Julie and the Blue Guitar, Taylor Swift

Gilly, Casey and Valentine, Luna (illus.) 

Julie and the Blue Guitar: American Girl Mysteries Across Time

June 25, 2024 by IDW Publishing

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

In this graphic novel, Emma Dhillon moves to San Francisco for her father's job in the city's environmental department. Their new apartment is above a vintage store, and when Emma is investigating, she stumbles upon an old diary, that the owner lets her keep. It's from 1977, and the writer, Julie Albright, is interested in many of the things that interest Emma. Julie and her best friend, T.J., are involved in a fund raiser to save animals from an oil spill, and there is currently one occurring that Emma wants to join. Most of the story involves Julie's exploits; she and T.J. take a job watering plants and catsitting for Mr. and Mrs. Vernon, who own the building where her apartment (and also Emma's) is located. The Vernons have objects to auction off for the fundraiser, and T.J. knocks one of them, a blue guitar, off the wall and breaks it. They take it to a music shop to be repaired, and the owner, T-Bone, tells them that it doesn't belong to musician Lacey Blicks, but is a copy. Also missing is a quilt, a pocket watch, and a baseball signed by Willie Mays. Julie does a great job researching at the library and manages to hunt down three of the items, and also has a good idea of who stole them. Will she be able to tell the Vernons what has happened... and finish the quilt that she wants to make for the auction? Will Emma, in the modern day, be able to locate Julie and return her diary to her?

Strengths: Readers who enjoy American Girl dolls and reading about history will love the thought of finding someone's journal and solving a mystery about an event from the past. It was fascinating to see the changes in Emma's neighborhood, but also endearing to see that the Vernon's grandson is still managing the apartment building. This isn't a scary mystery; it's the type where kids get to find out more about the people in their orbit, and run about talking to pawn shop owners and community college teachers. Emma does make a friend while she is researching, so that was nice to see. I haven't done a deep dive to see if Emma has a canon of her own, but I'd be interested in reading more about her. 
Weaknesses: The hundred year old "friendship quilt" is depicted as just squares of fabric and is tied together. A true friendship quilt would have pieced blocks with the names of the makers embroidered on them, often right in the center. There is also one of Julie's outfits, a floral jump suit, that is questionable if this is set in 1977. Fashions changed dramatically during the 1970s, so a Granny Square vest (which Julie also wears) from 1973 would have been considered ridiculous by the time I was in school in 1977. Authors and illustrators should use old catalogs as their Bible in these matters. By 1977, clothes were fairly boring. 
What I really think: If you loved Haddix's The Mysteries of Trash and Treasure, but want a shorter read with more pictures, this is the book for you. I no longer have any of the American Girl books, but may start to look into them, as I enjoyed Bennett's Meet Claudie. I will definitely purchase any graphic novels in this series. 

Burk, Rachelle and Dorado, Marta Dorado(Illus.) The Story of Taylor Swift
September 3, 2024 by Callisto Kids

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

While I think that Taylor Swift is an impressive young woman who writes an admirable song, I can't say I'm terribly interested in her work. She is, however, quite a force, and many of my students are VERY interested in anything related to this pop star. This book covers the basics; Taylor's early life starting in 1989, her learning guitar and writing songs from age 12, and her parents' support for her dreams that included moving to Nashville as a family and homeschooling her as she broke into the music industry. In 2009, she was named the Entertainer of the Year by the Country Music Association, and moved to New York City in 2014 to pursue more of a rock and pop music focus. She seems to produce albums at a decent pace; i.e. at the rate that everyone in the 1970s popped them out! 

This is a colorful and informative book that includes a quiz at the end, timelines, and a glossary of words that appear in bold throughout the book. There aren't any photographs, but this would be a good choice for readers who haven't looked into their idol's background very deeply. It was fun to read, and even had some Myth or Fact nuggets strewn throughout the book. 

I may break down and buy this for my middle school library; we'll get our money's worth out of it. But the people who should race out and buy a copy to keep are parents of fans. Sock the book away in a file cabinet or box; I would have loved finding a Dynamite magazine with the Bay City Rollers on the cover or a pristine version of (oh, no!) Tam Paton's biography in my father's papers!