Preview: Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong
High school is all about tribes, so the story of Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong, the new graphic novel out this week from writer Prudence Shen and Faith Erin Hicks (published by the inimitable First Second), will ring true to a lot of readers: It pits the robotics team against the cheerleaders. Life is never quite as simple as that, though, and it’s the complications that make the story interesting.
You wouldn’t expect Nate and Charlie to be friends. Charlie’s the laid-back captain of the basketball team, and Nate is the neurotic, scheming president of the robotics club. But they are friends, however unlikely — until Nate declares war on the cheerleaders, and the cheerleaders retaliate by making Charlie their figure-head in the ugliest class election campaign the school as ever seen. At stake? Student group funding that will either cover a robotics competition or new cheerleading uniforms — but not both.
Bad sportsmanship? Sure. Chainsaws? Why not! Nothing can possibly go wrong.
First Second has been serializing the story online, and the print edition goes on sale this week. In the meantime, here’s a preview to whet your appetite.
Filed under: Graphic Novels, Web Comics, Young Adult

About Brigid Alverson
Brigid Alverson, the editor of the Good Comics for Kids blog, has been reading comics since she was 4. She has an MFA in printmaking and has worked as a book editor and a newspaper reporter; now she is assistant to the mayor of Melrose, Massachusetts. In addition to editing GC4K, she writes about comics and graphic novels at MangaBlog, SLJTeen, Publishers Weekly Comics World, Comic Book Resources, MTV Geek, and Good E-Reader.com. Brigid is married to a physicist and has two daughters in college, which is why she writes so much. She was a judge for the 2012 Eisner Awards.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
SLJ Blog Network
Notes on November 2023
31 Days, 31 Lists: 2023 Great Board Books
The Revised Newbery Manual: A look at recent updates to the guiding publication of the Newbery Committee
November 2023 Election Hot Take: It was a good night for libraries, a bad night for censorship
Book Review: The Song of the Swan by Karah Sutton, Pauliina Hannuniemi (Illustrator)
ADVERTISEMENT