October 5th 2021 by Random House Graphic
E ARC provided by Netgalley.com
Maggie is anxious about starting middle school, especially since her older sister Jamie did so well. Maggie has some manifestations of OCD-- she must greet the house when she gets home, gets stuck in downward thought spirals, and uses a gaming die to help her make decisions (ala Multiple Choice
by Janet Tashjian, 1999). She actually makes a decent start to the year, telling classmate Clara that she likes the pin on her backpack and finding out that the two love the same book series. This gives her someone to help navigate her day, sit with at lunch, and investigate the different after school activity groups to join. The school is surrounded by a lawn, and there seems to be a snake or other low slung, rapidly moving creature hanging out in the grass. Other students joke that it's a snake, but Maggie's worries turn this into a deadly creature that she much develop rituals to fight against, and manifests itself in the pictures as a dragon. Her parents are concerned about her moods and her rituals, and suggest seeing a therapist, but Maggie throws a fit and they don't follow up. Her school year continues to go well; she enjoys her classes, makes friends with others in the role playing game activity group she and Clara join, and her family is solid, although one member might move away for a job. Still, her anxiety increases despite the solid advice from those around her about how her fears, and her ways of dealing with them, are not constructive. Maggie gathers her courage to finally discover what is hiding in the grass around school, and agrees to counseling.
Strengths: This is very similar to Raina Telgemeier's graphic novels (Smile, Guts) about anxiety, and somewhat similar to Wang's Stargazing or Myracle's Big Sister, so I thnk it will be popular. The colors are generally somewhat bright, but darker to showcase Maggie's thought spirals. I really enjoyed the fact that there were a variety of after school clubs, even though my school doesn't have those. The people in Maggie's life are all supportive of her, and she eventually seeks help.
Weaknesses: It would have helped to have an explanation early on about what the numbers on the die rolls meant to Maggie. We always saw the roll, but I could never figure out what the numbers told her to do.
What I really think: This is a well done graphic novel on an all too timely topic. This will be on the top of my list if I am able to purchase more graphic novels. Will definitely wait for a prebind, however, since I just had to replace four Follett Bound titles, all graphic novels.
Weaknesses: It would have helped to have an explanation early on about what the numbers on the die rolls meant to Maggie. We always saw the roll, but I could never figure out what the numbers told her to do.
What I really think: This is a well done graphic novel on an all too timely topic. This will be on the top of my list if I am able to purchase more graphic novels. Will definitely wait for a prebind, however, since I just had to replace four Follett Bound titles, all graphic novels.
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