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December 12, 2023 by JY
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
In this companion to Kyle's Little Sister, we meet Andrew, who is a friend of Kyle's. He struggles a bit with issues at home, since he was adopted as an infant, but his parents then had a biological child, his younger sister Amy, who is not well behaved. He feels that his parents baby her, and always take her side whenever there is an altercation. Often, Amy makes a small issue into an altercation to get attention, which is endlessly frustrating to Andrew. He just wants to play basketball with his friends, but he is also interested in a girl in his class, Hannah. After an awkward start, they start "going together", but even this is not easy. Hannah has less time to spend with her friends, and Andrew wishes he had more time to spend playing basketball. He wants to be a "good boyfriend", however, and pays lots of attention to Hannah, waiting for her after class and texting her frequently, but this starts to feel oppressive to Hannah. They eventually break up because of this lack of communication, but the two do talk things over (with a little help from Amy) and come to an understanding.
Strengths: This has a fairly pleasing illustrative style that is reminiscent of Speed Racer and manga, so there is a built in audience for it right away. This does a good job at capturing how all consuming romantic relationships can be in middle school, and how fraught with anxiety tweens can get in such situations. The push and pull between competing desires is not terribly well represented in middle grade literature; too many books concentrate on the emotion of grief, when really, the desire to be liked and wanted is probably much more prevalent in this demographic, and is no less powerful because adults might think it's silly. Adults view loss as death; tweens view it slightly differently, and this book shows some very realistic feelings about being in a budding relationship.
Weaknesses: I personally found the yelling and over the top emotions to be wearying, but then, even in middle school I had no patience for dramatic hystrionics.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who want graphic novels with lots of tween angst and emotion, like Misako's Bounce Back or Chmakova's Berrybrook Middle School series.
Strengths: This has a fairly pleasing illustrative style that is reminiscent of Speed Racer and manga, so there is a built in audience for it right away. This does a good job at capturing how all consuming romantic relationships can be in middle school, and how fraught with anxiety tweens can get in such situations. The push and pull between competing desires is not terribly well represented in middle grade literature; too many books concentrate on the emotion of grief, when really, the desire to be liked and wanted is probably much more prevalent in this demographic, and is no less powerful because adults might think it's silly. Adults view loss as death; tweens view it slightly differently, and this book shows some very realistic feelings about being in a budding relationship.
Weaknesses: I personally found the yelling and over the top emotions to be wearying, but then, even in middle school I had no patience for dramatic hystrionics.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who want graphic novels with lots of tween angst and emotion, like Misako's Bounce Back or Chmakova's Berrybrook Middle School series.
March 12, 2024 by Iron Circus Comic
ARC provided by the Publisher
In this graphic style memoir, we follow the various housing and life experiences of young Mazie. While her family managed to stay housed, the quality of the dwellings was often sub-par; there was the "bug house", apartments with the mother's boyfriends, and apartments with mice in sketchy neighborhoods. The author still considers her family "lucky poor" because of the support of grandparents, who not only had a farm but also access to a summer cabin, and were supportive of Maizie and her autistic younger brother Jake. Maizie even had the opportunity to go to a summer program for siblings of children with autism, that provided her with a break from having to be patient with her brother. Maizie's grades were decent, and she had some friends, including ones who accept that she may be a lesbian or bisexual. After several years with an unkind boyfriend, her mother applies for a Habitat for Humanity Home, and the family spends a lot of time working on the house. Maizie is glad to have a larger, safer place to be, and wonders why this opportunity isn't extended to everyone, and not just people who know to apply to the program.
Strengths: The topic of housing challenges doesn't come up in middle grade literature as often as it could, and this is a good representation of different situations that young people might find themselves in. The information about the Habitat for Humanity process of applying and providing "sweat equity" was interesting. Jake's behaviors are challenging, but the family does a good job at helping him process situations, and I was glad to see that Mazie was able to understand his needs and be helpful to him even when he was somewhat burdensome to her. The depiction of a supportive extended family was good to see.
Weaknesses: The illustration style is certainly different from recent graphic novels; the pictures are clear, and in bold colors, but somehow simpler than many I've seen.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who enjoy books like Lesage's AWOL or Knisley's Stepping Stones that deal with a sometimes difficult living arrangements for tweens.
Strengths: The topic of housing challenges doesn't come up in middle grade literature as often as it could, and this is a good representation of different situations that young people might find themselves in. The information about the Habitat for Humanity process of applying and providing "sweat equity" was interesting. Jake's behaviors are challenging, but the family does a good job at helping him process situations, and I was glad to see that Mazie was able to understand his needs and be helpful to him even when he was somewhat burdensome to her. The depiction of a supportive extended family was good to see.
Weaknesses: The illustration style is certainly different from recent graphic novels; the pictures are clear, and in bold colors, but somehow simpler than many I've seen.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who enjoy books like Lesage's AWOL or Knisley's Stepping Stones that deal with a sometimes difficult living arrangements for tweens.
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