Early Reader Review: All Summer Long by Hope Larson

Source: From Netgalley and First Second Books in exchange for an honest review. This in no way alters my opinion or review. 

 All Summer Long by Hope Larson

Publisher:  First Second Books
Publication Date:  May 1, 2018

 

Format:  Ebook

Rating:


 



Goodreads Synopsis: 

A coming-of-age middle-grade graphic novel about summer and friendships, written and illustrated by the Eisner Award–winning and New York Times–bestselling Hope Larson.
Thirteen-year-old Bina has a long summer ahead of her. She and her best friend, Austin, usually do everything together, but he's off to soccer camp for a month, and he's been acting kind of weird lately anyway. So it's up to Bina to see how much fun she can have on her own. At first it's a lot of guitar playing, boredom, and bad TV, but things look up when she finds an unlikely companion in Austin's older sister, who enjoys music just as much as Bina. But then Austin comes home from camp, and he's acting even weirder than when he left. How Bina and Austin rise above their growing pains and reestablish their friendship and respect for their differences makes for a touching and funny coming-of-age story.

Review:
I love reading middle grade graphic novels, they are a great way to get reluctant readers into books and they have a lot of important messages that they can share with those readers.   

All Summer Long is a graphic novel about growing up and the challenges of changing friendships and getting older. It was a good read and I enjoyed it. We follow Bina whose best friend is going away to camp and she will be alone all summer long. The novel is about her coping with the change in their friendship and how things just change as you get older. She isn't ready to accept any of it. The story is her summer vacation as it progresses and she learns what it means to get older. 

The illustrations were pretty simple but they capture the feeling of the story really well. Bina though, is kind of obnoxious, but then again - I'm not a teen any more, so this angsty behavior and feeling might hit home for younger readers.  I think it is a graphic novel worth picking up. I think pre-teen readers will get a kick out of it and catch all the feels. It is very relatable overall.