Gr 4--7--City girl Jen is overwhelmed. Following her parents' divorce, her mother uproots them to the country to live on a small farm. Instead of visiting comic book shops and eating Chinese food, Jen is struggling to make change at the family farm stand, taking care of the chickens, and learning to live with her mom's bossy, know-it-all boyfriend, Walter, and his daughters, Andy and Reese. Everyone in Jen's new household seems confident and perfect, especially Andy, who somehow outshines Jen at every turn. Inspired by the author's own childhood, Knisley's first middle grade graphic novel soars. She perceptively portrays the highs and lows of being a preteen, from the frustration of living with the fallout of adults' decisions to the joy of building new families. Her young characters are effectively and sympathetically depicted; all have individual talents and personalities and learn to work together despite their differences. However, the adults, particularly Walter, remain clueless and insensitive--an issue that will hopefully be addressed in future volumes (this title is the first of three interconnected books). The art is lively and colorful with beautifully detailed backgrounds. Jen frequently expresses her angst through charming, stick-figure artwork, which, along with Knisley's spot-on facial expressions, emphasizes the drama of blended family. VERDICT This candid, heartwarming look at a child grappling with major changes will resonate with fans of Raina Telgemeier and Svetlana Chmakova and anyone trying to find their place.--Kelley Gile, Cheshire Public Library, CT

Knisley's autobiographical comics chops are on full display in her first graphic novel for kids, a fictionalized telling of her childhood experiences. When Jen moves to the country with her mother after her parents' divorce, she is less than thrilled to trade urban comic book shops and Chinese takeout for chicken coop--related chores and her mother's disagreeable new boyfriend, Walter. Resentment deepens as Jen helps her mom at the farmers market--left alone to handle sales though math isn't her strong suit--and Walter's two daughters, Andy and Reese, begin arriving each weekend to share her room. Missing her old life and feeling unfavorably compared to know-it-all Andy, Jen tries to adjust, finding expression and self-worth in her art as she comes to love her "part-time sisters" and navigates Walter's seeming inability to treat her as equal to them. With specificity that lends itself to universality, Knisley balances humor and deeply felt emotion to capture the particular unfairness of being a child at the mercy of parental decisions. Art centers around the gentle realism of Knisley's established style, augmented with pencil drawings in the young protagonist's developing hand. Age 8--12. (May)

It's bad enough that Jen is forced to move to a farm in the country with her mom's new boyfriend, Walter, but when he brings his daughter Andy into the mix, Jen's feelings of isolation deepen. Walter is bossy and condescending, and Andy is "Miss Perfect." As the makeshift family establishes their farm and a booth at the weekend market, Jen's struggles with math and clashes with Andy stoke familial tensions. Knisley's first foray into children's comics--a fictionalized version of her own experience--beautifully captures the loneliness of childhood. Dropped into a new life with relative strangers, Jen's only refuge is her notebook, the doodles of which serve as full-page chapter breaks and occasionally intrude on panels. Knisley's storytelling style is a natural fit for middle-grade readers, with her clean, inviting art tracking Jen's emotional journey through subtle shifts in expression and posture. While Walter's antagonism will make readers red in the face, Jen's growth and relationships ultimately provide a heartwarming arc to this quietly charming tale.

This tender graphic novel by Alex Award winner (for Relish) Knisley illuminates the challenges of finding oneself in completely new surroundings and learning to take things one step at a time. Jen's parents have separated, and she and her mom recently moved from the city to a small farm in the country, where they run a farmers' market stand. Jen has new chores to figure out (including taking care of chickens) and must adjust to living with her mom's annoying boyfriend and his daughters, who visit on the weekends. One of the girls is a know-it-all who brings Jen's -insecurities-especially with math-to the fore. A constant through the turmoil is Jen's notebook, in which she scribbles and muses. Notebook entries are incorporated into the art and reflect Jen's emotions, offering depth to character and plot (revealing, for example, what is happening with Jen's absent dad). Knisley's images are both functional and expertly rendered, and Cogar's muted, down-to-earth colors feel appropriate for mood and setting. Layouts (including multi-paneled pages mixed with full-page art and double-page spreads) create steady pacing, allowing moments of intimacy and the natural scenery to shine as Jen develops deeper relationships and her world expands. An author's note (with photographs) reveals that the fictional story is based on Knisley's childhood experiences, including her dyscalculia. This realistic and relatable story of tween growth by an established adult comics creator is sure to be popular with fans of autobiographical cartoonists such as Raina Telgemeier. Elisa Gall May/June 2020 p.126(c) Copyright 2020. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.