The cousin co-creators of Skim return for a pitch-perfect depiction of the summer when Rose Wallace moves from childhood into adolescence. They exploit the graphic novel form to its fullest potential, with close-up panels that show the range of Rose's moods and her internal struggles with her mother and with her longtime summer friend, Windy.
Rose, one and a half years older than Windy, assumes the alpha role at their Awago Beach getaway. Yet Windy's uninhibited approach to dance, and her jokes about boobs and Rose's crush on "Dud," a cashier at the nearby convenience store, endear her to readers as well as to Rose. The inevitable rift forms when Rose believes herself to be more mature than Windy--luckily, only temporarily. A bigger source of stress arises between Rose's parents, and Rose blames her mother for her father's sudden departure for "work" in the city. The Tamakis thread together details from beginning to end, as the girls' curiosity about the growing tension between Dud and his girlfriend connects in unexpected ways to the strain between Rose's parents. Rose and Windy's summer obsession with horror movies also plays out in Jillian Tamaki's blue-toned illustrations of the dark woods, and Rose's fantasies about what may be lurking there.
All these details come together in a thrilling climax and a resolution that provides healing on all fronts. Rose and Windy's growth over the space of one summer feels authentic and quietly triumphant. Strong language and candid conversations about birth control mark this for more sophisticated 12-year-olds and up. Brava! --Jennifer M. Brown, children's editor, Shelf Awareness