There will be several Donut jokes told in reviews of Donut the Destroyer. I will not be doing them, as it is too easy. And I am sure Sarah Graley and Stef Purenis will hear plenty without me adding to the mix. Instead I will focus on the question: Are we ready for Donut (first name) The (middle name) Destroyer (last name)? This super strength-wielding girl is packed to the top with goodness! Little old Ladies are saved from demons! Libraries saved from chaos! Going to bed early and up early shows character! If only her parents could understand her desire to be who she knows she was meant to be: a hero! But when your parents are the most wanted villains in your land, what is a poor girl to do?
The start of Graley’s and Purenis’s graphic novel for the 10 to 14 crowd had a bumpy start. The action starts seemingly in the middle of the story. You see Donut and her best friend Ivy causing mischief in the local library. Well, Ivy is. Donut is trying to stop her. Yet, things smooth out quickly enough and it becomes a fun story about being yourself. The simplistic Good vs. Bad obviously what this book is about: heroes and villains. Ivy is bad. Donut good. But even though you should do the right thing, sometimes that is not always black and white. And even though Donut has a few new friends, people cannot see past the fact of who Donut’s parents are.
This book has bad “Kid-Dad Jokes” that the reader will snort over (who hasn’t wished their parents didn’t conjure demons in the living room?) this “If Harry Potter was a girl and actually a sort-of-villain but who wants to do good” story is a modern treat.