Field Trip

Sanity & Tallulah #2

by Molly Brooks

Sanity Jones and Tallulah Vega are on a field trip to mining planet Apis and its moons. They can't wait to see their first sunset, hang out with their friends, and learn all about the special resource produced there. But when an accident separates them from the rest of the group, they'll have to crash land on the planet alone. As they try to find their way back to their classmates, the girls discover that there's more to the shadowy FootHold Corporation than meets the eye. With the planet set to self-destruct and vicious space pirates on their tail, these best friends will have to stretch their problem-solving skills to the limit in order to solve the mystery and get everyone home safe--before the planet literally explodes.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Middle Grade, Science Fiction, Comics, Adventure, Childrens, Fiction

240 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 22, 2019

About the author

Molly Brooks wrote and illustrated the Sanity & Tallulah graphic novel series (Disney-Hyperion, 2018-2021). She also did the artwork for Flying Machines: How the Wright Brothers Soared by Alison Wilgus (First Second, 2017), and Kathryn Ormsbee's Growing Pangs (Spring 2022) and Turning Twelve (Fall 2024), a duology about middle school, anxiety, friendship and first crushes from RHGraphic. Her shorter comics and assorted illustrations have appeared in a variet of publications including the Guardian, the Nib, the Boston Globe, the Nashville Scene, Kazoo Magazine, BUST Magazine, ESPN social, Sports Illustrated online, and others. Molly lives and works in Brooklyn, where she spends her spare time doting on her houseplants and documenting her cats.

NOTE: there is another Molly Brooks whose romance novels occasionally end up attached to this author profile, but that is an error. This Molly Brooks is comics-only.

Reviews

[Ms. Woc Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

My little cousin and I were reading this together since it has some advanced vocabulary for her. Sanity and Tallulah are going on a field trip with their class to visit their first planet. Having been born and raised on the space station, Wilnick the girls are excited to finally see a planet. But things don't quite go as planned and they end up stranded on a planet after an encounter with a space pirate. They find out an asteroid is headed for the planet and have to figure out how to escape it's path.

This book is the second in a series and expanded on the world that was built in book 1. Readers learn more about how the universe is split up.

I like the STEM representation in this series and how into science Sanity is. I also like that this book is a graphic novel that feels like a full length prose novel. The storyline is fully fleshed out and almost every page has dialogue. There is advanced vocabulary that the younger reader won't be able to understand there is also some talk about the ethics of corporations that will go over their head. This book was actually a good way to bring up some discussions and have me provide some simplified explanations.

[orangerful · Rating 4 out of 5]

More adventure and fun than the first book! I love these two BFFs and this book was action packed with more peril than I expected.

I like the idea of kids that grew up on a space station trying to grasp what life on a planet would be like. It also gave a little more depth to the universe as we learned about some fighting that is going on between some of the deep space factions. Does this series take place in the same reality as 'The Expanse' series?? (It does in my head now)

And a third one on the way? YES PLEASE!

[Bianca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really loved this one. There was an actual plot that wasn't simplified due to the age demo, which felt really special and exceptional. Space pirates, physics, engineering, environmental science... what a treat! I had to reread some of the panels in order to understand the science being described, which is AWESOME- you can tell there's some Actual theoretical shit going on, or else just some excellently convincing sci-fi peril. This is absolutely PERFECT for precocious kids who get bored with the books usually handed to them!

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I have some tiny nitpicks with this one, I continue to be excited about these fun sci-fi adventures with two savvy, smart, and brave girls at the helm. This follow-up to the delightful Sanity and Tallulah follows the two on a field trip that goes very quickly wrong. It's a bit more convoluted than the first, and a little less focus is spent on the girls' friendship and dynamic with each other, but it's undeniably exciting and empowering.

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for a free review copy of this book.

This book is the second book in the Sanity and Tallulah series. It is about Sanity, Tallulah, and their class going on a field trip to a planet. Their trip gets off to a bad start and Sanity and Tallulah are separated from the other kids and their chaperones. Things go from bad to worse after that and the kids have to find a way to escape the planet as soon as possible.

I really loved this second book. I really love the characters of Sanity and Tallulah and how they are very different little girls. They both have their own interests and their own personalities. The story was really great too. I loved how it all turned out and I was hooked right from the start. This is one series that I really love and I hope that it keeps going. I love to see little girls that are so full of energy and curiosity.

[Owen]

This was generally good. Sanity and Tallulah themselves are fun, and I like seeing them science their way out of trouble. The other characters, and the science itself, are generally what the plot requires them to be. There's an ostensible villain, a pirate who gets taken out of action before the climax, but I think that's because the real villain for Sanity and Tallulah is figuring out how to make everything turn out okay.

[Dax · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute, fun continuation to this dynamic duo!

[Completely Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review on my Wrap Up Vlog
https://youtu.be/OOcKZ5f0UWc

[Malka · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

[jess (bibliophilicjester) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 again, and so much love for this series. It seems sanity and tallulah are physically incapable of staying out of trouble, lol. Their class goes planetside for a field trip, it when they get there, they discover the program has been canceled...which gives you an idea of how everything is going to go. I like how both books switch between s&t and their shenanigans, and the class in this one (other areas of the station in the first one). I also really like that while their are sort of villains (or, st lest people looking out for their own interests only), these books really revolve around just figuring out how to fix mistakes under pressure and save the day. Tallulah’s thing with the bees was SO funny, and I actually took a picture of the page toward the end when sanity proposes that solution and is like, “just a small one” 🤣🤣 I also really appreciate the lack of bullying, especially because sanity is so obviously and uncommonly brilliant. It would’ve been easy to add pages by making tallulah jealous. I’m really glad brooks didn’t go that route.

I think I appreciated the color choices and art even more in the second book. Maybe it’s just me being super artsy, but I loved all the parts in the dark with lanterns where everything had this soft, light red glow. It feel simple and straightforward, but there are so many little things to love if you take some extra time with the art. I also particularly enjoyed the two page spreads of barren planet, explosions, disasters, etc. the science is more fantasy-esque than hard science, but those few pages make you stop and see the very real impending doom for these characters.

Seriously love these books. I’ve already preordered shortcuts and I can’t wait!! Is that the last book? I hope not. Our heroes still have so much mischief left to do, I think 🙃

[Pen&Quill Read · Rating 4 out of 5]

✨ Quills thoughts...

" I've spent all day sure I was going to have to go down in Wilnick history as the first science teacher whose field trip ended in fatalities."

“Well, there's still time.”

Remind me never to chaperone a middle school field trip... especially one in space.

Sanity and Tallulah are excited to go to a planet for the first time, Tallulah can't wait to see clouds and weather and cute fury animals while Sanity's worried about her older sister Prudence as their security guard/chaperone. But it's a field trip with Sanity and Tallulah ...beyond the blockade... into United space, so you know something's gonna go wrong, and probably in some crazy dangerous way that can only be solved by clever thinking kids, borderline mad science, and.... hairspray? Throw in a pirate, some secret "bee" keepers, and a ASTROID HURDLING STRAIGHT AT THEM!!! And you get one unforgettable adventure that's totally fun, fast paced and laugh out loud hilarious!

I love these books! My heart was racing through out most of this! The action barley let's up for a second, but not in a "way to busy, shoving a ton of unrealistically events and actions in your face" kind of way. The story its self was not as good I think as book one and I wish the girls got some more screen time but we do get to see a slightly bigger picture of this world which I love cuz I've been dying to know what's going on in the background since I started reading these. Over all Beautifully crafted and drawn, these stories are great for kids (boys or girls) interested in STEAM/STEM, graphic novels, action, space adventures, and best friends getting into and out of trouble.

But hey no news on the P.S.D.O.W project? What gives?________________________________________________

[Dr. T Loves Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

What it's about: The middle school girls who live on a space station are going on a field trip to a planetoid! Having never been on a planet or seen a "sky", they are extremely excited. But a technical malfunction separates the girls from their classmates and chaperones, and strands them on the planetoid.

Unfortunately, their classmates also end up stranded on the planetoid. And they learn that the planet is going to be destroyed before anyone will know to come looking for them!

It's going to take all the students working together to help save themselves - and save the day!

What I thought: This book ramps up something that floated through the background of the last book - the universe in which this story takes place has had some seriously bad things go down. The main characters of this series are living separated from most of the rest of humanity. There seems to have been a major war. It may have destroyed a planet. There seems to be an ongoing war.

I'm very intrigued by these hints of a rather dark background against which these characters are having adventures.

This book is also putting characters in dangerous situations, and not guaranteeing they'll be okay. A kid gets hurt pretty well here. And there's a villain who is willing to let people die. It's a surprising amount of darkness for a Disney title about middle school kids!

Why I rated it like I did: In the first book, I found the three tone coloring very interesting and unique. In this book, it made it hard to tell what the details were supposed to be in places.

I also feel like the hints about what is going on in the wider universe is a bit much in this volume - there's too much hinting and not enough actual filling-in of what's going on.

[Becky B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best friends Sanity and Tallulah are super excited that their class is going on an overnight field trip to an actual planet. Neither of them has ever been to one before. But the field trip ends up going a little bit differently than the adults expected. Ok, totally differently. Like potentially disastrous with asteroids and space pirates and space bees and secret miners.

Well, that was totally unexpected and absolutely wonderful. I would never, ever, EVER want to chaperone a school trip that goes 1% as bad as this one goes. I do love how it showcases the brilliance of the kids who live on the space station with Sanity and Tallulah, though. And it also highlights the girls' own unique quirks even more than the first book. I was a little disappointed that a certain 3-headed kitten didn't make an appearance, but there were space bees. A zany space adventure that had me zipping through the book. Can't wait for more Sanity & Tallulah zaniness. If you haven't met Sanity & Tallulah, do yourself a favor and pick up one of their books.

Notes on content: No language issues. No sexual content. There are a couple incidents which could've resulted in serious injuries but only 1 broken bone (and the illustration doesn't even make that obvious).

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

*I received a free ARC from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review*

The Sanity & Tallulah series is fantastic! The writing is fun, the plots are exciting, and the visuals really bring everything to life. I love the friendship between Sanity and Tallulah - they are pretty much opposites in their personalities but they complement one another so well. I often felt like Tallulah was treated as a humorous sidekick and wish she could have played a larger role, but she does get a few hero moments. I hope in future stories she gets to do more than add some comic relief. I also love that this book puts two young girls as experts in fields like science and engineering - and that it makes the kids the heroes showing the importance of problem solving skills and teamwork. I hope that young readers read these books and get interested in STEM fields. Field Trip has higher stakes than the first book, but I think that's great because it allows the series to grow with its audience. I highly recommend that teachers and librarians add this book (along with book #1) to their libraries.

[Stephanie Tournas]

A field trip to a nearby planet turns into a major adventure for Sanity and Tallulah, complete with asteroids, getting separated from their school group, being kidnapped by a maniacal pirate, and the potential explosion of the whole planet. Characters are racially diverse, with girls and women leading the pack, and are creative with science-y solutions to their problems. The world has lots of fun details: most of the kids have never been to a planet before, because they live on a space station called Wilnick; a field trip for these 12-year-olds means 3 days on a kind of rocket bus hurtling through space; the planet features rock-eating bees that have hollowed out so much of the planet that its shifting mass has messed with the orbit. What cool fictional science! The 3-color art is inventive and playful, with varying panel shapes and bleeds (when the image goes beyond the panel). I especially liked one moment where the girls are climbing out of a crashed space ship, shown as climbing out of the panel, dropping down through white page to the ground below. This book can stand alone, even though it’s book 2 – and there will be more adventures to come.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

12 yo Sanity and Tallulah are back and all the kids are going to a planet on a field trip. After a 15 hour spaceship ride, they arrive at their destination to discover that the field trip has been cancelled - their sponsor had been reassigned and no one had let the field trip know. Sanity's sister, Prudence, manages to talk an acquaintance into letting them land at the docking station, but when an asteroid hits and the children barely escape with their lives, it's up to Sanity and Tallulah to rescue the planet's inhabitants and figure out a plan to get everyone safely back home.

I really loved the adventure in book #2 - but no worries, it stands on its own, so read them in any order. There's a space pirate, a collapsing planet, broken spacecraft, alien life forms and a bunch of really smart kids, plus, Sanity and Tallulah are doing their own thing, again, which gets them in more trouble than everyone else - but also sets them up to save the day so it's all good. I love this series, I hope Molly Brooks writes more!

For this and more of my reviews, visit http://kissthebook.blogspot.com . CHECK IT OUT!

[Stacey Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is so exciting their first time going to a planet. The kids are energized on this field trip. They have crazy notions of what living on a planet is like but they don't really have any idea. The field trip was supposed to be canceled but the school never got the notification so here they are to the surprise of the people Apis. An asteroid causes trouble and as the group races to the lander Sanity and Tallulah get separated from the group. They're all safe with the kids and teachers, along with Sanity's sister chaperone in the lander. While Sanity and Tallulah are stuck on a planet that's about to explode.
The planet is mining heavypaste. Actually it's mined by "bees". Sanity and Tallulah have to use their skills and the heavypaste to free themselves. Sanity's brain and Tallulah's respect for the bees gives them a good chance of surviving. Oh yeah, there's also a pirate who's threatening everyone and who will do anything to keep her ship. Will the two groups get back together? A fun exciting field trip for sure.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story focuses on a field trip to a terraformed planet… a number of complications pose conflicts along the way. There’s a mix up with the company who runs the mining operation on the planet and no one knows that they are showing up. An interstellar thief who is trying to steal the priceless minerals deep in the moon’s core. An asteroid gets past the mining conglomerate’s defenses and slams into the orbiting command base forcing the class to escape to the moon’s surface… All this happens in the first quarter of the book. It is action packed!!!!!

I like this book because it challenges the reader to understand the science behind the situations they are caught in. Brooks describes and illustrates the planet defense system and puts it on Sanity and Tallulah to solve these several problems.

For my full review: https://paulspicks.blog/2019/12/06/sa...

For all my reviews: https://paulspicks.blog

[Natalie Waddell-Rutter · Rating 5 out of 5]

An enjoyable little story. Brooks supplied action and tension, but not too much. Brooks also rewards the adult reader with bits of humor a child wouldn’t necessarily catch (usually from the teacher or chaperone commenting on how hard it is to corral a bunch of 12-year olds). You don’t have to have read the first in the series to read this one, but it would be helpful. The first book sets up the personalities of Sanity and Tallulah, and this book plays on those tendencies. I loved how the kids worked together to build a rocket and a gravity bomb to save themselves from an oncoming asteroid. They didn’t need the teacher or adults to instigate a rescue. The class rescued themselves by working together to solve a problem. Sanity and Tallulah do play an outsized role in the rescue, as is appropriate since it is their series.

The art is visually interesting, even with a limited color palate. Brooks doesn’t stick with a standard number of panels per page. Instead, she varies it from a single page to six or eight panels. She tends to have fairly simple backgrounds, so you can focus on the action by the people in the foreground. Overall, a great book for kids and adults.

[kelsey! · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ooh, I'm still loving the adventures of these two space girls!

I really appreciate the humor and the distinct personalities of Sanity and Tallulah-- I love them both and the way they complement each other perfectly, but definitely identify more with a Tallulah-- and thought this second installment did a good job of fleshing out our main characters while adding on to the overall space setting and taking readers on an exciting journey. This one did feel slightly more unbelievable in terms of the way the girls (and their classmates) are able to save the day BUT it was still so enjoyable that I didn't even care.

Also, it doesn't feel like it's simplifying anything or sacrificing high stakes plot points to make it more childish and I love that.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this one better. I'm still enjoying the protagonists, and I really appreciate the different secondary adults and the variety of jobs and interests even among the scientists. It's not doing the disney default of villains or useless, there's different degrees of helpfulness and understanding and I think it gives a good extra layer of depth to a complex world.

The mix of friend and family relationships are fun with Sanity's sister Prudence in the mix now, and some framing with Tallulah's younger brother.

Though towards the end, I also liked the throwaway about how these kids grew up on a space station so they understand the importance of engineering, it's not that they're superkids or anything, just that it's integral to their lives so they get a feel for it early.

[Jess Bonanni · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so much fun! I definitely enjoyed this a bit more than the first!

The plot was really exciting and intense in this one! I mean, space pirates, other planets (possibly) exploding, this is prime stuff here.

Even though this was middle grade, it was written very intelligently, especially with all the space lingo. I had to go back and reread a few panels to get the full understanding of what was happening and I actually really appreciated that.

This series continues to grow (in both world-building and character arcs) on me and I never once felt like this was too watered down to appease a very young audience. This series can be understood and enjoyed at any age.

*Also if you’re a fan of Zenon, you’ll definitely love this series!

[Megan Mann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just love how funny and smart these are. You have two strong girls, each a different version of strength, who not only find themselves in trouble, but end up saving everyone in the end. It’s so great.

In this one, Sanity and Tallulah get to go on a field trip to a planetoid. Only when they get there, they find out the trip was cancelled and no one told their class. when they manage to make it down to one of the moons surrounding Apis, an asteroid that’s meant to be detected and destroyed, ends up not being detected and destroys the hangar. While the rest of their class ends to a landing ship, the two girls get stuck having to take a small ship down to the planet themselves. Adventure ensures and the girls once again use their smarts to save the day.

I want more!

[Kayla Zabcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

95%

I really appreciate that Tallulah's role outside of "silly and spunky" was played up, and that she was actually integral to the plot. I feel like in the first book, Sanity was this genius child with a dumb sidekick friend, but their dynamic really balanced out in this one and I understood how and why they were friends in the first place.

The story felt more fleshed-out than the first, and had all sorts of interesting factors and new characters (I loved the octopus "bees") which made it a delight to read.

My only complaint is that I wish there was a character page and a space map to help you understand people's relations to one another, since there were a lot of characters to keep track of.

[Shayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

That was cuuuuuute. Got the arc from work and was so excited to see there was a sequel. My only problem with it was that occasionally something would happen in the story where I couldn't understand how it came about, like a couple extra panels were needed to explain but were omitted for some reason. I just kind of went with it though and really enjoyed the story anyway. Sanity and Tallulah are great characters, and I totally want to be Prudence. Love to see cool black women doing awesome things in books! Hoping to see more in this series next year.

[Laura Mauro · Rating 3 out of 5]

* I got this book for review from the publisher*

I really loved going to back to this world and these characters. I really did like how this book focused on a different problem and different science theme. I really did loved the focus on the friendship between the girls. I think this book had several different mini storylines and due to that there was so pacing and plot issues. I really enjoyed the focus on science and also solving problems. I still think the art style is a highlight of this read and I will def be reading the future books in this series in the future.

[Kylie Combs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sanity and Tallulah were my favorite find for quite some time, and I'm so glad their are more adventures to come! I love how well they balance each other out, Sanity being more along the logic side of things, and Tallulah being more adventurous. And they're in space! They get to visit a planet (ok, a planetoid) on a field trip, but of course, it can't be as simple as all of that. I loved it just as much as the first, with even higher stakes (and new characters!). I think this is an incredible series for any young reader, and adults as well.

[Ellon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I’ve grown to like Sanity & Tallulah more since reading the first one in the series. This one still had a lot of the science fiction science stuff but the rest of the plot was a little more interesting to me. The color scheme is not my favorite because, at times, I find it hard to understand what exactly is happening.
I like Sanity, although she falls into the “way too smart for her age” cliche. Tallulah is so annoying to me. She has little to no redeeming qualities.
I did think it was funny to have kids be so excited about going to a planet.

[Lindsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sanity and Tallulah are back. This time they are leaving the space station to go on a field trip to a planet that is 20 hours away. Once they arrive they find that the tour that had been scheduled for their class was cancelled. Instead of returning to the station, they are allowed to dock. Chaos ensues.

I think I enjoyed the first book better as the hijinks in that one were directly connected to Sanity and Tallulah. Even still, there's plenty of sci-fi with kids using their extraordinary brains to get themselves out of trouble.

[Bookphile · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not sure why this series doesn't grab me the way other middle grade graphic novels don't. I like the characters but don't find them as compelling as the characters in comparable graphic novels. I'm surprised I don't like the setting more, since I'm a big scifi fan, but that may be because it leans in too much to the fake tech at times. I'm also not a huge fan of the color schemes in these books because they make it hard for me to follow the details at times. Basically, I don't dislike this series, but I'm pretty indifferent to it.