Look on the Bright Side

August 28, 2023
Collaborators Williams and Schneemann return to Hazelton High, where besties Abby, Brit, Christine, and Sasha, the protagonists from Go with the Flow, encounter myriad challenges as they navigate their junior year. Abby advocates to expand menstrual product access in all bathrooms because “trans, genderqueer, and nonbinary students all deserve to feel included”; Brit finds
herself caught in a Darcy-and-Wickham-type love triangle with peers from her AP English class; Christine fears coming out as queer to Abby, whom she’s been crushing on; and Sasha struggles to balance her new relationship and increased schoolwork. Via the tweens’ nuanced dialogue, Williams crafts explicitly trust-filled friendships in which the girls meet each other’s anxieties and blunders with actionable solutions and gentle but firm suggestions for accountability without judgment. Schneemann’s character-focused illustrations deepen the intricacies of the friends’ conversations by zeroing in on facial expressions and body language; reds and pinks effectively denote each figure’s feelings of frustration, fear, and joy during critical emotional moments. Back matter includes an authors’ note that reaffirms the creators’ commitment to reducing period stigma no matter one’s gender identity, and to “leaving the world a kinder and gentler place… by being good to the people around us.” Ages 10–14. (Oct.) ■

Starred review from November 1, 2023

Gr 5 Up-The sequel to the Eisner-nominated graphic novel Go with the Flow begins where the previous volume left off. A series of wordless panels show pad and tampon dispensers being placed throughout the women's bathrooms at school, thanks to the efforts of Abby, Christine, Brit, and Sasha. Abby hopes to make these necessities available at a wider level, working with the principal and the school's Unicorn Club so they can also be installed in the men's rooms. Brit is home recovering from her endometriosis surgery, and once back at school, has two very different classmates interested in being her boyfriend. Sasha is learning to balance schoolwork and having a boyfriend, and Christine struggles with telling Abby that she likes her more than a friend. The art is colorful, bright, and eye-catching; characters reflect a variety of racial and body diversity. As with the first book, this is an engaging, realistic, positive, and inclusive slice-of-life story about navigating high school, friendship, and crushes. Pair with Cathy G. Johnson's The Breakaways and the "Lumberjanes" series. VERDICT A standout graphic novel that should be in every library.-Marissa Lieberman

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