7/10, review to come... ( )

These Shannon Hale/ LeUyen Pham products are gold in my eyes. When you have a graphic novel that is funny and relatable yet is really a memoir....I think you have a winning combination. I also think that books about the trials of middle school (friendship, boys, what makes someone be of "worth) is relevant for so many. Heck, it took ME back to being that age....and all of the trials, the tough times, the feeling so alone. ( )

As always Shannon Hale delivers a masterpiece.
This may be my favorite of the series. The portral of her emotions are incredible and terrifying. It made me feel nostalgic for middle school and all the terrible emotions I felt too at that age.
I don't know how the world lived without this book!? It feels like such a classic, especially being based in the 80s.
Second book in row I read where the main character has anxiety, it reminds me that emotions are fragile, powerful, and valuable.
Thank you Shannon Hale ( )

Shannon is now in eighth grade and so thinks it's a great time to start exploring her options to become beautiful, famous, successful, and popular with boys. But when her perm doesn't come out as planned, her talent agency turns out to be a scam, the boys are jerks, and so on and so on, Shannon starts to feel very big feelings and spirals into depression. Will she ever feel like she belongs on a magazine cover recognized for her own achievements?

As with the first two books in this loose series, author Shannon Hale pours herself into these books, reliving her days in middle school for the benefit of current middle-grade students. She doesn't shy away from the awkward and bad experiences, including a creepy mall Santa who touches her without consent and numerous petty fights amongst school friends. Hale also talks about her struggles with anxiety and depression quite candidly and openly in the author's note and only a little more subtly in the text through her inner thoughts. I love the way the illustrations really hammer home these themes, with a darker purple and gray palette for when Shannon is feeling low about herself.

But it's not all doom and gloom. Hale also talks about some of the highlights of her eighth grade year, including winning a creative-problem-solving contest, having her first slow dance with a boy she admires, and receiving much love through special surprises on her birthday. In these moments, the illustrations also mimic the feelings with bright, happy colors. Ethereal-feeling illustrations also distinguish when Shannon is having daydreams about an even brighter and fuller future.

Although friendship is certainly a theme, I do feel that is slightly less prominent here than in the previous two books. Instead, the focus is more on familial and societal expectations. Throughout, young Shannon is comparing herself to magazine covers and wondering if women actually can be successful when the business publications only feature men on their covers, what beauty and perfection really mean, and so on. She's also observing how others react to various events and trying to extrapolate data from there, although oftentimes her anxiety and depression pull an incorrect or overly negative response. For instance, when a professional author visits her school and gives constructive criticism on her short story, she brushes over the compliments and thinks her work is unworthy.

On the whole, this book does address some of the many issues that young teens may -- and very likely will -- face in their everyday school life. Overall, the take-away messages are positive, although some less stellar actions are also depicted in the students who bring alcohol to parties or make out with random boys they just met. With Shannon now a teenager, the book scales well for kids who read the first two books as they were published and are now a little older. If a younger child is being introduced to the series right now, they might want to wait a little bit before heading into this book as some more mature content is introduced. ( )