Completely Full Bookshelf

I hope everyone is doing well! I feel like the summer is racing by, but we still have a few solid months to get more reading done! Mixed in among this week's unpleasant current events was a nice bright spot: Derek Chauvin was sentenced to 22.5 years in prison , of which he must serve at least 15, for the death of George Floyd 1 year ago. I hope this is a small step forward in the fight against racism and police brutality.  On a completely different note, I've spent some time with my family this week trying to get caught up on some of Disney and Pixar's animated movies that are on Disney+. We watched Soul , which came out in December 2020, and although it was somewhat clumsily executed at times, the overall message was a really powerful one, and combined with the soundtrack, I ended up with tears literally rolling down my face. Somewhat surprisingly, though, I actually found myself liking Raya and the Last Dragon , which came out in March 2021, even more—I was expecting a so...

For MMGM and #IMWAYR, I am recommending Becoming Brianna  by Terri Libenson.           Becoming Brianna  is the fourth book in Terri Libenson's graphic novel series "Emmie & Friends"—the first three books are Invisible Emmie , Positively Izzy , and Just Jaime  (reviews linked), and a related journal ( that's been a trend lately) called YOU-Niquely You  is coming out soon. (There will also be a 5th regular book in the series.)            Becoming Brianna  is centered around—you guessed it—Brianna, Emmie's best friend and a recurring character throughout the series (acting as one of two protagonists in Positively Izzy ). Brianna is a smart middle-schooler who, while not shy, certainly doesn't want all eyes on her. Brianna faced her fear of attention when she performed in the school talent show in Positively Izzy , and she faces it again in this book at her bat mitzvah. Brianna can't figure out wh...

I'm back again! Today, I am recommending the graphic novel Just Jaime  by Terri Libenson (the sequel to Invisible Emmie , which I reviewed almost a year ago, and Positively Izzy , which I reviewed two weeks ago).           Just Jaime , like all of the books in the "Emmie & Friends" series, switches between the viewpoints of two characters: Jaime (whose story is told in prose with frequent illustrations) and Maya (whose story is told in comic-book-style panels). Jaime and Maya are best friends, and they and another girl, Grace, are part of a friend group "led" by a girl named Celia. Celia is one of the most popular kids in school, and she leads her friends in making rude comments about other students behind their backs. (These students include characters from previous books in the series, such as Emmie and Brianna, making for an interesting tie-in to the previous books.) Eventually, Celia, Grace, and even Maya begin to turn on Jaime, who they feel...

I'm back (a week late—sorry!) with a review of the graphic novel Positively Izzy  by Terri Libenson (a follow-up to Invisible Emmie , which I reviewed here ).           With her single mother at work every day, Izzy (one of two main characters of the book) finds herself constantly doing chores and being bossed around by her older sister, Danielle, who essentially runs the house when her mother is gone. Izzy finds solace in making up/acting out stories with her slightly younger sister, Ashley, and this passion prepares her for the upcoming school talent show, in which she is excited to perform a skit. However, when Izzy learns that she won't be able to perform in the show (I won't spoil why), she has to figure out, with Ashley's help, if there is any chance to fulfill her dream and act onstage.           The other main character of the book, Brianna (who readers will recognize as Emmie's best friend from  Invisible ...

Sorry about my erratic posting schedule lately—life has become nothing short of insane! I have another graphic novel this week to recommend (they are helpful when I have almost no time to read): Invisible Emmie  by Terri Libenson. I hope to get back to posting more often—that may or may not be this month, but I'll try! A few months ago, I read Greg Pattridge's review  of Libenson's newer book, Positively Izzy , but I decided to read her debut graphic novel first. Invisible Emmie  switches viewpoints between Emmie, an extremely quiet girl who loves to draw but hates to be around others, and Katie, an extremely popular girl who seems just about perfect. Emmie's part of the story looks like a book filled to the brim with illustrations (usually one or two per page), while Katie's storyline is drawn in traditional comic panels. The novel chronicles one day of school in which Emmie loses a silly but mortifying love note that she wrote with her friend, Brianna, and ...