Crabgrass: Comic Adventures by Tauhid Bondia

Crabgrass: Comic Adventures by Tauhid Bondia 
Format:  E-ARC
Publisher:  Andrews McMeel Publishing
Number of pages:  192
Publishing:  September 20th, 2022
Source:  Publisher in exchange for an honest review

From Goodreads:  "Crabgrass is a comic strip set in the fictional town of Crabgrass Drive, and chronicles the close friendship of Kevin, who is white, and Miles, who is black, and the many stumbles and breakthroughs they encounter growing up together. The main characters exemplify the resilience of the bonds we form when we are young and are a reminder of why we remember those times fondly. Crabgrass is also a thrilling exploration of the adventures and mischief that children can get into when allowed to roam. Set in an ambiguous time before cellphones and the internet, the strip finds a way to connect to the old and the young without alienating either. Crabgrass explores the same youthful themes of friendship and adventure as Calvin and Hobbes, and the humor, warmth, and innocence will appeal to readers of bestselling middle grade series like Big Nate, and Phoebe and Her Unicorn."

Oh my, Crabgrass was such a wonderful read and Miles and Kevin are so hilarious.  The story is loosely based on the authors own childhood friendship, and I absolutely adored the 80's vibes.  I could immediately relate to these two boys, just a wonderful trip down memory lane pre internet.  All the fun parts of growing up, the blow-up swimming pool, Saturday morning cartoons, ice-cream trucks and making a treasure map. Iconic things like the atomic ball challenge, trying to stab a Capri Sun with one of those pointy straws (do they still make these) and playing the floor is Lava game.  I love the imagination of these boys, the moments where they're trying to jump their bikes across a ravine or even when Kevin's squabbling with his siblings.   The book is filled with these playful four panel full color comic strip illustrations, some spanning one page with a few longer story arcs that continue across four or more pages.  This is the kind of comic strip that you read if you want a good laugh and will totally leave you with a smile on your face. I really liked Kevin's mom too and especially when she said, "Sweetie, I'm a mother of four.  Losing track of one is as close as I get to a vacation."  Just hilarious.  It's as sweet as Calvin and Hobbes, and defiantly exudes warm fuzzy feelings.  Just love the friendship of these two boys, who may have different lived experiences but show that they have a lot that they can learn from one another.    I agree with Ms. Yingling's review that Crabgrass would make an awesome notebook novel, I'd defiantly be all in for that!