Reviewed by Nikki M Heath
Emmie is a
wallflower with an artistic streak, forced to confront her worst fears when she
is humiliated in front of the whole school. Izzy is a daydreamer whose passion
for performance is undervalued and seen as disruptive. Jaime is a gossip forced
to re-evaluate her behaviour when she finds herself frozen out of her
friendship group. And Brianna is the ‘smart girl’: what will happen when she is
required to turn her right-brained intellect to atypical pursuits?
Themes of anxiety, bullying and betrayal are present but not overworked. The characters are culturally and ethnically diverse, but primarily female (although there are several empathetic, supportive boys who play important roles). A side effect of the dialogue-heavy genre which Libenson leans into with great effect, is that the reader is abruptly dropped into the middle of ongoing conversations between characters. It can feel a bit disorienting at first - I backtracked a few times to check I hadn’t missed pages - but it adds considerably to the narrative tension.
While each book is enjoyable, they come into their own read-together as a series. As each story focuses on different members of a friendship group, and their stories interweave over the course of the series, allowing readers to form a more complex view of the interpersonal dynamics.
Emmie and
her friends will soon feel like friends to readers in mid-to-upper primary
school. Being graphic novels, these books will be of value for reluctant or
less-confident readers, but even stronger readers will get a lot out of the
well-structured series.
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