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lettuce_read's review against another edition
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Medical content and Toxic friendship
Minor: Bullying
imstephtacular's review
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Medical content and Mental illness
Minor: Vomit and Bullying
greenlivingaudioworm's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness
thebookguru's review
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I enjoyed this book about friendship and growing up and dealing with OCD and anxiety.
However, I would have liked the ending to have shown her actually getting help and coping skills on how to deal with intrusive thoughts so kids who read it can use some of those if they aren’t going to tell an adult or can’t get professional help.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Toxic friendship and Mental illness
ekalmusla's review
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness
emily_mh's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
The OCD rep in this graphic novel was marvellous. Portraying it as a bee in the story was such a great way of visually depicting what was going on in Katie’s head, as well as showing what it feels like to have OCD. As an own-voices reviewer, I could totally see myself in the story. I think this book would be fantastic to read either as a middle-grader with OCD, or one wanting to learn about it. To top it all off, I loved that both author and illustrator were own-voices creators.
Based on the cover, I was worried I might not like the art style, but I ended up super enjoying it! It was simplistic with rich colours which is one of my favourite types as it makes for great readability.
Throughout the narrative, it was cool seeing experiences portrayed that I don’t usually see in middle-grade, like the homeschool experience or coping with multiple dental surgeries. The friendship storyline was also interesting, though admittedly nothing unique. I am glad that it showed that friendships end sometimes and that’s okay.
The reason behind why this book got 4 and not 5 stars is that I found it to be a bit slow.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Toxic friendship
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Car accident, Blood, Medical content, and Alcohol
Minor: internalised misogyny, one HP reference (one half-page panel is dedicated to referencing HP), gamblingreadingwithcats's review
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Toxic friendship
betweentheshelves's review
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A great middle grade graphic novel memoir in the vein of Raina Telgemeier. Kathryn Ormsbee hits on a lot of topics that middle grade readers will relate to and feel less alone. It can also help them know when it might be time to get help. The art was also great, making this something middle grade readeres will be drawn to on the shelf.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness
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