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aomidori's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
5.0
bookph1le's review
4.0
Kinsley is one of my favorite graphic novelists, whether she's writing for adults or for children. I thought this book, which is fiction based on her own childhood experiences, was a funny and lovely read. Jen's voice felt very authentic to me, and I felt for her during her conflicts with her family and her fight to adjust to her new circumstances. As always with one of Knisley's books, the art is lovely, and there are a lot of rich details to take in here: depictions of the farm, scenes set at the farmer's market, and even small things like the way each girl is sprawled on her bed or in the hay loft.
mehsi's review
2.0
A girl and her mom move to start a farm. Along the way we have a horrible stepfather, new siblings, and chickens.
Well, this is my last Lucy Knisley. I tried other of her books but never got into them despite the absolutely gorgeous art. She has such a wonderful art style and I always want more of it. I decided to give this one a try since it seemed interesting, but OH BOY. I was frustrated throughout the entirety of the book.
Her mom’s boyfriend is abuse, bad, and oh man I just wanted to flip him in the pond. He kept being mean and rude towards Jen. His other kids seemed to be able to do everything and he would praise them, but if Jen had some other plans or wasn’t happy with how he treated her, she got the full load. He never once listened to her saying she wanted to be called Jen. During one of the market days she was in charge of the signs and he just wiped out her sign and didn’t give a fuck’s ass about it. And I could go on. Bah.
I really feel like this gives of wrong signals to everyone given how this was put in this book. The mom should have just talked with her boyfriend and not just be: Oh, but he is like that with everyone. That doesn’t make it right. It just feels like they are telling Jen not to overreact. What the fuck?
Then there is Andy, boy, I wanted to throw her in the pond as well, especially in the beginning. Not everyone is little miss perfect like you are. If she wants to spend her money like that, fine. If she needs help with the market stall, help her in a normal and kind way instead of putting her down. Not everyone is perfect with maths. Also, could you please stop hogging all the animals and give Jen a bit of time with them? Later on she did get a bit nicer and she did stand up for Jen eventually and I got to like her quite a bit more. After that I was eager to see if their relationship would improve further, and it did.
And also, what the hell? You just let you kid do the whole chicken stuff without any help or even checking if she can handle it? It is not a chore to take lightly. She never handled chickens, the least you guys could do is help her. It is not something like taking out trash, or cleaning up her room.
I am glad that at times the mom did seem to understand her daughter’s problems, but I wished she would do a bit more effort. Take her out to the city for once. Have a mom/daughter day.
I did like it showed a kid with dyscalculia. We need more books with characters like this.
In the end we find out it was based on the author’s own experiences. That is quite interesting, though I was kind of frowning when the part came about Andy and she said he was beloved. Um? thinks of this book and all that happened Sure???? How???
So 2 stars for the growing sibling relations which was just cute to see and the art. I also liked the farm.
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
Well, this is my last Lucy Knisley. I tried other of her books but never got into them despite the absolutely gorgeous art. She has such a wonderful art style and I always want more of it. I decided to give this one a try since it seemed interesting, but OH BOY. I was frustrated throughout the entirety of the book.
Her mom’s boyfriend is abuse, bad, and oh man I just wanted to flip him in the pond. He kept being mean and rude towards Jen. His other kids seemed to be able to do everything and he would praise them, but if Jen had some other plans or wasn’t happy with how he treated her, she got the full load. He never once listened to her saying she wanted to be called Jen. During one of the market days she was in charge of the signs and he just wiped out her sign and didn’t give a fuck’s ass about it. And I could go on. Bah.
I really feel like this gives of wrong signals to everyone given how this was put in this book. The mom should have just talked with her boyfriend and not just be: Oh, but he is like that with everyone. That doesn’t make it right. It just feels like they are telling Jen not to overreact. What the fuck?
Then there is Andy, boy, I wanted to throw her in the pond as well, especially in the beginning. Not everyone is little miss perfect like you are. If she wants to spend her money like that, fine. If she needs help with the market stall, help her in a normal and kind way instead of putting her down. Not everyone is perfect with maths. Also, could you please stop hogging all the animals and give Jen a bit of time with them? Later on she did get a bit nicer and she did stand up for Jen eventually and I got to like her quite a bit more. After that I was eager to see if their relationship would improve further, and it did.
And also, what the hell? You just let you kid do the whole chicken stuff without any help or even checking if she can handle it? It is not a chore to take lightly. She never handled chickens, the least you guys could do is help her. It is not something like taking out trash, or cleaning up her room.
I am glad that at times the mom did seem to understand her daughter’s problems, but I wished she would do a bit more effort. Take her out to the city for once. Have a mom/daughter day.
I did like it showed a kid with dyscalculia. We need more books with characters like this.
In the end we find out it was based on the author’s own experiences. That is quite interesting, though I was kind of frowning when the part came about Andy and she said he was beloved. Um? thinks of this book and all that happened Sure???? How???
So 2 stars for the growing sibling relations which was just cute to see and the art. I also liked the farm.
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
bibliobrandie's review
3.0
I've read all of Knisley's books and enjoyed this one, her first fictional graphic novel. I would recommend this to any middle grade reader but especially those experiencing divorce or struggling with being part of a new blended family. My only struggle with the book is that the mom never really stood up to her boyfriend when he was being a jerk to her daughter.
tinysealoot's review
4.0
The Walter character made me want to scream/cry if I were 12 and he was in my life I would be infuriated all the time.
I really love everything Lucy does! Her homemade granola recipe is amazing.
I really love everything Lucy does! Her homemade granola recipe is amazing.
jess_mango's review
4.0
Another one that I am reading with the kids. I generally love Lucy Knisley books so I am hopeful that this is a good one. :)
harleyrae's review
2.0
This book fell a little flat for me in some parts. I think this had the potential to be a super cute story, but it was just lacking something. It almost needed to be longer to better flesh out the story.