June 4, 2024 by Graphix
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
Lia and her family move from Romania to Montreal, leaving behind grandparents. It's a tough transition for Lia, although her younger brother seems to have fewer problems. The language is a barrier, and while Lia understands more French than she can speak, some of her school day is hard to navigate. She shares a locker with Ivana, who doesn't even talk to her. There are lots of students from other countries at her school, and she's thrilled when Bogdan arrives from Romania and they can talk to each other at lunch. He quickly moves on, and Lia must go back to a table of girls who thought she had dumped them for a boy. As her language skills improve, she makes more and more friends, and even applies to be on the school newspaper, where she meets the very cute Julien. However, Lia suffers from excruciatingly bad menstrual cramps that cause her to miss school or go to the nurse's office because she can't even stand upright because of the pain. Unlikely help comes from Ivana, who gives her some suggestions for period products that might help. Lia and her friends have a good Halloween, and she manages to suggest an article for the newspaper on favorite snack foods from different countries and where to buy them that is well received. There is a misunderstanding between Lia and her new friend Wan Yin over Julien, but the two work things out, even though Wan Yin has a crush on Lia that is not reciprocated. When Julien drops off a Christmas present for Lia, she feels that she is making good progress on her new life in Montreal.
Strengths: The illustration style is very appealing, and a little different from many of the ones I see; there's more detail in the hair and clothing and looks more like Tessier and Amandine's Chloe than Holm's Sunny. This makes it seem a bit older, although the content is pure middle school. Navigating friend drama and crushes isn't easy when language isn't a barrier, so seeing Lia persevere in school despite this is encouraging. I love that she got involved in school activities and had friends from many different backgrounds. The problems with her period cramps is nicely done, and is definitely not something I have seen portrayed in literature before. Having known some girls who would pass out in school from cramps, this is probably something we needed, although it would have been a great inclusion to have her visit a doctor and get some better coping mechanisms. Girls used to be told that cramps were all in their head, and I'm sure that medical thought, as well as treatment, has changed in the last forty years!
Weaknesses: This is based on the author's own experiences moving to Canada 20 years ago, so is an odd mix of new (phones, FaceTiming people back home) and old (clothing styles, school newspaper). I'm not sure my students will notice, but I would have liked this to be more historical, like Rodriguez and Bell's Doodles from the Boogie Down.
What I really think: Add this to a growing number of graphic novels that address the challenges of being an immigrant student that includes Misako's Bounce Back, Tang's Parachute Kids, and Castellanos's Isla to Island.
Sounds like an interesting book.
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