Fourteen-year-old Doreen Green is just like any other girl who is nervous about leaving the life she had and starting over. when her family moves from California to New Jersey. Just like any other girl, that is, except for her tail. And her super strength. And her ability to talk to squirrels.

That’s right, unassuming teen Doreen is actually Squirrel Girl! At least, that’s what she calls herself in her head. Doreen has all the powers of girl and squirrel, all of which she has to hide as she embarks on the journey of being a new girl at a new school with no friends – until she meets Ana Sofia, a hearing-impaired girl in her grade, and Tippy Toe… who is a squirrel. Can this dream team of girl and squirrel and squirrel girl stick together and save the day when a wannabe supervillain known only as “MM” starts wreaking havoc on Doreen’s new home turf?

This book is an excellent peek into the lives of young adults. The characters, from BFF Ana Sofia to Tippy Toe and her squirrelly crew to lean mean Doreen Green herself come fully to life between the pages of Shannon and Dean Hale’s debut Squirrel Girl novel. From the pearls of wisdom (“Socks are like hugs for your feet.”) to the real challenges and lessons between these pages, from needing help with your school work to dealing with bullies of all kinds, the husband-and-wife Hale duo capture a slice of suburban life that is real and relatable – and funny! – in spite of all the superpowers and villainy. Give this book to any tween or teen (or adult!) – not just the ones you secretly suspect to be human-squirrel hybrids – and it will surely make them crack a smile or eleven, while helping them deal with the foes in their own lives, and not just the subterranean robot-building kind.