Summary
Sixth grade was SO much easier for Danielle. All her friends were in the same room and she knew what to expect from her life. But now that she's in seventh grade, she's in a new middle school, her friends are in different classes and forming new cliques, and she is completely lost.
When Danielle inherits a magical sketchbook from her eccentric great aunt Elma, she draws Madison, an ideal best friend that springs to life right off the page! But even when you create a best friend, it's not easy navigating the ups and downs of relationships, and before long Danielle and Madison are not exactly seeing eye-to-eye.
To make matters worse, Danielle has drawn the head of her favorite (and totally misunderstood) cartoon villain, Prince Neptune. He's also come to life and is giving her terrible advice about how to make people like her. When she rejects him and he goes on a rampage during a school pep rally, Danielle and Madison have to set aside their differences to stop him!
Published Reviews
Booklist Review:
"Dany is an awkward seventh-grader navigating her way through the perilous world of middle school when she stumbles upon her great-aunt's enchanted sketchbook; suddenly, her talent for drawing gives her the amazing ability to create friends out of thin air. But Dany's creations start to turn on her; first her perfectly engineered best friend, Madison, begins to search for meaning in her own life. Then Prince Neptune (the disembodied head of the handsome villain of Dany's favorite show, the Sailor Moon-esque Solar Sisters) plots his evil reign over Connecticut. At once cringeworthy and delightfully absurd, Making Friends, much like middle school itself, is somewhere between teenage cynicism and a childlike mastery of fantasy. Although Gudsnuk's characters are sometimes suspiciously wise beyond their years, and her stylized visual references perhaps a bit too meta-referential for some younger readers, they will certainly recommend this story to readers for whom middle school is a distant and painful memory. Middle-schoolers, meanwhile, will appreciate Gudsnuk's light touch in bringing an empathetic, joyful, and judicious treatment to those tough in-between years.--Ada Wolin Copyright 2018 Booklist"
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Publisher's Weekly Review:
"Dany's first shock comes while drawing idly in a sketchbook that she's inherited: her drawing of Prince Neptune, a favorite anime character, springs to life from the page. Apparently, the sketchbook can make anything that she draws real. Adrift in middle school, insecure Dany is thrilled to realize that she can create a cool best friend who won't scorn her, but she forgets to give her creation, Madison, a credible backstory. Injecting fantasy into an angsty school-life story allows Gudsnuk (creator of the Henchgirl series) a wealth of plot twists. Dany learns the ropes of middle school with help from a loyal, funny friend, Tom, while grappling with the implications of Madison's free will and her own new abilities. Gudsnuk's sturdy cartooning gets added spice from Prince Neptune's anime world as well as elfin mini-characters who make snarky asides: "adios, muchacho," one says to the defeated Prince after he fails to take over the world during a school pep rally. Gudsnuk's powers of imagination will make her plenty of friends, too. Ages 8-12. (July) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved."
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Additional Information
| Subjects |
Preteen girls
-- Comic books, strips, etc.
Middle school students
-- Comic books, strips, etc.
Friendship
-- Comic books, strips, etc.
Magic
-- Comic books, strips, etc.
Middle schools
-- Comic books, strips, etc.
Girls
-- Fiction.
Middle school students
-- Fiction.
Friendship
-- Fiction.
Magic
-- Fiction.
Schools
-- Fiction.
Cartoons and comics.
Fantasy.
Fantasy comics.
Comics (Graphic works)
Graphic novels.
|
| Publisher |
New York, NY :2018.
|
| Edition |
First edition. |
| Language |
English
|
| Description |
261 pages : color illustrations ; 21 cm
|
| ISBN |
9781338139228
1338139223
9781338139211
1338139215
|
| Other |
Classic View |