Down in the Dumps

Gr 5–8—In Down in the Dumps, Lou is depressed because the boy of her dreams has moved away. To make matters worse, her mother, an aspiring author, has a serious love interest that makes her even more scatterbrained than usual. Lou feels quite left out as she heads off to the first day of school, only to discover that she and her best friend are not in the same class. The year that follows brings the typical junior-high trauma of trying to figure out who your friends are, which boy you want to be with, and what to do about your crazy parents. Luckily, Lou is able to expand her horizons and meet some new people, which leads to The Perfect Summer. In this book, she vacations with a friend at an amazing beach house while her mother is on a book tour. The friendship drama has settled into a nice group of girls she enjoys being with. That just leaves the boy situation, which is complicated, since Tristan is back in her life. The stories are entertaining comic and will speak to some middle-school girls, but the art is rather flat and boring. Adequate reads for girls who want contemporary graphic novels with some light romance.—Carol Hirsche, Provo City Library, UT