middle-grade book, award-winning creator Jonathan Hill perfectly captures the sometimes dystopian drama of middle school while reminding readers of the universal need for belonging.