Synopsis:
Cardinal rule #1 for surviving school: Don’t get noticed by the mean kids.
Cardinal rule #2 for surviving school: Seek out groups with similar interests and join them.
On her first day at her new school, Penelope–Peppi–Torres reminds herself of these basics. But when she trips into a quiet boy in the hall, Jaime Thompson, she’s already broken the first rule, and the mean kids start calling her the “nerder girlfriend.” How does she handle this crisis? By shoving poor Jaime and running away!
Falling back on rule two and surrounding herself with new friends in the art club, Peppi still can’t help feeling ashamed about the way she treated Jaime. Things are already awkward enough between the two, but to make matters worse, he’s a member of her own club’s archrivals–the science club! And when the two clubs go to war, Peppi realizes that sometimes you have to break the rules to survive middle school!
I love this book. The title is so appropriate…There are many funny and awkward moments/situations. The moral of the story is that enemies (Art Club vs. Science Club) can come together for a greater good and work together and possibly develop a unexpected friendship.
“My mom says…There are bad people who hurt others for fun… And there are good people who do it by accident. Like, they make a mistake?”
Here’s a list of reasons why I truly loved this book:
- It’s a beautifully illustrated graphic novel.
- I like the main character a lot. She set rules for herself to survive middle school and she quickly realized that these rules were not going to work for her and she had to break them. She learned to adapt to change and I think that is a great trait to learn because life is not always going to go as planned.
- I love how two diverse groups (Art Club and Science Club) came together and were able to build a planetarium together. It’s proof that even when you think you have nothing in common it’s possible that you actually do have things in common and when you realize this, it can bring different people together and produce something magnificent. (I loved the illustration of the plantarium!)
- I like that the last pages of the book where you get to “Meet the Author”, view her “Design Gallery”, & see her “Drawing Process”. To me, it’s an honor to know more about the person who wrote the book and it’s amazing that she shares her process with her readers, who may want to know how she creates her book. (It’s great to learn how things happen!)
Overall, I love this book! The graphics were beautiful, the plot was very good, and there was really never a dull moment! Honestly, this book is for anyone. I can see elementary school kids and adults enjoying this book as well!
(Click above book cover for Amazon Link to book)
~Happy Reading!
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