September 27, 2022 by Clarion Books
Library copy
Chanda and Beth are back, and this time they are obsessed with the upcoming school dance. The most important part of this, of course, is having awesome dresses to wear, and the two use their skills to try to come up with the perfect outfit. They also decide that they should probably have dates, for the optimal dance experience, and Chanda is especially interested in this, coming up with a plan and even asking a number of boys out, to no avail. Beth, however, has befriended Sam, who has injured his leg in gym class and it on crutches, and he asks her to the dance. Both girls are dealing with older sisters with whom they don’t get along. Chanda’s sister is “perfect” and getting married, so is spending more time at home. She’s really nice to Chanda, but Chanda seems to hold a deep grudge against her. Beth’s sister is very stressed with college applications, and doesn’t have time to help Beth out as she has in the past. The girls are not able to find anything suitable to wear, but after Chanda’s mother brings out clothes from her past, Beth investigates her own mother’s past wardrobe and finds the perfect thing. The girls have a good time at the dance, and Chanda even talks to a boy she had asked, but who had turned her down, and finds that the two really do have a lot in common.
Strengths: It’s fun that these have the same characters as the CLICK series; Olive and many of the other characters show up. I also appreciated that Chanda and Beth get along most of the time. While my students love friend drama, I think that there are a lot of friends that manage to get along all through middle school, and it's reassuring to see these relationships predicted as well. There is a lot of good body positivity, and discussion about how it is difficult for Beth to find attractive clothing in her size, and how shopping can make her feel bad about herself. Sibling problems are a huge thing in the lives of tweens, and seeing much older siblings was a bit different. This style of artwork is popular with my students.
Weaknesses: The students at my school don’t wear dresses to school dances, so I had trouble believing that this was such an important thing, but it might be part of other tweens’ experiences. There also isn’t as much emphasis on having a date; this seems more suited to high school, but again, it may be different elsewhere. Personally, I am not a fan of the heightened emotions and “star eyes”, but my students seem to like it.
What I really think: There are a lot of graphic novel series that aren’t my favorite, but which I know my students will read again and again. If books like Miller’s Click series, Libenson’s Emmie and Friends, Scrivan’s Nat Enough books, or Raina Telgemeier’s works are popular in your library, you’ll want to purchase this entire series.
March 4, 2025 by Clarion Books
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
This book set in Olive's school from CLICK focuses on Sawyer and Trent, as well as their friend Tyler. Tyler is very excited about being the Dungeon Master for an upcoming role playing game, but is also a little anxious about this new role. Sawyer, on the other hand, is more interested in the prank challenge issued by his favorite social media star, Trixie. He brings Trent in, which would help his chances of winning the contest if he listened to Trent's thoughts that they need to plan out their pranks. Swayer instead goes ahead with a number of petty, mean tricks, some focused on Natasha. Natasha is also aware of Trixie's challenge and plans better than the boys, so manages to "get" them on several occasions. This makes them want to retaliate. They get so invested in the prank war that they ignore Tyler's requests for help. The teachers at school are not happy, and tell them to stop, but this doesn't dissuade them, even when Trent's younger sister learns from their antics and has to learn why it was inappropriate to dump lemonade on Olive. Things eventually escalate, and someone gets hurt. Is anyone really the winner in a prank war?
I personally disliked this one A LOT, because antics in school can lead to injuries. I recently took a hard tumble because a student pushed another student so violently into me that my feet went out from under me, five Chromebooks I was carrying flew out of my arms, and I came within inches of smacking my head on a cement block wall. The student said he was "just fooling around". School is work, and there is no room for this kind of horseplay in an academic setting. The fact that Natasha got third in Trixie's contest makes pranks look like a good idea.
Will students adore this? Absolutely. I did like the subplot about Tyler being ignored, which made the story even sadder when he was the one to get hurt in the prank. The CLICK books are popular, and it's interesting to see other students in the school, but I wish that this book didn't glorify bad behavior. We see enough of that with TikTok videos that lead to destruction of school property.
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