Description: The Five Worlds are on the brink of extinction unless five ancient and mysterious beacons are lit. When war erupts, three unlikely heroes will discover there's more to themselves and more to their worlds than meets the eye.
  The clumsiest student at the Sand Dancer Academy, Oona Lee is a fighter with a destiny bigger than she could ever imagine. A boy from the poorest slums, An Tzu has a surprising gift and a knack for getting out of sticky situations. Star athlete Jax Amboy is beloved by an entire galaxy, but what good is that when he has no real friends? When these three kids are forced to team up on an epic quest, it will take not one, not two, but 5 WORLDS to contain all the magic and adventure!

Review: 5 Worlds is a new exciting  middle grade graphic novel series that is full of action, adventure that will easily appease any science fiction, fantasy, or graphic novel reader of any age. With gorgeous, colorful artwork, the graphic novel is able to tackle today's contemporary issues such as race, class, and privilege as we explore the graphic novel's fleshed out multi-planet system.
Oona is very fortunate to have grown up in the affluent Sand Dancer Academy. She is constantly reminded and remains in her sister's shadow. Oona is clumsy and the last person anyone would expect to have any special powers. An Tzu ekes out a meager life as a thief in the slums surrounding the academy and suffers from a rare disease that will only get worse if he doesn't find a cure fast enough. Jax Amboy is a star athlete who is also hiding a big secret. 
  All three characters find themselves in a dangerous situation when Toki rebels from one of the moons making up the five worlds attack the main power station. Oona believes her sister, the true Sand Warrior, can conjure her magic to stop the attack but she needs An and Jax's help to find her. The three characters despite their differences learn to trust one another and form friendships that will only grow stronger as the graphic novel series begins to develop. Meanwhile the Toki forces are curiously insistent on capturing Oona, and try to make sense of some enigmatic clues they discover along the way. 
 At first I was a little lost when I started 5 Worlds because the creators just drops the reader right into the middle of the story, but after reading a few pages it was easy to navigate in this expansive world. I really appreciated the diversity of the story. The characters appear in a wide variety of sizes, shape, and skin tone. Though I was able to figure out the plot twists early in the story, I still found the graphic novel to be an enjoyable, quick  read and I look forward to picking up the next volume in this series.

Rating: 4 stars


Words of Caution: There are some disturbing images. Recommended for Grades 4 and up.

If you like this book try: Avatar: The Last Airbender by Bryan Konietzko, Amulet series by Kazu Kibuishi, and Naruto manga series by Masashi Kishimoto,