by Jennifer Holm. Illustrated by Elicia Castaldi
Graphic novel? Scrapbook? This is the story of Ginny Davis, spanning her 7th grade year. Ginny starts off the new year like we all do: with high hopes and optimistic goals. But this is middle school and there are more downs than ups for Ginny who experiences the humiliation of a bad home hair dye to the adjustment of gaining a step-father to seeing her brother sent away to military school.
And the medium? The story is literally told through stuff. To-do lists, post-its from family members, notes from teachers, notes passed from Ginny to her friends during class. Bills, report cards, drawings, poems, instant messaging. Everything that is on each page connects to and enhances the story line. One of the most appealing parts of this book is looking at each object and seeing how it adds to the story or gives you more info.
This is a great book for reluctant readers.
This is also a great book for adults who want to take a quick trip back middle school. While we might not all know what it's like to get a new step-dad or the experience of breaking your arm trying to rescue your cape-wearing little brother, we do remember the high hopes of middle school: the wished for boyfriend, the slow accumulation of money from babysitting that is so quickly wasted on lip gloss and eyeshadow, the wheeling and dealing with mom and dad... Books like this (and Diary of a Wimpy Kid) help me remember and regain empathy for the plight of the middle-schooler.
Grade: A+
BTW, this is my 35th book since June.
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