Zits jumps from the comics page to the bookshelf, and Zits: Chillax is perfect for fans of James Patterson's Homeroom Diaries as well as the Zits comic strip! Jeremy Duncan, future rock god, is going to his first real rock concert (Gingivitis rules!) without his parents (hallelujah!) and with a mission in mind. It'll be an epic night he'll never forget. Comics genius Stan Lee calls Zits "a comedic masterpiece." Featuring black-and-white illustrations on every page, Zits: Chillax is based on the hit syndicated comic strip. Gr 6-9-Chillax shares the humor and heart of the popular comic strip. An engaging and fast read, the book is chock-full of the black-and-white illustrations that "Zits" enthusiasts love. Readers follow Jeremy to his very first rock concert and watch him figure out how to deal with the illness of a friend's mom, all while learning how to communicate with his girlfriend. Throughout the story, even in the more serious parts, hilarious high jinks ensue, and readers will get a kick out of Jeremy's exaggerated teenage antics, including a bedroom so messy that he does not know where his bed is, and a van that can only be started with a smelly retainer (the wires are just the right length). Although the characters drive and attend concerts, the book will appeal to a younger audience as the treatment of the more mature themes may be too shallow for older teens. Reluctant readers of all ages, however, will enjoy the book, and it's a great recommendation for kids who have graduated from "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" (Abrams) and are looking for something similar, if a bit more mature.-Sharon McKellar, Oakland Public Library, CAα(c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. Popular comic strip Zits is mostly a satiric parent’s-eye view of modern teenagerdom. In this leap to prose, the featured teenager, 16-year-old Jeremy, takes over as narrator. First, he makes introductions to his parents, girlfriend, garage band (Chickenfist®, renamed Goat Cheese Pizza), and uncommonly funky, hippie-era VW minibus. Then comes an epic night with best bud Hector at a Gingivitis concert, capped by an even more epic aftermath. Despite occasional whines, Jeremy doesn’t take himself too seriously (“One thing about us lightweights: we’re resilient”), and his poker-faced observations are laced as much with appreciation for his parents and friends as verbal eye rolling over their cluelessness. He even manages a brief but serious conversation with a bandmate whose mom has been treated for cancer. Breaking out now and then into wordless or nearly wordless sequences, the line-drawn black-and-white vignettes on every spread illustrate the action and often provide punchlines or side comments for this farcical spin-off. Grades 7-10. --John Peters “This is crazy fun all around, with just the right degree of seriousness to anchor the levity. Fans of Zits can rejoice in this new direction.” - Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books “Zits is a comedic masterpiece!” - Stan Lee “Zits is plugged in and ready to rock!” - Lincoln Peirce, author of the New York Times bestselling Big Nate Series “An engaging and fast read. A great recommendation for kids who have graduated from “Diary of a Wimpy Kid.” - School Library Journal “Well-executed, clean fun with a heart.” - Kirkus Reviews Zits jumps from the comics page to the bookshelf! Jeremy Duncan, future rock god, is going to his first real rock concert (Gingivitis Rules!) without his parents (hallelujah!) and with a mission in mind. It'll be an epic night he'll never forget. Based on the hit comic strip! Jerry Scott has been a professional cartoonist (aka getting paid to do a comic strip) for almost thirty years, and has been the corecipient of the National Cartoonists Society's Best Comic Strip of the Year honor four times. Sweet! In 1997 (the nineties rock!), and along with the artistic genius of Jim Borgman, Zits the comic strip was born. Jerry is a total overachiever, the recipient of many prestigious awards, which are too numerous and we're too lazy to list—just trust us, he's awesome. He's currently livin' the dream in California with his family. Jim Borgman has been a cartoonist since kindergarten. An overachiever like Jerry, he has been voted the Best Editorial Cartoonist in America five times (whoa!), been the corecipient (with Jerry) of the Best Comic Strip of the Year Award three times, and he's won most of the top cartooning awards ever presented. Jim's cartoons have hung in some pretty serious places, like the Smithsonian, the National Archives, and various presidential libraries—and above the president of the United States' personal toilet (okay, that one's pretty cool). Jim lives in Colorado with his family.