Summary from Goodreads:
Summer's over and it's time for Sunny Lewin to enter the
strange and unfriendly hallways of . . . middle school. When her Gramps calls
her from Florida to ask how she's doing, she always tells him she's fine. But
the truth? Sunny is NOT having the best time.
Not only is the whole middle school thing confusing . . . but life at home is confusing, too. Sunny misses her brother Dale, who's been sent to boarding school. But when Dale comes back, she STILL misses him . . . because he's changed.
Luckily Sunny's got her best friend and a mysterious new neighbor on her side . . . because she is NOT going let all this confusion get her down. Instead, she's going to remain Sunny-side up!
Review:
I’m not quite sure why I’m so surprised to have loved this. I
loved the first one. But, I guess I had to re-remember why I loved Sunny Side Up. As a Youth Services
librarian, I’m so used to seeing these authors on the names of other popular
graphic novels like Baby Mouse, and I
think I become a little immune to their greatness because I’m surrounded in
their popularity. I must have remembered something right though because I checked
this book out pretty much as soon as I finished processing it.
I also read it in one sitting (in about an hour!) And like with the first book in the series,
I was sad that it ended. I could have kept reading more and more pages in this
character’s point of view. And it’s not like a lot happens plot-wise. It’s
mostly just about Sunny living her day to day life, with all the troubles of
her brother in the background.
Like with the first book, I connected to this story on a
personal level because of a similar experience with my oldest brother. I missed
seeing the grandpa around. Though, I’m glad he visits for a while and has a
special relationship with Sunny now. (Sunny spent all of book 1 staying with
him at his retirement community in Florida). I also missed Sunny’s friend from
book 1. Though, I loved seeing that she still reads comics!
It was also fun seeing her with her best friend, and seeing
the impact television stories had on her also. It’s hard to imagine kids
watching that much tv when there’s only 4 channels. I liked watching Sunny make
friends with her new neighbor and I liked watching her handle the holidays with
her brother who was just so angry.
I think the best part of this book though was subtle. It’s
only in the day to day things that one can really see how something big (like a
brother being sent of to military school) can impact everything. It’s always
there for Sunny. And it’s always there for her parents. I love the scene where
mother and daughter break down together in her room and talk about missing him
and not knowing if what they’re doing is right, but needing to do something. It
made her mom seem so real and so human. And it shows that parents aren’t
perfect and they’re just trying things as best they can, like the rest of us.
Sadly, I do think this is a story that a lot of people can
relate to. And sometimes you really just need to read about this happening to
someone else to know that you’re not alone. I see this book doing that for a
lot of people. It’s also so gorgeous to look at. The artwork is young, bright,
and bold and makes the book move at a quick pace. I love the art almost as much
as the story. I give this one a 9/10.
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