Written and Illustrated by Jimmy Gownley
What it’s about: When Amelia turns eleven, her life seems to be filled with one problem after another. She humiliates herself in front of her crush, her aunt starts dating her teacher, and her dad never has time to come visit because of his demanding job. Amelia’s aunt helps her learn about what is important in life and what isn’t. Amelia decides that her crush isn’t worth the emotion, and her dad makes a dramatic life change in order to make his daughter a priority.
My take: I am not a huge fan of graphic novels for myself, but I understand why so many students love them. This graphic novel was well done and enjoyable. Amelia is a strong female character, independent and not afraid to be herself. I appreciated that she wasn’t interested in clothes or makeup, and instead wore a T-shirt and sneakers for most of the book. The novel dealt with issues many elementary and middle school students can relate to– first crushes, divorce, getting along with friends, and surviving completely embarrassing moments in life. Kids will also enjoy Amelia’s cool rock star aunt who plays the guitar and treats Amelia like an equal. The story had depth and character growth, while still remaining humorous and fun.
For Educators: I mentioned in an earlier post that I would like to start a library book club for girls to promote positive self-esteem, and I think this would be an excellent book to use as part of that club for upper elementary girls. We could discuss Amelia’s difficulties trying to impress Kyle, and what she learns about herself in the process. In the book, Amelia’s aunt writes a list of “true things kids know that adults forgot.” I would ask the students to create their own list of true things. I think it would also be interesting to compare Amelia with the stereotypical images of females in other comic books, such as Wonder Woman or even the images in the Nancy Drew graphic novels. We could create a list of what these images say about the expectations placed on girls for their bodies and discuss what is actually realistic and healthy.
The Reading Corner 