ALA Booklist

Lupe Impala, El Chavo Flapjack, and Elirio Malaria love fixing up cars together, but they are tired of working for tough old el jefe, so when they see an ad for a universal car competition cluding a category for ranflas (lowriders), their favorite kind of car ey get busy fixing up the hunk of junk in their yard so they can win the contest and open their own garage. It's slow going until they stumble on some old plane-engine parts, and then things really start flying when, ¡que chido!, their rocket-powered car zips into space for a stellar detailing job. Raúl's snazzy panels pressively drawn in only red, blue, and black ballpoint pen on tea-stained paper semble an amped-up Mighty Mouse cartoon rendered in anarchic yet skillful doodles. It's a joyfully explosive style, and it perfectly matches the Latino characters and barrio setting. Camper sprinkles Spanish slang throughout (all defined in a glossary at the end) and closes with a note about the development of lowriders by Mexican Americans in Southern California after WWII. ¡Estellar!

Horn Book

To win a competition, animal friends Lupe Impala, Elirio Malaria, and Flapjack Octopus build a rocket-powered lowrider out of space materials collected as they drive through the galaxy. The unique ballpoint-pen illustrations explode with energy as the hip, witty text drops occasional Spanish slang. An afterword explaining the history of lowrider cars puts the graphic novel into cultural context. Glos.

School Library Journal (Sat Nov 01 00:00:00 CDT 2014)

Gr 4-8 Camper introduces readers to Lupe Impala, Flapjack Octopus, and Elirio Malaria, three friends who love working with cars and dream of having their own garage shop. One day they see an opportunity to achieve their goala car competition where the prize is a "carload of cash and a solid gold steering wheel." When they start working on a lowrider to prepare it for the competition, an out-of-this world journey begins. Through anthropomorphic characters, the author narrates a tale of friendship, teamwork, and the passion for lowriding. She incorporates astronomy to this adventure, providing readers the opportunity to familiarize with terms from both worlds. Raúl the Third's colored pencil-and-marker illustrations effectively depict images from the lowriding subculture, while including references from Mexican pop culture, such as the iconic comedian Cantiflas and Chespirito's El Chavo del Ocho . The way he alternates among full-page artwork, spreads, and non-rectangular panels works well with the story and strongly supports its visual understanding. However, although it is true that some Latinos code-switch in their conversation, the use of Spanish words didn't feel organic to the story. There is also inconsistency in the use of accents, and footnotes that point readers to phrases and word meanings are explained as "nonsense words in Spanish," when that's not necessarily the case. Lowriders in Space fills a gap of Latino graphic novels for kids, and its quirky characters and illustrations have the potential to engage children. Let's hope that future installments will have a more accurate and natural use of Spanish. A helpful glossary of astronomy and lowriding terms is appended. Sujei Lugo, Somerville Public Library, MA

Voice of Youth Advocates

Lupe Impala, Elirio Malaria, and Flapjack Octopus are friends who share a passion for fixing cars, especially lowriders. They each excel in different types of work: Lupe is a mechanic, Elirio does detail work, and Flapjack polishes cars until they gleam. They dream of owning their own garage, so when they see an ad for a "Universal Car Competition," where winners get a carload of cash with first place, they find a junker to fix using rocket and airplane parts. These parts make their car space-bound, and their intergalactic trip soups up the automobile with moondust, starlight, and extraterrestrial swag, making them the most out-of-this-world entry in the competition.Much like Mexican-Americans turned old cars and junk parts into eye-catching, rocking-and-rolling lowriders, Camper and illustrator Raul the Third have taken a simple story of friends and cars and turned it into a lively, unique romp. Raul's artwork is the treat of the story: using only ballpoint pens in red, blue, and black (to honor his meager beginnings as an artist), he has created characters and settings, both Earthly and otherwise, that exude excitement and whimsy. The book has lots to offer: a big dose of girl-power in the character of Lupe; the genius mechanic whose voluminous black curls and eagle-emblazoned overalls recall a spunky Wonder Woman; an introduction to Spanish-speaking culture, weaving Spanish vocabulary into artwork and dialogue (though it is sometimes a little clunky); and an unapologetically glorious celebration of cars. Its extremely whimsical setting could be a little out-there for some readers. The characters are all animal-esque, and octopus, mosquitoes, and whatever Lupe is coexist with more humanoid creatures. But that is a quibble: hand this to any car lover, budding cartoonist, or tweens who loved Ben Hatke's Zita the Space Girl (First Second, 2011) or Scott Morse's Magic Pickle (Oni, 2002/VOYA June 2003).Liz Gotauco.