SAIGAMI | Kirkus Reviews

A group of students at a British school all become friends with a strange new boy who eats onions; one student suspects something odd’s afoot and must discover the truth before it’s too late.

Shauna, Lottie, and Mildred are all second-years at Griswalds Grammar, ready to tackle a new term. This year, however, a new student—orange-haired, onion-eating Lem—has arrived, and despite his aloofness and strangeness, he’s slowly winning over the student body. In fact, soon Mildred and Lottie have fallen under his spell. Shauna is instantly suspicious, since every student befriended by Lem identically affirms that Lem is a “right good laugh when you get to know him.” She takes up her cause with a group of bespectacled loners, and suddenly Lem and his secrets might not be her biggest problem. This small-press charmer, based on an ongoing webcomic, is a stylish jumble of pop-culture references, sly humor, eye-catching characters, mystery—and, oddly enough, aliens. As the fourth volume in the series, the mystery itself stands alone well enough, but an abrupt and ambiguous ending may frustrate new readers who aren’t already invested in the series.

Funny and clever, but most likely to only satisfy fans who have been with the gang since the beginning.

(Graphic mystery/sci-fi. 12-16)