Pascal, Francine, Andelfinger, Nicole, and Aguirre, Claudia (illus.)
January 2, 2024 by Random House Graphic
Copy provided by the publisher
While Lizzie is still looking for stories to report for the school newspaper, Jessica is still hanging out with the Unicorns, the most popular (and also the meanest!) students in school. Lizzie is worried about her friend Amy, who is determined to try out for the pep squad that the Unicorns are trying to get started. Amy isn't all that good at cheering, but is working very hard at it. Lizzie knows from Jessica's friend Lila that the Unicorns are going to try to limit the people who get onto the squad, and feel it is their right to do this. Lizzie also notices that Ken, whose father was a high school basketball star, is trying out for the basketball team, and having trouble with some of the more unpleasant basketball players. She invites him over to practice with her brother Steven, and a student starts a rumor that the two are dating. This irritates Jessica, who is afraid that people will think that SHE is dating Ken, who is inept and also hated by the Unicorns. Amy continues to work hard, but Lizzie is still worried about her, especially when it turns out that she and Ken like each other. Lila goes so far as to tell Amy to drop out, which only strengthens her resolve. She is also able to see through a letter, purportedly from Ken, encouraging her to drop out. Ken recieves a similar note, supposedly from Amy, but takes it more seriously. Will Lizzie be able to stop Jessica from being quite so eveil so that the Unicorn's pep squad try outs are fair?
Strengths: There's a lot of energy in these graphic novels, and Jessica vascilliates between starry eyed excitement and seething anger. Lizzie is a bit more even tempered, although her anxiety is not helped by her sister's machinations. Lizzie wants to support her friend Amy, Ken, and do a good job on the newspaper, but is worried that she isn't doing enough. That seems more on track with the way my students feel today, so they are definitely going to identify with Lizzie. The illustration style is appealing, and the colors are attractive. It's fairly easy to keep the twins straight, and the other characters are easily identifiable as well. There are a few pages from The Haunted House (#4), which comes out May 7, 2024, and looks interesting.
Weaknesses: The original novels were written in the 1980s, when adults were not as aware of kids' behavior. I can't see the faculty advisor for the pep squad allowing Lila and her minions to control things so much, nor can I see Lizzie and Jessica's parents letting Jessica be so mean to her sister. I would have thought the graphic novels would have been updated more, but since The Baby-Sitters Club graphic novels also preserve the 1980s social mores, it's not that surprising that they weren't redone.
What I really think: This is a popular choice for fans of Raina Telgemeier's Drama or Shannon Hale's Best Friends who like to read about middle schoolers being mean to each other. These are not my personal favorite, especially since I was an adult by the time the Sweet Valley Twins novels were published, but can see why my students enjoy them.
Strengths: There's a lot of energy in these graphic novels, and Jessica vascilliates between starry eyed excitement and seething anger. Lizzie is a bit more even tempered, although her anxiety is not helped by her sister's machinations. Lizzie wants to support her friend Amy, Ken, and do a good job on the newspaper, but is worried that she isn't doing enough. That seems more on track with the way my students feel today, so they are definitely going to identify with Lizzie. The illustration style is appealing, and the colors are attractive. It's fairly easy to keep the twins straight, and the other characters are easily identifiable as well. There are a few pages from The Haunted House (#4), which comes out May 7, 2024, and looks interesting.
Weaknesses: The original novels were written in the 1980s, when adults were not as aware of kids' behavior. I can't see the faculty advisor for the pep squad allowing Lila and her minions to control things so much, nor can I see Lizzie and Jessica's parents letting Jessica be so mean to her sister. I would have thought the graphic novels would have been updated more, but since The Baby-Sitters Club graphic novels also preserve the 1980s social mores, it's not that surprising that they weren't redone.
What I really think: This is a popular choice for fans of Raina Telgemeier's Drama or Shannon Hale's Best Friends who like to read about middle schoolers being mean to each other. These are not my personal favorite, especially since I was an adult by the time the Sweet Valley Twins novels were published, but can see why my students enjoy them.
November 7, 2023 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central
Sisters Lucy and Gigi are constantly sniping at each other, and when Lucy starts middle school, things get worse. On the very first day, Gigi's friends comment on Lucy's presence, enraging Gigi so much that she trips her sister, who falls dramatically. Tired of this treatment, Lucy grabs Gigi's fencing foil and challenges her to a duel. Both girls are sent to the principal's office, their mother is called away from her busy nursing job, and they are admonished to stop fighting, especially at school. Their mother is beside herself. The family's beloved father and husband, a fencing instructor, died not too long ago, and everyone is struggling. Gigi feels like her father loved Lucy better, and Lucy feels like her sister was able to spend more time with him, since he taught her how to fence. Along with her friend Sasha, Lucy starts to learn fencing, reading books and watching how-to videos. The girls aren't really able to keep their animosity at a simmer, and it is constantly boiling up. Gigi's resentment of her sister seems to center around the fact that Lucy stole a page from her diary and uncovered a secret of which she is particularly ashamed. As the whole school looks forward to the sister's duel, will the girls be able to find a way out of their grief in order to go on with their lives?
I always thought it would be good to have a sister, but after reading Martin's Sweet Valley Twins,
Telgemaier's Sisters, and Davis' Figure it Out, Henri Weldon, and Hale's Real Friends, I'm not so sure! The toxic nature of Lucy and Gigi's relationship is so completely awful, and rooted in such deep emotions that I wish they had been shown seeing therapists. My own daughter like to read books where people went through terrible experiences, since she said it made her own life look better, so perhaps this is the thought behind this story.
I always thought it would be good to have a sister, but after reading Martin's Sweet Valley Twins,
Telgemaier's Sisters, and Davis' Figure it Out, Henri Weldon, and Hale's Real Friends, I'm not so sure! The toxic nature of Lucy and Gigi's relationship is so completely awful, and rooted in such deep emotions that I wish they had been shown seeing therapists. My own daughter like to read books where people went through terrible experiences, since she said it made her own life look better, so perhaps this is the thought behind this story.
Towards the end of the book, the girls do start to communicate and work through some of their problems, and their mother also admits that she hasn't handled the father's death all that well. In an end note, the author discusses her own family relationships, and includes the information that she lost her own father at the age of 19, so this is based on some real life emotions. I was glad to see that there was a very supportive grandmother, and that Lucy had Sasha at her side.
There is a wealth of information about fencing practices and procedures in the book, and anyone looking into that sport will find this to be fascinating. Each chapter starts with an overview of a move or technique, and there is a match depicted with good detail.
Readers who enjoyed the one other fencing book I can think of, Rhodes' Black Brother, Black Brother, or the familial relationships in Mericle's Bad Sister and Johnson's Twins, will find this graphic novel by the Bagley wife and husband team to be an interesting look at sibling dynamics, which is made more intriguing by the addition of weapons, even though they aren't dangerous ones!
No comments:
Post a Comment