All Summer Long

March 5, 2018
About-to-be-eighth-graders Bina and Austin have been friends ever since they can remember, but now Austin is at soccer camp, posting bro pics on social media and ignoring Bina’s texts. Austin’s intimidating, sardonic older sister, Charlie, is stuck at home with a broken arm and seems willing to hang out—unless the boy she likes shows up. When Charlie shows a nasty side and Austin continues to cold-shoulder Bina even after he gets back, Bina struggles, though warm words and sweet gestures from friends and family help her through. Most crucial is the portrait that Larson (Mercury) draws of Bina as a guitarist and songwriter, a musician whose deepest fulfillment comes from within herself. “Lots of people spend forever looking for something they care about. Sometimes they never find it,” Bina’s older brother Davey tells her, “but you already have.” Larson’s graphic novel zeroes in on conversational encounters, with dialogue that’s fresh and funny (“You’re a stone-cold psycho and I kinda admire that,” Charlie tells Bina when they begin to hang out), and her close-up drawings of expressive faces add intimacy to the interchanges she captures. Ages 10–12.

May 1, 2018

Gr 5-8-It's a summer of changes for 13-year-old Bina. Her best friend Austin is off to soccer camp, her oldest brother and his husband are adopting a baby, and nobody has time for Bina. An aspiring guitarist, she takes solace in music; it grounds her when she feels adrift. Over the course of long weeks filled with babysitting, mini-golf, concerts, and family, Bina experiences a full range of emotions as feelings are easily hurt, moods are topsy-turvy, and friendships are formed, broken, and reshaped in different ways. This sensitive, relatable graphic novel explores many familiar touchstones of adolescence as Bina seeks her place in the world. Constantly looking up to the older, more accomplished people in her life, Bina finds it hugely satisfying when she realizes that she, too, has something to offer. A limited palette keeps the focus on the story and character development, and Larson's expressive drawings add to the emotional resonance of the teen's journey to self-discovery. VERDICT Fans of Raina Telgemeier's Smile and Shannon Hale's Real Friends will eagerly embrace this work. A charming addition to any graphic novel collection.-Allison Tran, Mission Viejo Library, CA

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from March 15, 2018
Summer adventures begin when Bina accidentally locks herself out of her house in Larson's newest middle-grade graphic novel.The summer before eighth grade is a season of self-discovery for many 13-year-olds, including Bina, when her best friend heads off to soccer camp and leaves her alone to navigate a SoCal summer. Without athletic Austin around to steer the ship, Bina must pursue her own passions, such as discovering new bands and rocking out on her electric guitar. Unexpected friendships bloom, and new members are welcomed into her family. Though her sphere grows over the summer, friendship with Austin is strained when he returns, and Bina must learn to embrace the proverb to make new friends but keep the old. As her mother wisely observes, "you're more you every day," and by the end of summer Bina is more comfortable in her own skin and ready to rock eighth grade. Larson's panels are superb at revealing emotional conflict, subtext, and humor within the deceptively simple third-person limited plot, allowing characters to grow and develop emotionally over only a few spreads. She also does a laudable job of depicting a diverse community for Bina to call home. Though Bina's ethnicity is never overtly identified, her racial ambiguity lends greater universality to her story. (In the two-toned apricot, black, and white panels, Bina and her mother have the same black hair and gold skin, while her dad is white, as is Austin.)A coming-of-age story as tender and sweet as a summer evening breeze. (Graphic fiction. 10-14)

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April 15, 2018
Grades 5-8 Bina and Austin have been best friends since they were babies, but the summer before eighth grade, things start to get weird. First, Austin's leaving for a month-long soccer camp; then, he thinks their annual summer fun index is dumb; and worst of all, he barely acknowledges her texts while he's at camp. But Bina finds plenty to occupy herself, and with Austin away, she can focus even more on music. Larson (Compass South, 2016) perfectly captures the anxiety and relief that sometimes accompanies changing childhood friendships?Bina is hurt that Austin isn't as interested in the things they used to do together, but she seems just as happy to find her own path while he's gone. With bold, black outlines and a sunny yellow palette, Larson's figures have wonderfully expressive faces?she's particularly good at signaling emotion with eyes and shoulders. Readers who love Raina Telgemeier's Smile (2010) but are still a bit too young for Jillian and Mariko Tamaki's This One Summer (2014) will find plenty to like here.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2018
This sensitive, realistic coming-of-age graphic novel by Eisner winner (most recently, for her Wrinkle in Time graphic novel adaptation) Larson beautifully captures the experiences of finding one's own rhythm and place in a family and among changing friendships. It's the summer before eighth grade. Bina's longtime BFF and next-door neighbor Austin, away at soccer camp, stops responding to her texts. Bored and impressionable, Bina starts hanging out with Charlie, Austin's older sister, who shares her love of music. Bina is pushed outside of her comfort zone, into babysitting gigs, flirting with boys, and other awkward, true-to-life situations. Through it all, Bina has her guitar, which she plays in reflective, private moments. When Austin returns from camp, the two must confront what is going on with their friendship--still platonic--and how it will evolve as they grow older. Dialogue (shown through texts, phone conversations, and traditional speech bubbles) is both endearing and believable. Close-up images of chord fingerings at the start of each chapter reflect progressions in both time and melody, while the use of a monochromatic palette with sunny oranges brings to mind sunrises and sunsets, beginnings and endings. Unobtrusive panels and lettering allow Larson's depictions of small, indelible moments of summer (playing mini-golf, becoming a first-time aunt, and seeing a favorite band play a gig) to shine. Give this to fans of This One Summer (rev. 7/14), Roller Girl (rev. 3/15), and The First Rule of Punk (rev. 7/17). elisa gall

(Copyright 2018 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

July 1, 2018
In this sensitive coming-of-age graphic novel, Bina's BFF/next-door neighbor Austin is away at soccer camp (and ignoring her texts) the summer before eighth grade. Bored, impressionable, guitar-playing Bina starts hanging out with Austin's older sister, who shares her love of music, and she's pushed outside her comfort zone (e.g., babysitting, boys). A monochromatic palette with sunny oranges plus unobtrusive panels and lettering allow Larson's believable dialogue to shine.

(Copyright 2018 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)