Catrina and her family are moving to the coast of Northern California because her little sister, Maya, is sick. Cat isn’t happy about leaving her friends for Bahía de la Luna, but Maya has cystic fibrosis and will benefit from the cool, salty air that blows in from the sea. As the girls explore their new home, a neighbor lets them in on a secret: There are ghosts in Bahía de la Luna. Maya is determined to meet one, but Cat wants nothing to do with them. As the time of year when ghosts reunite with their loved ones approaches, Cat must figure out how to put aside her fears for her sister’s sake – and her own.

I’ve been enjoying all the hard hitting middle grade graphic novels I’ve been finding that address real issues/worries that people may face. This story really tackles the fears that go along with the possibility of losing a family member, especially if that loss may be untimely. It looks at the point of view of both someone looking at losing someone in the future as well as the perspective of the person struggling for their life.

I really loved how this was explored by the family’s move to a town where ghosts are the norm, not only that, but it was a place where Dia de los Muertos was openly celebrated and loved. It ended up being the perfect place for the two sisters to learn about and accept mortality in different ways. Both of them grow and face their fears, while also making new friends and learning about their culture.

Happy reading!

For fans of Smile and Real Friends comes a debut graphic novel about friendship and finding where you “click” in middle school.

Olive wants to get in on the act . . .
. . . Any act!

Olive “clicks” with everyone in the fifth grade—until one day she doesn’t. When a school variety show leaves Olive stranded without an act to join, she begins to panic, wondering why all her friends have already formed their own groups . . . without her. With the performance drawing closer by the minute, will Olive be able to find her own place in the show before the curtain comes up?

Author-illustrator Kayla Miller has woven together a heartfelt and insightful story about navigating friendships, leaning on family, and learning to take the stage in the most important role of all.

In Click we follow Olive who considers herself friends with everyone in her class, but they’ve entered that age where people start breaking off into cliques or little groups with specific interests, which becomes apparent when the topic of the variety show comes up. Olive worries that she doesn’t fit in with any of the groups and worries that she doesn’t have a place.

I really enjoyed this story and it hit me in so many feels. It doesn’t matter where you were when going through adolescence, there were always moments you felt you didn’t fit in. It’s a heartfelt journey where Olive finds out that you don’t necessarily need to be part of a specific group or clique, and it’s ok if you aren’t a perfect fit. This would be a great read for anyone going through those middle grade growing stages or having a hard time finding their place and figuring out where they stand with other kids their age.

Happy reading!

Cardinal rule #1 for surviving school: Don’t get noticed by the mean kids.Cardinal rule #2 for surviving school: Seek out groups with similar interests and join them.On her first day at her new school, Penelope–Peppi–Torres reminds herself of these basics. But when she trips into a quiet boy in the hall, Jaime Thompson, she’s already broken the first rule, and the mean kids start calling her the “nerder girlfriend.” How does she handle this crisis? By shoving poor Jaime and running away!Falling back on rule two and surrounding herself with new friends in the art club, Peppi still can’t help feeling ashamed about the way she treated Jaime. Things are already awkward enough between the two, but to make matters worse, he’s a member of her own club’s archrivals–the science club! And when the two clubs go to war, Peppi realizes that sometimes you have to break the rules to survive middle school!

I absolutely loved this little graphic novel. I would say it pretty perfectly captures some of the feelings people have at middle school age, feeling such as isolation, having a hard time making friends and fitting in and just how competitive cliques/groups can be.

So many of the characters were able to be identified with and there were some real issues that were discussed, as well as some humorous subjects that kept what could be heavier topics, refreshingly light.

I really loved the artwork as well, as it gave the story vibrancy and made sure that every setting was more than just a background.

Awkward is currently available on Kindle Unlimited so be sure to check it out. Happy reading!

In thirteen-year-old Aster’s family, all the girls are raised to be witches, while boys grow up to be shapeshifters. Anyone who dares cross those lines is exiled. Unfortunately for Aster, he still hasn’t shifted . . . and he’s still fascinated by witchery, no matter how forbidden it might be.

When a mysterious danger threatens the other boys, Aster knows he can help — as a witch. It will take the encouragement of a new friend, the non-magical and non-conforming Charlie, to convince Aster to try practicing his skills. And it will require even more courage to save his family . . . and be truly himself.

I’ve heard great things about this graphic novel and am so glad I finally picked it up. It’s so wonderfully diverse in so many ways, without being in your face about it. When looking at diverse reads I really look for it to just be natural instead of purposely pointing out every little bit of diversity and this one perfectly showed how that can be done. I fell in love with so many of the characters and really enjoyed the progression of the story and how things were resolved. Also, while this could have easily been a stand alone I’m eager to check out the next volume.

I really enjoyed the artwork style and the vibrant colors were perfect for the age group this is aimed at, but I think it’s a great read for all ages. I really want to check out all of Ostertag’s work now and look forward to what comes out in the future.

Happy reading!