CHRONICLES OF A LIZARD NOBODY

Sometimes, even the calmest monitor lizards have their limits.

Though Zeke, Daniel, and Alicia saved their school from their evil avian classmate Pelicarnassus in Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody (2024), the reptilian trio still remain at the bottom of the popularity pecking order. Maybe that’s why Zeke’s so unnerved by Daniel’s choice to wear a pink hat to school. Subsequently, his friends stop talking to him, he becomes convinced that the school’s guidance counselor is trying to ruin his life, and someone begins using the local death ray to destroy his school bus and house. In the same vein as its predecessor, this tale keeps the clever quips and funny situations coming (as when Pelicarnassus can’t keep from complimenting Daniel’s hat), but this second book in the series leans further into Zeke’s interior life, his frustrations, and some serious questions about how we can inadvertently hurt the people closest to us. Once more, Ness offers probing explorations of a prejudiced status quo: Zeke and the other lizards, who live in the poorest parts of town, are bused into school as part of a program designed to get different species to mix. The reveal of who has it in for Zeke is legitimately surprising, even if the villain’s plan feels simplistic. Happily, Miller’s art continues to give every scene a pitch-perfect feel, with illustrations that wring both understated hilarity and pathos from the pages.

Should more chronicles ensue, let us hope they maintain this superior blend of humor and heart.