PetWizards

by Kirk Scroggs, Unknown Author

Perfect for animal lovers and fans of Lumberjanes, here is a hilarious graphic novel about a boy named Finch with the not-so-secret ability to control animals, and his mission to save the school musical and win the heart of his crush. Finch Eaglehawk may seem like an average oddball with a taste for the dramatic and glam-rock musical numbers, but he has a secret. Finch is a PetWizard, with the ability to control the animal kingdom—well, the “et cetera” category of the animal kingdom. Though he loves his naked mole rats, bearded dragons, and boa constrictors, Finch yearns for more. With the help of his best friend, Aberdeen, a mysterious new kid named Erica, and an ancient PetMaster manual, Finch tries to learn how to own his powers and use them to help those in need, protect the vulnerable, and, most important, impress his crush, Ken Chu, the star of the upcoming school musical.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Humor, Middle Grade, Fantasy, LGBT

Paperback

First published August 6, 2024

Reviews

[Amelia Zulkifli]

My son borrowed this comic from the library. At first, it seems fine and interesting. But it turns out that Finch, the main character is gay. As a practising Muslim, I do not support LGBT and would not exposed this kind of reading material to a child.

[Kathy Temean]

This is a hilarious graphic novel about a boy named Finch with the not-so-secret ability to control animals and his mission to save the school musical and win the heart of his crush. Kids will laugh out loud while reading about the oddball Finch Eaglehawk, who does dramatic and glam-rock musical numbers, trying to keep his secret.

Finch is a PetWizard with the ability to control the animal kingdom—well, the “et cetera” category of the animal kingdom. Though he loves his naked mole rats, bearded dragons, and boa constrictors, Finch yearns for more. With the help of his best friend, Aberdeen, a mysterious new kid named Erica, and an ancient PetMaster manual, Finch tries to learn how to own his powers and use them to help those in need, protect the vulnerable, and, most important, impress his crush, Ken Chu, the star of the upcoming school musical.

I am sure kids will long to be a PetWizard after they finish the book. I agree with Publishers Weekly when they said the characters are bizarre while being relatable. The off-putting critters are cute. The great thing is that the book is filled with familiar messages about identity, fitting in, and being oneself. I love how Kirk managed to give kids an uplifting story and still give them a funny, absurd, offbeat, humorous, goofy adventure. 

The bold psychedelic colors perfectly match the crazy high-jinks story, giving kids the feel of reading a comic book. Another thing I like about the illustrations is that Kirk changes the colors and format in various places throughout the book to keep the story and the illustrations interesting. This book is perfect for both boys and girls in middle grades.

[Melanie Dulaney]

Introducing the category of “Pet Wizard,” a person who can bond and commune with animals, some with many species of truly amazing creatures and others, like our 7th grade main character, Finch, only a few less exciting animals such as a naked mole rat, a roach and a bat. With his undersized sidekick armed with an oversized book of the collected wisdom of the pet wizards before him, Finch must attempt to bond with a flock of seagulls after accidentally promising a bossy theater student he could have them ready for the big finale scene of her student written, produced musical, starring her. Complicating matters is a crush that Finch has on the handsome Ken Chu, a vengeful (and fired) special effects dude and Erica, a fan of pet wizards who has attached herself to the dynamic duo. Oh, and Finch can’t bond with birds…but that’s surely not a problem.

Adults are going to find this new graphic novel goofy and ridiculous which is exactly why the target age group, likely 4th-6th grade, is likely going to laugh their way through the whole thing. The graphic panels are filled with details to keep them studying the pages time after time and the representations of people have over exaggerated physical traits, an artistic choice that works well.

Text is free of profanity, sexual content and violence. Representation: Finch is interested in Ken Chu who already has a boyfriend (hand holding is the limit of the physical expression of affection), Erica is Black.

Thanks for the print arc, Union Square Kids.

[Jill Jemmett]

Seventh grader Finch Eaglehawk is a petwizard, which means he can control animals. The group of animals he can control is referred to as “etcetera,” which includes naked mole rats, boa constrictors, and bats. When Finch is asked to provide a grand finale of the school play with birds, he agrees to impress his crush, Ken Chu. However, Finch can’t control birds. Along with he’s sidekick Aberdeen and the new girl Erica, Finch must figure out a way to fulfill his promise of birds at the play.

This was such a fun graphic novel. I laughed out loud a few times while I was reading it. I loved the quirky characters. They had to do some creative problem solving to try to give Finch the ability to control birds. Aberdeen was my favourite character. She was funny and adorable. I hope there will be a sequel because I would love to see these characters again!

Petwizards is a great middle grade graphic novel!

Thank you Union Square and Co. for sending me a copy of this book!

[Rachel]

A cute and funny story of Finch Eaglehawk, a 7th grade Petwizard with the ability to connect with certain animals and control them. When he volunteers to help the middle school musical include seagulls in the grand finale, he doesn’t realize at the time the difficulty of making this happen. Finch, with the help of his assistant/friend Aberdeen and a new girl named Erica, try out comical ways to keep his word.

This story would best be read and understood by middle schoolers due to larger words and situations. The story includes boy liking boy woven throughout the storyline.

[Aurora]

Read the first 70 pages (so about 50%) and just couldn't find the energy to push through the rest. I didn't like the art or the writing.

[Kellee Moye]

This silly graphic novel is psychedelic in so many ways–colors, characters, plot, silliness. It is all just an all out fun graphic novel filled with everything that middle grade students are going to love.