Having achieved success in his first adventure (Toy Academy, 2018), Grumbolt, the misshapen, once-abandoned misfit toy, has been moved from the stuffed-animal section of Toy Academy to the action-figure section, where he joins his best friend Micro. His excitement turns to terror, however, when he learns he must serve as the sidekick to Rex Everything, the egotistical, self-proclaimed leader of the Elite Action Force Now. Tables are turned when Tempest Boomcloud invades the Toy Academy and steals Rex's van, with Micro's sidekick locked inside. Facing terrible battles, Grumbolt and Rex must learn to work together tall order for each order to recover Rex's van and protect the Toy Academy from evil forces. Ultimately, Grumbolt's unselfishness leads him to set aside personal differences and work with Rex for the betterment of the academy. In their blend of fast-paced narrative and action-filled, comics-style art, Lynch and Taylor bring the action figures to life with excitement and humor. Adventure-seeking readers, Toy Story fans, and those getting comfortable with chapter books will all be swept up by this series.

Grumboldt, a stuffed toy who longs for action-hero status and placement with a loving child (Some Assembly Required), is doing well in his Toy Academy classes...until he's assigned sidekick duty to self-centered bully Rex. Short chapters and cartoon-style black-and-white illustrations should attract independent readers eager for longer stories with plenty of action and laughs.