Maeve Mulvaney Has Had Enough

Mangan, Kelly. Maeve Mulvaney Has Had Enough
April 29, 2025 by Holiday House 

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Maeve moves from Vermont to the south, along with her mother, father, and older brother Thomas when her mother gets a job at a university. She's not happy about any aspect of this move, and lets her family know about it. At a local comic book store, she's excited to see some vintage copies, but has a run in with an unpleasant boy in "a sports ball jacket" who accused her of not being a real fan. Luckily, one of the clerks, Marisol, helps her, and tells her about a local con, Squee Con, in Tampa, which is about two hours away. Her parents aren't thrilled about letting her go, but say they will consider it if she doesn't community service at school. Goodman Middle School isn't the worst place, because she meets the exuberant Daniel, who likes to use Shakespearean slang, as well as Frankie, Cori, and Jamal, who welcome her and share many of her interests. However, the boy from the comic shop, Robbie, continually gives her problem, and his goons are not shy about hurling insults like "you dress like a boy" at Maeve. Frankie, who like Maeve is on the heavier side and proudly identifies as "fat", stands up against the bullying. Maeve joins the service club, but it's run by blonde, thin, and popular Tammy, and her much nicer friend Cecelis, who can't quite stand up against Tammy's more right wing ideas for the service group. Unsatified with the treatment they get and the agenda of the service club, Maeve and her friends break out with their own Super Agitator Squad, advised by sympathetic art teacher Ms. AJ. The group discusses tocix masculinity, sexist dress codes, bullying, and other issues of the current zeitgeist, and help spread the word with an online comic addressing them. Maeve is very passionate about her work, but she runs afoul of the administration and her parents with her methods. How will Maeve find a way to change her school while also staying out of trouble in the unfair culture of her school. 

Strengths: This is on trend with current thought on many important social issues, and it's good to see that Maeve and her friends work together to try to change their toxic school environment. There are many areas of interest, like comics, that are not always friendly to women and girls, so exploring that was interesting. It was nice that Maeve found a friend group right away in her new school, as well as some teachers who were supportive. The school counselor was not, but Coach Crowder is realistically complex in his actions. The idea of an online zine was intriguing. 

Weaknesses: While I applaud Maeve's enthusiasm and effort, it seemed like she had some underlying issues that made her deeply unhappy. A brief interaction with her mother indicated that these might be the result of some issues with the family dynamics, and I wish she had had some help and support with the move and the bullying, perhaps through therapy. 

What I really think: This is a great choice for readers who like new books about social activism, specifically involving sexism, and enoyed Dee's Maybe He Just Likes You and Young's The Prettiest. Since my budget was cut for next year, and books on social activism don't circulate terribly well in my library, I am debating purchase for now. The culture in the south seems to be rather different than the culture in my Midwestern area.