I have two descriptions that sum up what Prudence Shen and Faith Erin Hicks’s graphic novel Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong is about: robots and high school politics.

Charlie is captain of the basketball team and the boyfriend of superhot popular cheerleader Holly. Nate is Charlie’s unlikely best friend, president of the robotics team. The story begins when Charlie’s been dumped by his girlfriend and Nate drops the news that the student activities funding, which will decide whether to spend their money on a national robotics event for the robotics team or on new uniforms for the cheerleaders, is being left to the student council. 

Nate decides he’s running for student council president so he can delegate the money to the cause he thinks deserves it more: his own.

The hitch in the plan is that Holly now wants to use Charlie to further her own cause for the cheerleaders. Yeah, they’re broken up now, but Holly could bring Charlie’s popularity down faster than anything if he doesn’t listen to her. And her plan is simple, too: Charlie’s going to run against Nate for student council president.

Enter a funny political battle. Except as funny as it is, it’s also painful for Charlie and Nate, as their long-standing friendship is tested. 

But when the principal gets wind of the backstabbing and the shenanigans going on in the election (because of course there is plenty of that — we’re talking social politics here of geeks vs. cool kids, of cheerleaders vs. robotics team members), he decides that the funding won’t be left to the student council. Now both Charlie and Nate scramble to figure out what to do next.

That’s where this story turns to robots! When there’s a robotics competition with a grand prize of $10,000 — enough money to cover both the new cheerleading outfits and the robotics event — the two sides pitch in to build the strongest, baddest robot in order to win. But do they even have a chance on such a national level?

Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong was a fast-paced, fun story and both Nate and Charlie are well-developed. Charlie has a nice backstory going on with his family that didn’t feel tacked on. Even though he’s posited as the “popular” boy, there’s a lot more to him than that; his parents aren’t talking, and they haven’t in a long time. His mom hasn’t been in his life in a long time, and now she’s sprung a new marriage on him. He’s struggling with that and being the “nice guy” who has been strung along with Holly’s plans and quest for popularity and superiority on the cheerleading squad. Nate, who on the surface looks like a quintessential geek, is more than that, too. It makes sense why these two are friends, and there are little moments in the illustrations that highlight it so well — like when both boys are under Charlie’s bed during a party-gone-wild at Charlie’s parentless home. Even though this could tread the easy territory of also being a story about how cheerleaders are bad, Shen and Hicks avoid that stereotype, too, as is seen when they join in for the robotics competition and maybe even enjoy themselves while they’re at it. 

Shen’s story is relatable for teen readers, and it’s fun. The robot competition is a blast to watch unfold, and I love the subtle gender threads sprinkled through the story — girls can kick ass in the science and robotics world, even if it’s stereotypically boy-land. Hick’s illustrations are appealing and enhance the story, rather than detract from it. The balance of story and paneling is done well: there’s enough to pick up in both when they stand alone or when they’re paired. The attention to details such as offering a diverse cast of characters was great, too. It’s clear that Shen and Hicks worked well together.

Readers who enjoyed Raina Telgemeier’s books and who are ready to read something at a little bit of a higher level will love this. It’s a contemporary story with male friendship at the core. Also, did I mention there are robots? Because there are robots. 

Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong is available now.

Review copy received from the publisher. Stop back tomorrow for a guest post about the collaborative process from Shen and Hicks themselves.