Saturday Morning Cartoons- Mixed-Up

Garcia, Kami and Williams, Brittany (illus.) Mixed-Up
January 21, 2025 by First Second

E ARC provided by Netgalley

Stella is a fifth grader who is very invested in the television show Witchlins and watches it with her friends. Emiko is a skateboarder, and Latasha is an avid reader whose mother is the school librarian. The three are very excited that there is an online Witchlins game, but when Stella starts playing it, she realizes that it's necessary to consult the gaming manual, which is tremendously dense. She's having enough problems doing all of the reading for her classes, and often finds that she is finishing last, or not finishing at all. Her teacher, Mrs. Marin, is very nice, and does support her. Stella is also wary of the Young Authors project for which Mrs. Marin has assigned all of the students a story to write. Stella can't think of any ideas, although she is constantly doodling and drawing comics. Eventually, there's a meeting with Ms. Lopez, who assesses Stella and determines that she has dyslexia. Stella now works with Mrs. Wukitch, a reading specialist, to get extra help. Mrs. Marin has suggested that Stella do a graphic novel for her story, and Stella spends her lunch time in the library working on this because she is trying to avoid her friends. Without reading the manual, she's not as far in the game, and is behind her friends. She thinks that reading has ruined to show and fandom for her, but she won't tell Emiko and Latasha what's wrong. After Stella wins the Young Authors competition with her graphic novel loosely based on Witchlins and starring her friends, she comes clean and tells Emiko and Latasha about her struggles and dyslexia diagnosis. There are resource lists at the end of the book, and a note from Ms. Garcia about her own daughter's struggles with this condition. 

Strengths: Like Gerber's Focused (which deals with ADHD), Mixed-Up offers a realistic look at how a students might struggle with dyslexia, be diagnosed through school, and find helpful techniques from working with support staff. This is important not only for readers who have similar experiences, but for readers who might have friends who are struggling. The importance that Witchlins plays in Stella's friendship is interesting to see; friends struggle for many different reasons, and changing interests are certainly at the top of the list. This is also on trend with the idea that one's friends should  be kept in the loop about one's struggles. I definitely liked that the teachers and staff at school, as well as the parents, were very supportive, as this offers comforting reassurance to students. I have always kept a pack of yellow guide strips for students who need them, and appreciated that the book was lettered in a dyslexia friendly font, just like the Barrington Stoke books! 

Weaknesses: Mrs. Burk, the "mean" old lady librarian in her glasses and cardigan should not have said that graphic novels are not "real" books, but Stella's problems with reading are why I am often concerned when students won't pick up anything BUT graphic novels. This is often an indication that they need more practice and support, and I do gently suggest that in addition to graphic novels, students might want to try different types of books and work on building their reading stamina. Also, while it is nice that Mrs. Jackson lets Stella work in the library during lunch, this is another red flag. If a student wants to avoid the lunch room for more than a day or two, I ask if there is an issue that they need the school counselors' help with. I am not trained to deal with friend drama once it has escalated to the level of avoiding the lunch room. 
What I really think:  I will forever get this confused with Fantaskey's Wires Crossed , since both are graphic novels written by authors who have done paranormal YA titles! This is a good choice for readers who enjoyed Cooke's Puzzled, Sattin's Buzzing, or Todd's Timid. Interestingly, around the time I read this, Bondia's comic strip, Crabgrass, has one of the main characters, Kevin, also diagnosed with dyslexia! 

 https://www.gocomics.com/crabgrass/2024/09/04