The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl

The summer after she finishes high school, Alba plans to work at her mother’s bakery, hang out with her friends, draw some more of her rebellious comic book character Cinnamon Girl and spend as long as possible ignoring the undecided future looming before her, regardless of how hard her life-long best friend Grady pushes her. She’s not expecting some YouTube prophet to announce that, not only is the end of the world nigh, but the only place that will survive is her tiny hometown. Figuring out the future is even harder when you’re not sure it will exist and your town is overrun by end-of-the-world fanatics with questionable personal hygiene. The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl is every bit as nerdy, goofy and dramatic as Melissa Keil’s Ampersand Project-winning book Life in Outer Space. It is also every bit as loveable, touching and addictive. Keil has such an incredible knack for bringing characters to life in a way that takes the potentially clichéd plotlines and turns them into something charming, hilarious and utterly unputdownable. Delightfully quirky and oh-so-much fun, a tangible sense of place paired with Alba’s strong voice make Keil’s new book a total hit.

Meg Whelan is the children’s book buyer at the Hill of Content Bookshop in Melbourne