No Such Thing As Perfect, Stuntboy, In-Between Time

Misako Rocks! No Such Thing As Perfect
November 7, 2023 by Feiwel Friends

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

In this sequel to Bounce Back, we get to see the world through Emma's eyes. She's on the basketball team with Lilico, who came from Japan. (I need to check the print version of Bounce Back; I thought the main character was named Misako, but since I struggle with names, I might have to amend my review of that title.) She has a difficult home life because she and her mother have very similar temperments, so almost every interchange they have results in the two screaming at each other. Some of this conflict comes from the fact that Emma believes her mother likes her older sister Julia better, and pressures Emma to be more like Julia. Julia is actually a voice of reason in the household, but when she offers to watch Lexi, the adorable dog belonging to a boy she likes, Emma has another fit about that, since she hates dogs. Emma is pleased to make it on to the all star basketball team with Lilico, but has problems there are well. She starts a combative relationship with Alyssa, and the two fight on the court. Emma is used to being one of the few really good players on her team, so when everyone else is as good or better than she is, this causes her even more emotional turmoil. On the bright side, she does take to Lexi, who turns out to be her guardian spirit in the way Nicco was Lilico's magical guide in the first book. The entire all star team is affected by Emma's frequent outbursts, and don't play well because they are focusing on individual goals instead of coming together as a team. Emma has not been talking to Nala, since the two had a falling out in the first book, but the two have a bumpy road to reconnection, with Emma again disrepecting her friend on multiple occasions. When Lexi becomes ill when Emma is watching her, she has to work together with Lilico to get Lexi medical attention, and finally has a discussion that helps her to tell her mother what is bothering her. Can Emma get the help she needs to have constructive rather than destructive relationships?

Strengths: I would love to see more graphic novels with sports in them, like Dawson's Fifth Quarter or Tavares' Hoops. There is a bit of basketball in this, but most of the book is taken up with the friend drama, which is also a popular topic. The manga vibe of this one is strong, and Nala dresses in a very bold harujuku style of dress, which I have seen on a couple of girls at my school. This series definitely has a lot of tween appeal. 
Weaknesses: If I had to diagnose Emma, I would say that she falls on the Oppositional Defiant Disorder spectrum somewhere. Her mother is also absolutely horrible in her interactions. I know this happens in real life, but in books I would like to see some of the characters model good behavior. It's wearing just reading about all of Emma's tantrums, and I'm surprised that she has any friends at all. 
What I really think: Like the first book, this is absolutely overwrought, and handing it to students feels like giving them cotton candy for breakfast. The first book fell apart spectacularly after five circulations, even though I got a Follett Bound copy. I requested a replacement, so I'll see how well it circulates before ordering this. It's similar to the Chloe series by Tessier in many respects. 

Reynolds, Jason and Raul the Third (illus.) Stuntboy, In-Between Time (2)
August 29, 2023 by Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books
Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central

After his adventures in Stuntboy, in the Meantime, Portico Reeves is back having adventures with his friends. His parents have split, which led to a lot of "frets" in his world, and he is now faced with another challenge. Since the family has moved into two separate apartments in the Skylight Gardens complex, Portico has to spend the nice with his father and Gran Gran, since his mother is away on a meditation retreat. He usually loves spending time with his father, who has the best job in the world (being a trash collector), but going to his father's apartment confirms in his mind that his family really is split up. He has saved a trash bag full of things his mother was cleaning out, and sets off to his father's apartment with it, thinking that the two will have a good time going through it together. Along the way, he has several adventures. Gran Gran has come to his new apartment to visit and test out the new couch, and Portico and Herbert are introduced to Zola's Grandpa Pepper, who has a job naming nail polish colors and is a very colorful character. There's an empty apartment on an upper floor, and the door isn't locked, so Portico and his friends brave several of the mean teens in the building to visit it. Once there, they decide to draw on the walls using markers, and really make the place feel like their own. They also help Zola's stepfather, the building superintendent (Super), deal with seventeen iguanas in Bean Bosworth's apartment. They use their super skills to capture them and turn a china cabinet into an iguana house. Eventually, Super finds out about the art in the apartment and is very angry, since he has a potential renter visiting soon. Luckily, that renter turns out to be Grandpa Pepper, who is thrilled with the amazing art. Still, Gran Gran is not happy that Portico has done this, and makes him explain himself to his mother before going to his father's apartment. His father tries to get to the root of why Portico has done this, and is somewhat understanding that Portico feels he doesn't have a place of his own since his parents have split up, but admonishes him that he still can't go and deface other people's property. 

The plot isn't really the draw in this book. Portico's adventures with his super hero persona, and all of his super hero antics and tricks, are the focus, and Raul the Third's exuberant artwork supports the frenetic quality of the text. Since Portico is not only a fan of art, but of television show, there are frequent "commercial breaks" and other asides that add to the boisterous exploits. 

The first book had much more information about Portico's anxiety, and while some of that is evident in, it is not as pervasive as it was in the first book. It helps that Herbert is an ally now, rather than an adversary, and that Portico has the steady presence of this Gran Gran and Zola, as well as his mother and father, who are not able to fight when they are not in the same apartment. 

This is definitely a book more suited to middle school students, even though the cover makes this look like an easy-to-read graphic novel. There is a surprising amount of text, making this more similar in length to Kinney's Wimpy Kid books than Pilkey's Dog Man installments. 

Readers who enjoyed the humorous frenzy of Angleberger's The Two-Headed Chicken or Barnett and Harris' The First Cat in Space Ate Pizza will love this rollicking tale of Portico and his friends making the best of their surroundings and infusing a bit of super hero magic into everyday life.