An insightful, slice-of-life look at growing up while being true to oneself.
Bea is excited to reunite with her camp friends and cabin mates, Roxy and Virginia, over the summer after seventh grade.
But before long, Bea becomes upset by her friends’ reminders of her previous reliance on her stuffed rabbit, Roger, to face social situations. At 13, Bea and her friends are now Froglings, the oldest kids at Camp Chordata, and they quickly discover that, since the camp is “super understaffed,” this status comes with less supervision and guidance during activities. They and the two other Froglings are also asked to take on additional responsibilities with younger campers, which doesn’t feel fair. Between her disappointment over the way the Froglings are being treated and Virginia’s comments about “the Old Bea,” Bea finds herself regretting coming back. The story moves at a rapid pace while still keeping the characters’ emotions front and center. Readers will relate to Bea’s desire to grow and change without being continually compared to her past self. Montague explores healthy communication and the importance of learning to love yourself at every stage of your life as the friends work through relationship hiccups. Her clean, boldly executed art accentuates the girls’ expressively drawn faces. Bea has curly brown hair and brown skin, Roxy has tan skin and blond hair, and Virginia has dark brown skin and red hair.
An insightful, slice-of-life look at growing up while being true to oneself. (Graphic fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: May 12, 2026
ISBN: 9780593806265
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Random House Studio
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2026
Telgemeier’s bold colors, superior visual storytelling, and unusual subject matter will keep readers emotionally engaged and...
Catrina narrates the story of her mixed-race (Latino/white) family’s move from Southern California to Bahía de la Luna on the Northern California coast.
Dad has a new job, but it’s little sister Maya’s lungs that motivate the move: she has had cystic fibrosis since birth—a degenerative breathing condition. Despite her health, Maya loves adventure, even if her lungs suffer for it and even when Cat must follow to keep her safe. When Carlos, a tall, brown, and handsome teen Ghost Tour guide introduces the sisters to the Bahía ghosts—most of whom were Spanish-speaking Mexicans when alive—they fascinate Maya and she them, but the terrified Cat wants only to get herself and Maya back to safety. When the ghost adventure leads to Maya’s hospitalization, Cat blames both herself and Carlos, which makes seeing him at school difficult. As Cat awakens to the meaning of Halloween and Day of the Dead in this strange new home, she comes to understand the importance of the ghosts both to herself and to Maya. Telgemeier neatly balances enough issues that a lesser artist would split them into separate stories and delivers as much delight textually as visually. The backmatter includes snippets from Telgemeier’s sketchbook and a photo of her in Día makeup.
Telgemeier’s bold colors, superior visual storytelling, and unusual subject matter will keep readers emotionally engaged and unable to put down this compelling tale. (Graphic fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-545-54061-2
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2016
Charming, poignant, and thoughtfully woven.
An aspiring scientist and a budding artist become friends and help each other with dream projects.
Unfolding in mid-1980s Sacramento, California, this story stars 12-year-olds Rosalind and Benjamin as first-person narrators in alternating chapters. Ro’s father, a fellow space buff, was killed by a drunk driver; the rocket they were working on together lies unfinished in her closet. As for Benji, not only has his best friend, Amir, moved away, but the comic book holding the clue for locating his dad is also missing. Along with their profound personal losses, the protagonists share a fixation with the universe’s intriguing potential: Ro decides to complete the rocket and hopes to launch mementos of her father into outer space while Benji’s conviction that aliens and UFOs are real compels his imagination and creativity as an artist. An accident in science class triggers a chain of events forcing Benji and Ro, who is new to the school, to interact and unintentionally learn each other’s secrets. They resolve to find Benji’s dad—a famous comic-book artist—and partner to finish Ro’s rocket for the science fair. Together, they overcome technical, scheduling, and geographical challenges. Readers will be drawn in by amusing and fantastical elements in the comic book theme, high emotional stakes that arouse sympathy, and well-drawn character development as the protagonists navigate life lessons around grief, patience, self-advocacy, and standing up for others. Ro is biracial (Chinese/White); Benji is White.
Charming, poignant, and thoughtfully woven. (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Jan. 12, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-06-300888-5
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2020
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