Absolutely Everything and Indoor Kid

Alexander, Damian. Absolutely Everything  
September 9, 2025 by Graphic Universe ™
Copy provided by Edelweiss Plus

Marcella has a nice life; a cozy apartment in a building where her friends Jen Chu, Nigel McNamara, and Jonah Williams live, two dads who love and support her, and a love of writing. As 6th grade starts, however, things are getting difficult. She can never remember to catch her bus at 6:45 a.m., often getting distracted by things in her room. She struggles to pay attention to class, and is embarrassed when her teachers call her out after they have asked her to participate several times. Her best friend Jen is starting to think that boys are cute, and caring about what she wears to school, instead of thinking about the books that she and Marcella liked to role play when they were younger. On top of everything else, her dads are moving the family to the apartment across the hallway because it is bigger and has better sunlight and a balcony. When a teacher she likes assigns a 500 word personal essay on any topic, Marcella can't think of a thing to write about, even though she has enjoyed making journal entries, and her teacher has been complementary about her writing. Jen is increasingly involved in ballet, and even though her friends and parents try to help her with the writing assignment, Marcella always gets distracted by something else, doesn't do the work, and gets even more stressed. She even misses Jen's ballet recital because she is trying to get work done on the project. Eventually, Ms. Kimani calls home and tells Marcella's dads what she is seeing in school. Marcella admits that she is struggling, and is lucky enough to get an appointment with a therapist, who helps her. 
Strengths: Even though middle school classwork and homework isn't that hard, students have struggled in recent years, so Marcella's experiences in this graphic novel will resonate with many readers. It was good to see that her fathers supported her, and immediately got her into counseling when a teacher brought her struggles to their attention. It's good to see portrayals of students living in apartments, and Marcella's building sounds like a great place to be. Alexander's artwork is brightly colored and similar to other artists like Telgemeier, Galligan, and Fajardo, but is different enough to be unique. The cover is very appealing and shows the mood of the book right away. 
Weaknesses: Young readers who have had to move to other states or countries will have little sympathy for Marcella's move across the hallway. It would have been informative to see Marcella prior to middle school, because her prevailing mood is so miserable. 
What I really think: An author's note states that Marcella is based on characters that Alexander has drawn over a number of years, and that her story is based on his own struggles with ADHD. He didn't see stories that reflected his experience when he was growing up. Now, every other middle grade book is about a character with anxiety, so this would be a good choice for readers who enjoyed Libenson's Invisible Emmie, Scrivan's Nat Enough, or Vivat's Frazzled. Most of the characters like Marcella are female, so it would have been nice to see another book with a male character with these struggles, like Todd's Timid.  Alexander's Other Boys is another look at his difficult middle school years. 

Heagerty, Mat, and Dubois-Thompson, Lisa. Indoor Kid

October 28, 2025 by Oni Press

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Arnie lives in Muscletown with his athletic parents and sister Lily. Sports are everything in Muscletown, and Arnie doesn't have much luck with them, although he is good at board and video games. The popular kids are known as the Brohemians, and they wield such power that they can challenge other students to "Muscle Matches", and if they lose, ban them from the local Boyle Park and make them wear pale blue ball caps embroidered with "Loser". Arnie has suffered this fate several times, along with his friends Kayle and Chris. When he stands up to Benton, the ringleader, he is banned from the park for life. When a game piece falls into the yard of his downstairs neighbor, Arnie goes to retrieve it. While he doesn't do well at sports, he loves them, and realizes the neighbor is the elusive Mort Cohen, who disappeared after a short but stellar career that ended when he played poorly at the Super Bowl in 1985. Mort admits to his identity, and tells Arnie the story of a magical medal that will grant sports prowess to its owner, but only for six months. When Arnie explains his current dilemma, Mort gives him the medal, making him promise to use it for good. Arnie is soon showing off his new skills, but Mort doubts Arnie's motives when he posts videos on a MeTube channell. Once he does well in dodgeball, he becomes popular, and ditches Kayla. After Kayla and Chris try to steal the medal, Arnie understands how he has gone wrong, and offers to give it to them. Instead, they suggest that he challenge all five Brohemians to a Muscle Match. If they lose, they will no longer be able to ban people from the park or make them wear a hat. Will Arnie be able to win against all five of the super sports players? And what will happen to the medal?

Strengths: This was a goofy graphic novel with bright illustrations and an interesting premise. A medal which bestows athletic super powers on its owner would be something that a lot of middle school students would appreciate. There are many sports shown; the Brohemians all have one sport in which they excel, and there are basketball games, baseball, field hockey, and a number of other sports. It's difficult to find graphic novels that involve sport, other than the Jake Maddox graphic novels. Readers who like somewhat goofy books about struggling characters may enjoy this. 
Weaknesses: Muscletown lets five children ban people from a public park and the school lets them force classmates to wear a hat that says "loser"? If this were set in the 1970s, I would believe it, but it's hardly acceptable behavior for the 2020s. 
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who enjoyed the magical realism and underdog character in Mercado's Chunky or Bycel, Korson, and Scott's Sports Heroes: Stephen Curry. I'm not sure it's the graphic novel that my sports fans want to read.