Middle Grade Monday: The Year I Stopped Drawing: an Illustrated Novel in Verse by Grant Snider

Image: Abrams

The Year I Stopped Drawing: an Illustrated Novel in Verse by Grant Snider. 312 p. Amulet Books/ Abrams, November 10, 2026. 9781419788383. Review of arc courtesy of publisher.

Adam Zane has always been known as the best artist in his class, but he's entering seventh grade and everything is about to change for him - his brother left for college and hasn't communicated with Adam, his parents are fighting, but pretending that they're not, his best friend had a growth spurt, and worst of all, a new girl is a better artist than he. He's at sea. His grades begin to suffer, he refuses to attempt to create any art. When his anger at being constantly bullied by Jason erupts, and he ends up with an in-school suspension, his counselor sets him a challenge

Trust me when I say that grade seven is cataclysmic. So much change is happening to these kids from the onset of puberty (or lack of onset) to the shifting friendships, to the increased difficulty of classes. The appeal of this illustrated novel in verse lies in its utter relatability and readability. Post-It Notes separate chapters by months of the school year and there are pencil drawings accompanying each poem. The presentation is clean and engaging. Middle school readers will find much to connect with. Touching at times, humorous at others, this book is a solid addition to any collection. I can't wait to read the finished book! Highly recommend!

Happy reading!

Middle Grade Monday: Sunny Figures It Out by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm

Image: Scholastic

Sunny Figures It Out by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm. Sunny #6. 224 p. Graphix/ Scholastic Inc. July, 2025. 9781338792478. Review of finished purchased copy.

Middle Grade Monday features Sunny Figures It Out by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm. This sixth installment in the Sunny series does not disappoint. Sunny is enjoying her friendship with Tony, but is pressured to take it to the next level by her boy-crazy friend, and it just doesn't feel right. Meanwhile, her mom is about to re-enter the work force. 

I love this series and the fact that all the 70's stuff, like rotary phones is explained. The peer pressure to conform has not changed at all though, making this gn memoir relatable to contemporary readers. Keep them coming!

Middle Grade Monday: Sunny Makes Her Case by Jennifer L. Holm

Image: Scholastic Inc.

Sunny Makes Her Case by Jennifer L. Holm and illustrated by Matthew Holm. 224 p. Sunny Book 5. Graphix/ Scholastic Inc., February, 2024. 9781338792447. Review of finished copy borrowed from public library. 

Happy penultimate Monday of summer break! I hope to make the best of the remaining days. Middle Grade Monday features Sunny Makes Her Case by Jennifer L. Holm and illustrated by Matthew Holm. This is the fifth book in the Sunny series, which is loosely based on Ms. Holm's childhood. This graphic novel series is enormously popular at TMS. Sunny is settling into middle school, sort of. While her classmates have extracurricular activities, such as cheering, Sunny hasn't yet found hers. Then, her friend Arun talks her into starting a debate club.Sunny likes arguing, so she and Arun find an advisor. At first, it's just the two of them, and then, Sunny learns there's a lot more to debate than just arguing!

The artwork, by Matthew Holm, continues to shine. Bright colors and dynamic panels move the story along. Of course, Sunny in all her relatability continues to charm. Must purchase!

Happy reading!

Arc Review: The Witching Wind by Natalie Lloyd

Image: Scholastic

The Witching Wind by Natalie Lloyd. 368 p. Scholastic Press/ Scholastic Inc. September 17, 2024. 9781338858600.

I can't believe we are staring down the end of July and August begins tomorrow! I hope you are enjoying every moment of your summer.

I featured The Witching Wind by Natalie Lloyd for Middle Grade Monday in my Library Links group in our school's learning platform and forgot to post here. This dual narrative is told by eleven-year-old Roxie, who was looking forward to starting middle school and Grayson, who has moved in with yet another foster family and about to be the new girl yet again. 

Roxie was humiliated at the sixth grade swim party and is thrilled when her beloved grandmother offers to take her on tour with her folk band. Grayson uses a walker due to the fact that her bones are brittle and she is prone to fractures. She thinks that this newest placement, as nice as they are is just temporary, since her beloved sister, Beanie, promised to become her legal guardian when she turns eighteen, which is soon.

Then, the witching winds come and boy, they are fierce this year! They take what folks love most, so when both Granny and Beanie go missing without a trace, Roxie and Grayson team up to track them down, even if it means facing the witch who sends the winds.

This work of magical realism is filled with endearing, quirky characters, a lush southern setting and mystery. Fans of Natalie Lloyd will not be disappointed. I loved this and just might reread it with my ears if it's released in audio format. 

Middle Grade Monday: Duel by Jessixa Bagley and illustrated by Aaron Bagley.

Image: Simon & Schuster

Duel by Jessixa Bagley and illustrated by Aaron Bagley. 320 p. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, November, 2023. 9781534496545. (Review of finished, purchased copy.) 

Happy Monday! It is the final Monday of the 2023- 2024 school year and we have a heat wave this week in the northeast. Middle Grade Monday features Duel by Jessixa Bagley and illustrated by Aaron Bagley. 

Siblings fight, but sisters, Gigi and Lucy's bickering is next-level and about to get worse. Gigi is a popular eighth grader. She's also a good student and star fencer. In fact, she will probably be named captain this year. Lucy is entering sixth grade and terrified of not fitting in and being as good as her sister. When Gigi humiliates Lucy in the cafeteria on the very first day of school in front of the entire school, she grabs Gigi's foil from her fencing bag and challenges her to a duel. Both girls end up in the principal's office and their over-worked, stressed out mother manages to talk the principal out of suspending them, but she's done. Now that the gauntlet has been thrown on multiple levels, Gigi and Lucy are committed to their duel and the entire school is taking sides and bets.

This sibling rivalry story is unique. Each chapter opens with a page from a fencing guidebook, the significance of which, I will not spoil. The full-color art is expressive, with flashback action presented in blue tones for contrast. This graphic novel will have wide appeal. I loved it. Stay cool and happy reading!

Middle Grade Monday: Nat for Nothing by Maria Scrivan

Image: Scholastic Inc.

Nat for Nothing by Maria Scrivan. 240 p. Nat Enough series #4. Graphix/ Scholastic, February, 2023. 9781338715422.

Happy Monday! Middle Grade Monday features Nat for Nothing by Maria Scrivan. In book 4 of the Nat Enough series, the principal at Nat's school is all about rules and Nat seems to break them alot. It didn't help that she was late for the first day of school and in her rush forgot to change out of her bunny slippers, but then she was caught running in the halls by him. He also issued a rule that all students should be involved in an extra-curricular activity. Nat's friends have no trouble finding their "thing." Flo joins puppetry and Zoe makes the volleyball team...with Lily, her former BFF. Not only does Nat not have a thing, her friends do and she's seeing them less and less, and Zoe and Lily seem to be getting particularly tight. What is Nat to do?

There are quite a few fans of this series at my school and book 4 does not disappoint.

Middle Grade Monday: Booked by Kwame Alexander

Image: HarperCollins Publishers

Happy Monday! Middle Grade Monday features Booked by Kwame Alexander. Eighth grader Nick is soccer obsessed. Books, reading and school? Not so much. His linguistics professor dad expects him to read the dictionary each day to improve his vocabulary. Nick wants his dad to improve his own marital relationship. His mom is considering moving out. At school, he's menaced by twin bullies and the only bright spots are getting to see his crush, April and Mr. Mac., the school librarian, who raps and is determined to get Nick to like reading by slipping him books he can relate to.

This 2016 publication followed The Crossover and is equally engaging with vivid soccer scenes, popping rhymes and plenty of humor. A graphic novel adaptation was released last August. 

Middle Grade Monday: Enemies by Svetlana Chmakova

Image: Yen Press

Enemies by Svetlana Chmakova. 224 p. Berrybrook Middle School #5. JY/ Yen Press, September, 2022. 9781975312725 (Review of finished purchased copy.)

Happy Monday! The snow sure was pretty this morning with the waning full moon shining on it. Just enough to say that winter is here and not enough to have to shovel. Middle Grade Monday featuers Enemies by Svetlana Chmakova. This is book # 5 of the Berrybrook Middle School series that began with Awkward. The series is quite popular at my school.

Felicity is a talented artist and loves being in Art Club. She has a bff and a group of friends that she games with. She does have a habit of not finishing what she started and this sometimes lands her in hot water with her parents. Her "perfect" little sister, Letty, lords it over her constantly and the two often fight about it. Felicity convinces Tess to join the Entrepreneur Club because there's a big prize at the end. This leads to some conflict because Felicity keeps shooting down Tess' ideas and doesn't come up with her own. Plus, Tess' attention is focused on the boys in the club, which includes her gaming friend and a former friend, now enemy.

Ms. Chmakova has an eye for middle school drama and a great ear for dialogue. Her characters are diverse (the club advisor is non-binary and the book store owner is in a wheelchair as two examples), and complex. The art tends toward muted and anime-style. This book will have wide appeal. It's a must-read for fans of the series, but non-fans can drop in anywhere in the series and get hooked themselves. Happy reading!

Middle Grade Monday: The Tryout by Christina Soontornvat

Image: Scholastic

The Tryout by Christina Soontornvat. Illustrated by Joanna Cacao. 272 p. Graphix/ Scholastic Inc. September, 2022. 9781338741261. (Review of finished purchased copy.)

Happy Monday! I hope you enjoyed a gorgeous weekend where you live! I had a lovely, productive weekend with long walks and the first round of leaf wrangling. Middle Grade Monday features The Tryout by Christina Soontornvat. Ms. Soontornvat who has won awards for both her fiction (A Wish in the Dark) and her non-fiction (All Thirteen) makes her graphic novel debut with her memoir of cheer tryouts. 

Starting seventh grade is hard for Christina and her bff, Megan. Christina is biracial. Her dad is Thai and her mom is white. Megan is Iranian American. The two suffer from micro-aggressions and overt racism. Christina can't seem to get fashion right either. They admire the confidence of the cheerleaders and decide to tryout for the squad.

The bright palette depicts the highs and lows of Christina's experience with energy and good humor. Graphic novel fans will not want to miss this!

Fact Friday: The Boy Who Failed Dodgeball by Jordan Sonnenblick

Image: Scholastic Inc.

The Boy Who Failed Dodgeball by Jordan Sonnenblick. 246 p. Scholastic Press/ Scholastic Inc., June, 2022. 9781338749601. (Review of finished copy borrowed from public library.)

Fact Friday features The Boy Who Failed Dodgeball by Jordan Sonnenblick. Young Jordan Sonnenblick is entering middle school on Staten Island. He's attending I.S. 61, which is an arts magnet school, and he's pumped to be placed in morning band class. It's the class that performs and those students get to wear the red blazers. He's not pumped about acing all the math tests for a city-wide math competition and he refuses to join math club. Oh! And he gets off on the wrong foot with his L.A. teacher and is sent to the vice-principal's office on the first day of school!

Middle grade readers are treated to the highs and lows of Jordan's sixth grade year. Even though it takes place in the 1980s and modern tweens might not know who Evel Knievel was, they will relate to the anxiety of making new friends (and enemies), keeping old friends, having crushes and going on dates.

Amusing spot art is sprinkled throughout this episodic memoir, which is often laugh-out-loud funny. Fans of the author's books will enjoy reading this and super-fans may recognize a name or two. It sure was fun revisiting young Jordan. I hope there will be more from the boy who failed.

Middle Grade Monday and Audiobook Review: Alice Austen Lived Here by Alex Gino

Image: Scholastic Inc.

Alice Austen Lived Here by Alex Gino. Unabridged e-audio, ~3 hours, 38 minutes. Narrated by the author. Scholastic Audio/ Scholastic Inc., April, 2022. 

Happy Monday! Happy Fourth of July? The weather here is dry and clear. The town is quiet. Most of the stores in my tiny downtown are closed. No parades, no fireworks. Nice and quiet. Time to garden, read and contemplate. 

Middle Grade Monday features Alice Austen Lived Here by Alex Gino. This is their fourth novel, and I've read every one since their debut, George/ Melissa. Sam and T.J. are best friends and seventh graders who live on Staten Island. (For any reader not from the northeast, Staten Island is a borough of New York City. It connects to Brooklyn via the Verrazano Narrows Bridge and to Manhattan via ferry service. It's actually closer to New Jersey!) 

Both Sam and T.J. identify as non-binary and have supportive families as well as a loving found family. Their stodgy, traditional social studies teacher assigns a research project where partners chose a figure in history that had a Staten Island connection. The partnership with the highest grade would have their project submitted to a monument contest. Sam is not enthusiastic about the project until they learn of Alice Austen, a lesbian photographer from the 1800s, who actually has a ferry boat named after her. Sam did not know about Alice Austen's identity and was stoked to learn that Alice Austen actually lived for a while in their apartment!

There's a lot packed into this short, middle-grade novel. Sam and T.J. are comfortable in their skin and articulate about body positivity and gender. The issue is not about their coming out, but of LGBTQIA+ history and how the lens of history seems focused on cis, white men  tending to leave out the contributions of women, people of color and the LGBTQIA+ community. There's still playfulness in the story via the best friendship and various inter-generational ties. 

The book was narrated by the author, who imbued her characters with spunk and confidence and sounded appropriately youthful. 

There are a fair number of fans of the author's books at my school and I know they will be happy to meet Sam and T.J.

Middle Grade Monday: Dear Student by Elly Swartz

Image: Penguin Random House

Dear Student by Elly Swartz. 296 p. Delacorte Press/ Random House Children's Books, March, 2022. 9780593374139. (Review of arc courtesy of publicist.)

Happy Monday! I hope you had a wonderful weekend. Middle Grade Monday features Dear Student by Elly Swartz. Autumn is about to start middle school and she is worried. Her best friend, Prisha, moved to California and Autumn's family needed to move into the apartment about her mom's veterinary practice to save money after Autumn's dad decided to join the Peace Corps. He video called her on the first day of school with the advice to seize the day and choose to get involved in one thing at middle school. She's equal parts mad and sad at his desertion. As if these first day worries aren't enough, Autumn tries to help her little sister, Pickle overcome her own. Then, they find a chameleon in the middle of the road. They're about to move it to safety when a boy who is barreling down the road on a bike runs over its tail! What a day this is turning out to be! Luckily, Autumn's mom is a vet, so the three take the poor lizard to her.

Autumn's earnest and thoughtful first-person narration quickly pulls the reader in as she navigates her first day without her best friend. Luckily, she meets Logan, who has moved to Cape Cod from Chicago and Logan seems eager to be friends. Later, she meets the boy on the bike, Cooper, who is also newly transplanted to Cape Cod. It also helps to have Mr. Logan for homeroom and LA. He runs the school newspaper and everyone is wondering who he will pick to write the "Dear Student" advice column. Autumn likes to write, but she's not confident that she could give advice.

Ms. Swartz excels at writing gentle novels featuring tweens coping with a variety of issues including mental health problems. She nails the dynamics and drama of middle school, and also manages to weave in some larger societal issues, such as animals rights in an engaging way. And who doesn't love whoopie pies? Recipe include! Readers will root for Autumn as she finds her voice.

Thanks to Wunderkind PR for the opportunity to read and review Dear Student. My dear students will love to meet Autumn. 

Middle Grade Monday: Nat Enough by Maria Scrivan

Image: Scholastic Inc.

Nat Enough by Maria Scrivan. 240 p. Graphix/ Scholastic Inc. April, 2020. 978133538199. (Purchased.)

Happy Monday! I hope you had a wonderful weekend! Mine went fast. I did some garden clean-up (not enough), a lot of walking with Boo (18 miles) and a fair amount of reading(4 books).

Middle Grade Monday features Nat Enough by Maria Scrivan. This gentle graphic novel is shy Natalie's sketchbook. As summer ends and middle school approaches, she has some worries. Her BFF Lily moved across town and she has seen very little of her over the summer. Any calls or texts Natalie sends are answered with excuses why the two can't get together. On the eve of the first day of school, Nat's got radio silence. She spies Lily heading to school with another girl, who looks super-cool and stylish. Nat's locker is close to Lily, but Lily rebuffs her attempts at friendship. Lily's rejection reinforces Natalie's feelings of not being enough - not cute enough, not smart enough or not athletic enough.

The terrain of fractured friendship and navigating new school situations should be familiar to most tweens. Natalie is endearingly underconfident and relatable. The author/ artist captured the drama and dialog of middle school well. The peppy palette and energetic panels keep the story moving. Fans of Shannon Hale and Raina Telgemeier will be happy to include Natalie. I know this one won't sit and am looking forward to reading Forget Me Nat and Absolutely Nat.

Middle Grade Monday and Audiobook Review: The Only Black Girls in Town by Brandy Colbert

Image: Little, Brown and Company

The Only Black Girls in Town by Brandy Colbert. Unabridged e-audiobook, ~5 hours and 36 minutes. Read by Jeanette Illidge. LBYR/ Hachette Book Group, March, 2020. 9781549157387. (Review of downloadable audiobook borrowed from public library.)

Happy Monday! I hope you had a wonderful weekend filled with books and walks outside. The weather was cold but the sunshine was glorious. Boo and I took lots of long walks. He even got to run loose in the woods for a bit.

Middle Grade Monday features The Only Black Girls in Town by Brandy Colbert. Ms. Colbert, an award-winning YA author, made her middle grade debut in this winning story of Alberta, who lives with her two dads in a California beach town. They are the only Black people in town and Alberta has gotten used to that thanks to her best friend, Laramie and surfing. Al lives to surf and she's good enough to compete, but her dads say she can't until she's thirteen. Life is pretty good except for her nemesis, Natalie, who lives next door, and whom Laramie seems to be taking a shine to. Just as seventh grade begins, Al learns that the B & B across the street has finally been sold. A Black family will be moving in and there's a girl just Al's age!

Edie and her mom have moved all the way to California from Brooklyn and Edie is not thrilled. She misses her friends, Brooklyn and most of all, her record producer dad. Her goth style, wearing all black, including lipstick, certainly draws attention at school. Can Al and Edie forge a friendship?

This was a fun read about friendship and middle school drama with a side of mystery. While cleaning up the attic, which will be Edie's space, the girls discover a box of diaries from the 1950s and set about reading them.

New-to-me narrator, Jeanette Illidge, sounded appropriately youthful as Alberta and had a distinct range of voices for the varied characters.

Middle Grade Monday: Twins by Varian Johnson

Image: Scholastic Inc.

Twins by Varian Johnson. Illustrated by Shannon Wright. Twins #1. 252 p. Graphix/ Scholastic Inc., October, 2020. 9781338236132. (Review of finished purchased copy.)

It's a rainy Monday! I hope you had a fantastic weekend! I got to rake my leaves and finish a few books. Middle Grade Monday features a graphic novel called Twins by Varian Johnson and illustrated by Shannon Wright. This is Mr. Johnson's first graphic novel. You may have read some of his other middle grade fiction like, The Great Greene Heist or The Parker Inheritance. Come to think of it, he has also written a few YA titles, which are old enough to feature on #tbt so stay tuned.

Twins, Francine and Maureen do everything together. They share a room and have shared a classroom all through elementary school. Now that they are entering middle school, Francine is pulling away. Maureen expects things to go on as usual and is hurt, first when she discovers that they don't have the same schedules, then when she learns that Francine has something to do after school each day and isn't including her. Francine has even shortened her name and wants to be called, "Fran" now!

So what happens when to two decide to run for class president? Read this delightfully relatable, gorgeously illustrated graphic novel to find out. I know this wouldn't sit on my shelf were we not in a pandemic and my library closed. 

Both girls are immediately likable, relatable and endearing. Their family is blended, consisting of an older half-brother, and happily supportive. The girls' parents are attentive and involved. The tween dialogue and middle school drama are spot-on. Some of the sisters' fights are so eerily familiar even to this old reviewer! But so is the evident bond between to the two.

The art is vibrant and engaging, with subtle bits of visual humor sprinkled about, such as a store named "Temporarily 22." This smile disappears however, once the girls are ignored in the store by a white salesperson. Luckily for them, the white customer the saleslady rebuffed the girls for called her out on her behavior before stomping out of the store, causing other customers to do the same. It was a subtle example of white allyship in action. This was followed by Mama Bear storming into the store to give the clerk a piece of her mind after Maureen's friend tearfully recounts the experience. The panels are dynamic and the bright palette is quite pleasing. The student body is diverse in many respects from race to body types. 

I hadn't realized when I bought the book that it was a series starter. This pleases me. I look forward to visiting with Francine and Maureen soon. This book belongs in all library collections! Fans of friendship graphic novels like Real Friends and Smile and Sunny as well as the kids of Berrybrook Middle School, will just gobble Twins up and ask for more.

Visit Varian Johnson's website and Shannon Wrights website for more information about each and their body of work. 

Arc Review: Redwood and Ponytail by K.A. Holt

Image: Chronicle Books

Redwood and Ponytail by K.A. Holt. 422 p. Chronicle Books, October, 2019. 9781452172880. (Review of arc courtesy of publisher.)

Tam is a tall, popular volley ball player. Kate is a poised, ponytailed cheerleader angling for captain of the squad. The two meet during seventh grade registration and hit it off.

Redwood and Ponytail is a sweet and gentle verse novel about an unlikely friendship that turns into something deeper. It captures all the joy and pain of first crushes and even features a Greek chorus. It's a perfect romance for middle grade readers.

Middle Grade Monday: Crush by Svetlana Chmakova

Image: Yen Press

Crush by Svetlana Chmakova. Berrybrook Middle School series #3. 240 p. JY/ Yen Press, October, 2019. 9780316363235. (Review of purchased finished copy.)

Middle Grade Monday features Crush by Svetlana Chmakova. Fans of Chamakova's middle grade debut, Awkward and its sequel, Brave will be thrilled to return to Berrybrook Middle School. Crush focuses on Jorge. He's probably the biggest kid in school and his size can be intimidating; but he's also the sweetest person ever. He uses his size for good and is happy hanging with his two best friends. Lately though, when he crosses paths with a certain girl, he finds he's a bit off his game. Add to that, a shifting dynamic between the boys and you've got plenty of authentic middle school drama. Fans will eagerly await another installment of The Berrybrook Middle School series.

This endearing series is just getting better with each book! Jorge is a great character. The dialogue is spot on. The art is energetic and colorful. And the issues are relatable. I hope the series continues.

Crush is a first purchase! Multiple copies will be necessary to keep up with demand.

Middle Grade Monday: The Unteachables by Gordon Korman

Image: HarperCollins Publishers

The Unteachables by Gordon Korman. Unabridged e-audiobook, ~6 hours. Narrated by a full cast. Balzar + Bray/ HarperAudio, January, 2019. 9780062885289. (Review of e-audiobook borrowed from public library. Own the hc.)

Middle Grade Monday features The Unteachables by Gordon Korman. What happens when a burnt out teacher, who is basically phoning it in until early retirement is assigned to Room 117 by a superintendent who wants the guy gone? Room 117 houses "the unteachables." All are academic failures for one reason or another. Gordon Korman takes the improbable and makes it both humorous and (somewhat) believable. His fans will not be disappointed.

I was a bit though. Admittedly, I am not the intended audience. I felt the premise was a bit shaky and the adults tended toward cardboard stereotypes. 

Middle Grade Monday: The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl by Stacy McAnulty

Image: Random House

The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl by Stacy McAnulty. 304 p. Random House Children's Books, May,2018. 9781524767570.

Rising sixth grader, Esther K. recommended today's feature! Esther sent me a message to say that she loved The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl and I think it's a great choice for Middle Grade Monday! I haven't highlighted it here in The Daily Book Talk because I reviewed it for School Library Journal. You can read that review here. 

Ever since Lucy Callahan was struck by lightning, she has been a math genius. So much so, that between that and her OCD, she has been homeschooled by her grandmother. She's ready for college math now but her grandmother wants her to try middle school for one year, make one new friend and read one book that isn't math related. Read this is you love books about friendship, middle school or math. Read it even if you hate math. Lucy and her grandmother are wonderful characters!

Thanks Esther!

ETA: I was thrilled to pick up an arc of The World Ends in April at ALAAC!

Middle Grade Monday: Operatic by Kyo Maclear

Image: House of Anansi

Operatic by Kyo Maclear. 160 p. Groundwood/ House of Anansi, April, 2019. 9781554989720. (Review of finished copy courtesy of publisher. Received at SLJ Day of Dialog)

Happy third Monday of summer vacay, TMS readers! Have you read anything great lately? Put some titles in the comments or send them in a Schoology message.

Middle Grade Monday features Operatic by Kyo Maclear. Eighth grader Charlotte, Charlie, Noguchi, one of only three Asians in her class, wants to fly under the radar and is a keen observer of the pecking order in her middle school. It is spring of her final year of middle school, the due date for her music project is looming and she hasn't yet picked a song that defines her. She's also worried about a missing classmate, Luka, a transfer student with a gorgeous voice who wears his hair long and has a unique fashion sense which made him a target. As this spare story flashes back to the fall and forward to spring, Charlie reflects on all the music history she learned and realizes that opera, specifically, Maria Callas, speaks to her most. This is an unusual choice for a contemporary eighth grader and Charlie needs to figure out if she wants to play it safe and stifle who she is or take a lesson from Luka and be true to herself despite the often cruel opinions of her peers. 

The art in this unusual graphic novel is just gorgeous with its swirling colors and dreamy panels. It's also beautifully designed. Graphic novel fans will learn a bit about music and music loving students will learn to love graphic novels with Operatic.