“Organized as diary entries starting on Sept. 1, 2002, this moving graphic novel memoir by Bermudez (Big Apple Diaries) follows the creator as she struggles to navigate ninth grade at a New York City all-girls school. Thirteen-year-old Alyssa is lonely: none of her friends from middle or elementary school attend Mary Louis Academy. Adding insult to injury, her divorced parents agree that she must try out for an athletic team, as if "being completely uncoordinated at sports would help my social situation." Settling on cross-country, Alyssa soon realizes that running is much more difficult than she expected. Still, the friendships she cultivates on the team make the effort worthwhile. Despite finally feeling comfortable at school, though, her home life becomes more complicated when her father remarries. Jewel-toned illustrations depict Alyssa's comedic high school antics, interspersed throughout her annotated journal entries. It's a heartfelt and touching exploration of identity, loss, friendship, and family that offers hopeful messaging about turning to loved ones for support, developing positive coping mechanisms, and being open to any and every opportunity for personal growth. An author's note and playlist conclude. Alyssa's mother is white and her father is Puerto Rican. Ages 10-14.” - Publishers Weekly

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““While touching on familiar themes of growing up and the journey through adolescence, Bermudez’s refreshing YA memoir deftly broaches topics of family, loss, grief, and forgiveness with openness and a nuanced understanding of change.””

— The School Library Journal

The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

“Alyssa is navigating her freshman year at a new school rather well, but her parents nonetheless want her to join a sport to make some friends. Running seems to require limited athletic prowess and minimal equipment, so Alyssa decides to join the cross-country team. She does indeed find some new pals, and it’s these girls, along with the sport itself, that will anchor Alyssa through the small ups and downs of the coming year—dealing with a grumpy coach, figuring out her place in her newly blended family—as well as larger, more painful disruptions as her ailing father’s health increasingly worsens. But when her father passes away, Alyssa struggles to take any joy in relationships or in running as she grieves the man who meant the most to her. This surprisingly emotional graphic memoir moves from a peppy slice-of-life narrative to a thoughtful examination of the complexities of grief and the chaos it wreaks upon a teen just finding her footing. While the book is set in 2002, Alyssa’s voice rings with a modern, bubbly authenticity of a fourteen-year-old kid embracing new, albeit challenging, adolescent experiences, which increases the emotional impact when her tone shifts melancholic as she mourns her father. Bermudez adeptly conveys how Alyssa must learn to move within a world that is shaped by loss and yet still so full of the life and love she finds with family and friends. The scrapbook-like art has a busy, dynamic feel with photos, journal pages, and drawings layered against more traditional comic paneling for an overall effect that accurately reflects both the good and bad of Alyssa’s bumpy entry into teenage life.” - KQG

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