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Absolute Zeros #1
Absolute Zeros: Camp Launchpad
Reach for the stars in this exciting graphic novel about three ambitious, space-loving kids who must put their differences aside to save their summer camp before it closes...for good.
Welcome to Camp Launchpad!
Summer is in full swing, which means a new class of kids has arrived to attend the best space camp in Florida...or at least, it used to be. With growing competition from the trendy rival camp next door, Camp Launchpad needs all the help it can get to keep its doors open.
Campers Val, Mark, and Pete are here for very different following in the footsteps of an astronaut mom, living up to expectations as a vice president’s son, or getting a once-in-a-lifetime scholarship. But they all have one huge thing in Their future in the stars launches from here...if there’s still a camp to launch from.
When the hotshot owner of the rival space camp makes a ten-million-dollar bet that could turn Camp Launchpad around, this unlikely trio must band together to pull off a miracle. If they don’t, this could be Camp Launchpad’s last summer ever!
Welcome to Camp Launchpad!
Summer is in full swing, which means a new class of kids has arrived to attend the best space camp in Florida...or at least, it used to be. With growing competition from the trendy rival camp next door, Camp Launchpad needs all the help it can get to keep its doors open.
Campers Val, Mark, and Pete are here for very different following in the footsteps of an astronaut mom, living up to expectations as a vice president’s son, or getting a once-in-a-lifetime scholarship. But they all have one huge thing in Their future in the stars launches from here...if there’s still a camp to launch from.
When the hotshot owner of the rival space camp makes a ten-million-dollar bet that could turn Camp Launchpad around, this unlikely trio must band together to pull off a miracle. If they don’t, this could be Camp Launchpad’s last summer ever!
224 pages, Hardcover
First published March 5, 2024
1 person is currently reading
2453 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
March 3, 2024
Today I had the pleasure of reading the eARC of Absolute Zeros: Camp Launchpad written by Greg Smith and Michael Tanner and illustrated by Gabrielle Gomez. This graphic novel follows a “pod” of campers at a Florida space camp called Camp Launchpad. Val, Mark, and Pete all come from different backgrounds and have their own unique reasons for spending their summer at Camp Launchpad. At first, it seems like the trio’s conflicting personalities will sour the whole summer. But with the training for the Space Race competition against other area space camps, and with the guidance from their experienced teachers, the kids begin to learn the importance of team work and trust. They don’t let one particular rival camp and its bullies stop them from reaching for the stars! I especially loved that there was an interview at the end with real NASA scientist, Dr. Darlene Lim! Look out for this one releasing March 5 😊
January 2, 2024
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
Camp Launchpad has been around for a while, but it is a space camp that has fallen on hard times. Becca's Uncle Fred runs it, and she helps, but the staff is fairly small, including pioneering astronaut Rhea Hae and Gage McGuff, a former military man. Campers include Mark, whose father is the vice president of the US and a former camper, who drops him off and hopes that his son will have a good time, even though he would rather be with his posh friends and the much fancier Star-X camp, run by billionair Xander Santos. Pete is quiet and not as wealthy as the other campers, since he is there on scholarship and has a large family. Val Herman is at the camp while her mother, an astronaut, is in space. She's SUPER excited to be at camp and lets everyone know it. The campers are assigned to pods, and the A-Zero pod is the three campers we've just met. For some reason, the other campers are not particularly nice to them, especially Pete. There are tons of camp activities, like building rockets and assessing their performance, constructing boxes for egg drops, although swimming is off the table because the swampy, unkempt pool has an alligator in it! When the campers go to a museum, Val knocks over a display, and overhears Fred talking to Xander Santos. The two make a bet; if Camp Launchpad can win the Space Race competition, Santos will give Fred ten million dollars, but if they lose, Santos will bulldoze the camp. This gives Val the underdog spirit that she needs, which is reinforced when Mark's friends from Star-X are snotty to them as well. Back at camp, the three "Absolutel Zeros" hone their skills in coding, building, troubleshooting, and working with antigravity machines, and eventually get chosen to represent the camp in the Space Race. Will their desire to save the camp make them triumphant?
Strengths: This had a lot of good details about what might go on at a space camp, and it was interesting to see the children having to identify reasons why their rockets don't launch well and work through problems with coding. I'm sure many summer camps have fallen on hard times, so that was a completely realistic plot arc. The three main characters are different enough that they each add another layer to the story. The competition is interesting, and there is a twist at the end that was not something I expected. In the last year or so, there have been a lot more different kids of graphic novels, and this will appeal to readers who want something a bit different.
Weaknesses: There's never any reason stated why the other campers at Camp Launchpad are mean to the pod A-Zero campers, nor do Mark's friends from school have any reason to be so nasty to the vice president's son.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who can't get enough novels about space camps, like Lackey's Further Than the Moon, Giles' Epic Ellisons: Cosmos Camp, and Gardner's graphic novel Long Distance. This also reminded me a bit of Miller's Out There, a graphic novel which deals more with a road trip and hunting space aliens.
Camp Launchpad has been around for a while, but it is a space camp that has fallen on hard times. Becca's Uncle Fred runs it, and she helps, but the staff is fairly small, including pioneering astronaut Rhea Hae and Gage McGuff, a former military man. Campers include Mark, whose father is the vice president of the US and a former camper, who drops him off and hopes that his son will have a good time, even though he would rather be with his posh friends and the much fancier Star-X camp, run by billionair Xander Santos. Pete is quiet and not as wealthy as the other campers, since he is there on scholarship and has a large family. Val Herman is at the camp while her mother, an astronaut, is in space. She's SUPER excited to be at camp and lets everyone know it. The campers are assigned to pods, and the A-Zero pod is the three campers we've just met. For some reason, the other campers are not particularly nice to them, especially Pete. There are tons of camp activities, like building rockets and assessing their performance, constructing boxes for egg drops, although swimming is off the table because the swampy, unkempt pool has an alligator in it! When the campers go to a museum, Val knocks over a display, and overhears Fred talking to Xander Santos. The two make a bet; if Camp Launchpad can win the Space Race competition, Santos will give Fred ten million dollars, but if they lose, Santos will bulldoze the camp. This gives Val the underdog spirit that she needs, which is reinforced when Mark's friends from Star-X are snotty to them as well. Back at camp, the three "Absolutel Zeros" hone their skills in coding, building, troubleshooting, and working with antigravity machines, and eventually get chosen to represent the camp in the Space Race. Will their desire to save the camp make them triumphant?
Strengths: This had a lot of good details about what might go on at a space camp, and it was interesting to see the children having to identify reasons why their rockets don't launch well and work through problems with coding. I'm sure many summer camps have fallen on hard times, so that was a completely realistic plot arc. The three main characters are different enough that they each add another layer to the story. The competition is interesting, and there is a twist at the end that was not something I expected. In the last year or so, there have been a lot more different kids of graphic novels, and this will appeal to readers who want something a bit different.
Weaknesses: There's never any reason stated why the other campers at Camp Launchpad are mean to the pod A-Zero campers, nor do Mark's friends from school have any reason to be so nasty to the vice president's son.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who can't get enough novels about space camps, like Lackey's Further Than the Moon, Giles' Epic Ellisons: Cosmos Camp, and Gardner's graphic novel Long Distance. This also reminded me a bit of Miller's Out There, a graphic novel which deals more with a road trip and hunting space aliens.
March 21, 2024
A classic middle grade summer camp story gets a space camp upgrade in this start to a graphic novel series. Camp Launchpad, once a popular and high-tech summer camp for space motivated kids, has fallen on dire straits and now faces competition from a flashier, rival Space Camp -- camp Star-X. Some kids, like Valerie Hermans whose mother is an astronaut, are thrilled to be at Camp Launchpad; others, like Mark Maxon whose father is the Vice President of USA, is disappointed to be at the low-tech camp, somewhere in the middle is Pete Duarte a scholarship recipient who is a little shy and overwhelmed. When Val discovers that Star-X is trying to take over Camp Launchpad she, and their camp advisor Fred, make a deal that if Camp Launchpad wins the Space Race at the end of the summer, Star-X will fund the camp -- otherwise they'll be forced to sell.
The plot is familiar but well-executed with quirky characters and lots of summer camp fun. Val, Mark, and Pete are forced to become friends but over the course of the novel learn to work together and overcome their underdog status.
The plot is familiar but well-executed with quirky characters and lots of summer camp fun. Val, Mark, and Pete are forced to become friends but over the course of the novel learn to work together and overcome their underdog status.
September 1, 2024
A cute graphic novel about three kids at space camp. The tech may not be the best-to-date, but it works for these kids.
The three campers must learn to work together with their own differences. A moment I loved was between a teacher and a camper. It went as follows
Camper: “But I was the leader, they needed to listen to me”
Teacher: “Is that all you think leadership is? Is that what you think I did? Every successful mission I’ve been apart of succeeded because I had a team that I trusted and that trusted me.
We can plan all we want, but when it comes down to it, when our crew’s lives are on the line, safety ALWAYS come first.”
Just a simple sweet story. It took me a bit to get into. The fighting/bickering lasted longer than I’d like. But hey, that made the teamwork that much better in the end.
The three campers must learn to work together with their own differences. A moment I loved was between a teacher and a camper. It went as follows
Camper: “But I was the leader, they needed to listen to me”
Teacher: “Is that all you think leadership is? Is that what you think I did? Every successful mission I’ve been apart of succeeded because I had a team that I trusted and that trusted me.
We can plan all we want, but when it comes down to it, when our crew’s lives are on the line, safety ALWAYS come first.”
Just a simple sweet story. It took me a bit to get into. The fighting/bickering lasted longer than I’d like. But hey, that made the teamwork that much better in the end.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 20, 2025
Camp Launchpad has most certainly seen better days. With so much competition around, money is tight, so now they are making do with old equipment, and just ignoring the gator in the swimming pool. But if they can manage to send a winning pod to the annual Space Race, it will mean a healthy--and much needed infusion of cash. Enter campers Val, Mark, and Pete. Do they have the right stuff to win the competition? Or to put their beds together? Only time will tell if these podmates will learn to work together and keep Camp Launchpad's doors open. Tons of kid appeal here.
March 26, 2024
Absolute Zeros: Camp Launchpad" ingeniously blends the adventurous spirit of "The Goonies" with the excitement of space camp. Perfect for middle schoolers, it's a thrilling ride through friendship. The graphic novel delivers on both heartwarming camaraderie and fun adventure, making it a must-read for any young explorer.
December 27, 2024
It's well done, don't let the rating fool you. It's well written but I had a hard time keeping up because the science isn't really explained, the villain is def a cartoonized Elon Musk, and the kids were pretty dang awful to one another at first. But it just ended up being fine to me.
Overall, a good pick for any STEM enthusiast who might have had a hard time working with a team in the past.
Overall, a good pick for any STEM enthusiast who might have had a hard time working with a team in the past.
July 29, 2024
Well written and well illustrated. I really liked the growth of the characters from Camp Launchpad, especially the members of the Absolute Zeros. This graphic novel really stresses the importance of teamwork and believing in each other.
August 25, 2024
A fun middle school story for people who like space. (The only thing that confused me was one of the main characters appeared to be female- named Val, but they were sharing sleeping quarters with 2 boys?.....)
April 7, 2025
Failing camp competes with rich one to win a competion. Each camper has reasons for being there, and reasons for why they are struggling. Eventually they gel and become loyal to each other and the camp.
Lots of family dynamics, even from afar.
Lots of family dynamics, even from afar.
June 12, 2024
Three kids attending a run-down space camp in Florida learn valuable lessons, even without all the fancy gizmos.
December 18, 2024
The pacing makes this graphic novel difficult to follow at times, as does the fact that it’s isn’t broken into chapters. It feels like it could have used a stronger editor to tighten it up.
February 22, 2025
I enjoyed this book pretty well. I liked that at the end they didn’t actually win the Space Race but they did beat the other team they were trying to beat. That was cool.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 22, 2025
Absolute Zeros: Camp Launchpad was an adorable story about three kids who clash at first upon meeting, but through the course of a summer space camp develop a deeply rewarding friendship founded in learning about teamwork. Each of the kids feels somewhat cast aside for one reason or another and are slowly able to learn to appreciate each other for what they offer the world as their time bunking together at camp lends them the opportunity to get out of their comfort zones and face challenges they never would have, otherwise.
Follow Val, Mark, and Pete as they not only learn about the experiences of astronauts in their journeys through space, but also as their love for the camp and appreciation for each other grows, they band together to take on other space camps in the challenge of a lifetime in order to save their beloved camp for all the summers to come.
Follow Val, Mark, and Pete as they not only learn about the experiences of astronauts in their journeys through space, but also as their love for the camp and appreciation for each other grows, they band together to take on other space camps in the challenge of a lifetime in order to save their beloved camp for all the summers to come.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews