Remember the old J.K. Rowling web site? The one me and
hundreds (thousands?) of teens and kids (other adults?) used to pore over as we
waited for the next book to come out? It opened with a picture of her desktop,
and you could click on gum wrappers, paperclips, her date book and then cool things
would happen. It was neat.
Eighth Grade Is Making Me Sick, a new book by Jennifer Holm
and illustrated by Elicia Castaldi, reminds me a lot of that site (which no
longer exists, by the way). Each two-page spread is a snapshot of what’s going
on in Ginny Davis’s life. The story is told entirely through photos, notes,
Ginny’s poetry assignments, comic strips, and other odds and ends. It’s an
interesting format and a very quick read. At first I had wished there was more
to Ginny’s story--she’s a likable character—but then I realized that the form
fit the function. Tweens will appreciate every last detail of Ginny’s life as
they pore over each page. The story has a good arc, there's believable conflict, and realistic situations. And it's practically all told through illustrations.
The publisher’s description of the book calls it “part
graphic novel, part scrapbook, and altogether original,” but a similar novel was
published this year for teens: Chopsticks by Jessica Anthony and Rodrigo Corral
(and there probably are more). Chopsticks is much longer than Holm’s book and
is a mystery, sort of. The story, about a musical prodigy and the boy she falls
in love with, is told through text messages, photographs, and letters.
Unfortunately it’s not a very good story. It’s visually arresting, but rather
week in narrative. Eighth Grade Is Making Me Sick might not be as original as
reported, but it’s a much better story.
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