| Children's |
| Fiction |
Summary
Summary
From the author of the Newbery Honor winner Roller Girl, a heartwarming graphic novel about starting middle school, surviving your embarrassing family, and life at the Renaissance Faire that's perfect for fans of Raina Telgemeier. Eleven-year-old Imogene (Impy) has grown up with two parents working at the Renaissance Faire, and she's eager to begin her own training as a squire. First, though, she'll need to prove her bravery. Luckily Impy has just the quest in mind-she'll go to public school after a life of being homeschooled! But it's not easy to act like a noble knight-in-training in middle school. Impy falls in with a group of girls who seem really nice.until they don't. For the first time, she's embarrassed of her thrift shop apparel, her family's unusual lifestyle, and their small, messy apartment. And when her new friends encourage her to do something mean, Impy goes along with it. Before long, Impy doesn't even recognize herself. Is she the dragon in her own story or the heroic knight? As she did in Roller Girl, Victoria Jamieson perfectly-and authentically-captures the bittersweetness of middle school life with humor, warmth, and understanding.
Reviews (2)
Horn Book Review
Roller Girl (rev. 3/15) meets the Ren Faire in Jamiesons new read-alike graphic novel. After years of homeschooling, Imogene Vega, a squire-in-training at the Florida Renaissance Faire where her family works seasonally, starts middle school. Embarrassingly hilarious and tragic moments ensue, involving name-brand clothing and knockoffs, sexy romance novels, frenemies, maybe-crushes, retellings of Saint George and the Dragon, and a stuffed squirrel. Between classmates, teachers, parents, and Imogenes vibrant extended faire-mily, nobody seems to get how hard it is to be a sixth-grader in transition (until they do). Imogene is reflected with depth as she manages her anxiety and grows to better understand her familys precarious finances as well as microaggressions endured by her Latino father at the Faire and at his retail job. Roller-coaster moments stem from relatable, everyday adolescent experiences, always with a sense of high stakes. There is just enough commitment to the Renaissance theme to bring it to life without alienating those unfamiliar with Elizabethan English or other rennie references. The illustrations, loose, energetic, and expressive, let plot and characterization shine. Each chapter starts with third-person narration, presented within decorative borders featuring shields, dragons, and other illuminations; its as if Imogenes story is a Renaissance tale itself--an experience complete with tension, laughter, anticipation, heartbreak, and delight. elisa gall (c) Copyright 2017. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
A home-schooled squireling sallies forth to public school, where the woods turn out to be treacherous and dragons lie in wait.Imogene Vega has grown up among "faire-mily"; her brown-skinned dad is the resident evil knight at a seasonal Renaissance faire, her lighter-skinned mom is in charge of a gift shop, and other adult friends play various costumed roles. As a freshly minted "squire," she happily charges into new weekend duties helping at jousts, practicing Elizabethan invective ("Thou lumpish reeling-ripe jolt-head!" "Thou loggerheaded rump-fed giglet!"), and keeping younger visitors entertained. But she loses her way when cast among crowds of strangers in sixth grade. Along with getting off on the wrong foot academically, she not only becomes a target of mockery after clumsy efforts to join a clique go humiliatingly awry, but alienates potential friends (and, later, loving parents and adoring little brother too). Amid stabs of regret she wonders whether she's more dragon than knight. In her neatly drawn sequential panels, Newbery honoree Jamieson (Roller Girl, 2015) portrays a diverse cast of expressive, naturally posed figures occupying two equally immersive worlds. In the end Imogene wins the day in both, proving the mettle of her brave, decent heart in finding ways to make better choices and chivalric amends for her misdeeds. Readers will cheer her victories, wince at her stumbles, and likely demand visits to the nearest faire themselves to sample the wares and fun. (Graphic fiction. 10-13) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
