THE REAL RILEY MAYES

Riley Mayes is having a rough time in fifth grade.

She desperately wants to attend drawing classes at the art barn, a studio for creative kids, but her rambunctious energy has already caused the school to send home three notes about her behavior—and it’s only September. Riley is a little goofy, a bit of a free spirit, and heavily inspired by her idol, sketch comedian Joy Powers. After Riley despairs that no one understands her, her mother challenges her to seek out friends who do get her and promises to sign her up for art classes if she keeps her grades up and stays out of trouble at school. Riley reaches out to new student Aaron and friendly classmate Cate, and with their support, she attempts to navigate schoolwork, social groups, and bullying over her gender presentation, all while coming to terms with her feelings for Joy Powers. There’s a lot going on, but the story handles the plot points well, and readers—especially fans of Jeff Kinney and Amy Ignatow—will love the mixture of realism and imagination that fuels Riley’s world. Readers may question Joy Powers’ humor—sketch comedy doesn’t translate well to graphic-novel format—but the expressive illustrations capture Riley’s joy when she’s thinking about her hero. Aaron and one of his fathers appear Black; all other main characters read as White.

This story is real—and really great!