Mo-Bot High
Hardcover
Written and Illustrated by Neill Cameron
David Fickling Books
Release date: October 28, 2010

The idea of high-school drama and giant robots sounds like two concepts that may have a hard time working together. However, in the world of Mo-Bot High, these two concepts complement each other, resulting in an original and unique story deserving of a wider audience. Mo-Bot High began as a weekly comic in England that was eventually published as a hardcover book.

Mo-Bot High tells the story of Asha on her first day at a new school. Asha quickly encounters a bully named Gemma and has her first fight with a Mo-Bot, also known as a DMC (digital mobile combat-suit). The Mo-Bots can be summoned using their cellphones, but they only work on the grounds of the high school.

The students pit their Mo-Bots against each other in strength battles, speed battles, coding battles, fashion battles, and dance battles. Just like high school, there are different factions and cliques who specialize in different battles. Surprisingly, Asha is a natural at piloting the Mo-Bot. She makes friends who give her tips on using her Mo-Bot and show her the basics such as how to change the color of her Mo-Bot.

Mo-Bot High also has a lot of mysteries that have yet to be resolved, such as how the Mo-Bots were created, why is Asha so good at piloting a Mo-bot, and why are the teachers totally oblivious to the Mo-Bot battles? Also, anytime the school is damaged from a Mo-Bot battle, it is almost instantly repaired. We meet the people who repair the school and monitor the Mo-bot battles, but we still don’t know the complete origin of the Mo-Bots. Neill Cameron has weaved a very intriguing tale that is begging for future installments.

I thoroughly enjoyed Mo-Bot High. It’s Mean Girls meets Fight Club with giant robots, interesting plots, action, and great dramatic moments. I really hope Neill Cameron continues this story in subsequent volumes. If you’re a fan of all-ages comics, teen dramas, or giant robots, this book comes with the highest possible recommendation.