The Gumazing Gum Girl!

The Gumazing Gum Girl! (sometimes referred to simply as Gum Girl!) is an American chapter book series by Rhode Montijo (one of the creators of Happy Tree Friends) and co-authored by Luke Reynolds. It started in August 20th, 2013. It was published by Disney and Hyperion, and later, Little Brown & Company.

Premise
The series revolved around Gabby Gomez, a Hispanic gum-obsessed elementary school girl who transforms into the sticky, stretchy gum humanoid superhero creature, Gum Girl, after accidentally electrocuting herself by blowing a bubble that was way too big. As Gum Girl, Gabby risks her life to fight criminals save the day with her friends Ravi, Bubble Boy, Ninja-Rina, Robo-Chef and Brainstormer.

Books Volumes

 * 1) Chews Your Destiny (August 20, 2013)
 * 2) Gum Luck (June 13, 2017)
 * 3) Popped Star (April 3, 2018)
 * 4) Cover Blown (October 10, 2019)
 * 5) Stick Together! (September 7, 2021)

Why It Was Sweet as Bubblegum

 * 1) Some likeable characters, like Gabby Gomez/Gum Girl, Rico Gomez/Bubble Boy, Natalie Gooch/Brainstormer, and Ninja-Rina.
 * 2) *Sol Azteca is an interesting uncle to Gabby.
 * 3) * The escaped zoo monkeys are awesome gag characters.
 * 4) * Mr. Chubby Cheeks, Mr. Jeffery Hansen's pet hamster, is a cute character.
 * 5) Some great jokes and puns.
 * 6) Some cute moments, such as Mrs. Gomez seeing Gabby eating peanut butter.
 * 7) Some funny moments and running gags, such as the monkeys throwing a banana at Gabby.
 * 8) Some touching and emotional moments, such as Gabby accidentally turning into Gum Girl by electrocuting herself by blowing a large bubble.
 * 9) The iconic transformation sequences, like Gabby blowing a bubble, going into it, and popping out of it as Gum Girl.
 * 10) The series' illustrations took decent, unique, and REALLY awesome inspiration from the retro-style comics, books, and monster films from the 50s, 60s, and 70s.
 * 11) Some awesome villains, such as The Underhander.
 * 12) The idea of a young female superhero made of chewed-up gum is really funny and imaginative.
 * 13) The moral of the series teaches kids...
 * 14) Not to chew too much sugary gum.
 * 15) Instead chew sugar-free gum.
 * 16) Not to swallow gum.
 * 17) Not to chew gum while climbing, swimming, getting a haircut, playing jump rope, or sleeping.
 * 18) And not to chew gum in class.
 * 19) The series has some nice merchandise, like the Gum Girl Valentine cards.
 * 20) The series continues to improve as it progresses.
 * 21) Unique character designs, such as the titular Gum Girl.
 * 22) Most of the stories have great endings.
 * 23) The dramatic "DUN! DUN! DUN!" is kinda hilarious.
 * 24) The series can teach kids how to speak Spanish.
 * 25) Hilarious quotes, like "NO MORE GUM!", "Peanut Butter! Where is it?", "I hate gum", and "No crime is tutu big for Ninja-Rina".
 * 26) "If you start trouble, I'll bust your bubble. 'Cause I'm Gum Girl. Yes, I'm Gum Girl."
 * 27) The book cover arts are awesome.
 * 28) The "World's Funniest Videos" were very funny.
 * 29) The dialogue is well written.
 * 30) The books are available on Amazon Prime, Ebay, Barnes and Noble, Books-A-Million, Goodreads, etc.
 * 31) Interesting chapter names, like "A Sticky Situation" (from Chews Your Destiny) and "Revenge is Sweet" (from Gum Luck).
 * 32) The covers of the first four books are gum-scented which smell so very nice.
 * 33) Robo-Chef transitioning from the antagonist to the protagonist is well executed.
 * 34) The series are the chapter book/graphic novel hybrids, which felt pretty unique.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) It feels somewhat like a Babymouse and Captain Underpants rip-off.
 * 2) Although "Chews Your Destiny" was ported on Google Play Store and Amazon App Store, the next Gumazing Gum Girl books weren't ported on the aforementioned app stores, most likely because many people never heard of the series.
 * 3) Gum Girl, her family, The Everhander, The Jaguares, The Underhander and the Cocodrilos, while likeable, act like Mexican stereotypes, since they're Hispanic.
 * 4) Gum Girl can sometimes be a jerk or a Butt-Monkey.
 * 5) It's hard to know that Gum Girl is a superhero since she looks more like a gum monster girl.
 * 6) The subtitle puns, while funny, are generic.
 * 7) Rico/Bubble Boy is an annoying character.
 * 8) Natalie/Brainstormer, although likeable, is a boyish stereotype and feels more like a rejected Klasky-Csupo or Hey Arnold character.
 * 9) *Natalie can sometimes be unlikeable to Gabby.
 * 10) Some lackluster jokes and puns, including some of the aforementioned subtitles.
 * 11) * In the "Sweet and Sour" chapter of Gum Luck, Natalie called Gabby "Gassy Gomez", which is quite immature.
 * 12) Sometimes, the series is a little bit boring.
 * 13) Some mean-spirited moments, such as Natalie telling Gabby "No zoo for you".
 * 14) Some errors. Example: On the Gum Luck cover, you can see Rhode Montijo's name behind the ground.
 * 15) Sometimes, they had cliffhanger endings.
 * 16) The book cover art for Chews Your Destiny, while awesome, was a little bit poorly made.
 * 17) The series can sometimes be easy to predict.
 * 18) Sometimes, the writing can be cheesy, confusing, and cliched.
 * 19) Some poorly written dialogue, like Mrs. Gomez saying "Gabby Gomez, that had better not be gum."

Trivia

 * The series was originally going to be a comic book series, but Hyperion said it will be better as a chapter book series.
 * Although the series was well-received, the installments may be hard to come by, mainly because not many people heard of it.
 * "Chews Your Destiny" won the 2016 Sequoyah Awards.
 * In 2021, according to Nancy Cartwright, DreamWorks Animation Television and CRE84U are developing an animated show based on the series.

Awards
The first Gum Girl book, "Chews Your Destiny", won the Sequoyah Book Awards in 2016.

Critical Response
The book series was published to immediate critical mixed-to-acclaim. Some reviewers praised the book series as an exciting way to learn to read in English and in Spanish, particularly compared to the primers that it supplanted. Kirkus Reviews noted the book series' heavy use of humor and sequences. Kirkus wrote, "Perfectly paced and bursting with laughs....". BCCB wrote, "...a welcome addition to the ranks of early-elementary superkids."