School Library Journal Review
Gr 5--8--Bermudez relies on her middle school diaries to document life as a preteen in New York City during and shortly after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Seventh grader Alyssa longs to be popular, frets about pimples, tries to attract the attention of her crush Alejandro, and strives for high grades so she can be accepted into a good Catholic high school and avoid disappointing her parents. Her family life causes her anxiety--her Puerto Rican father and her white mother are divorced and are reluctant to give her the social freedom she so desperately desires. Feeling torn between two homes and lives, she struggles to see herself as "fully" Puerto Rican or white, turning to drawing in her diary as an escape. Alyssa's life takes a turn in eighth grade, when the World Trade Center towers are attacked. Confused and scared, she suddenly faces an uncertain future. In her author's note, Bermudez mentions that she never wrote about 9/11 in her real diary at the time--she didn't process the events until she was an adult, and the tenderness of that experience is evident in her graphic memoir. Bermudez's illustrations are heartfelt and youthful, emphasizing her innocence and transition into young adulthood post-9/11. Stylized like funky doodles, illustrations rendered in shades of blue will appeal to younger readers without taking away from the serious undercurrent of the book. VERDICT Educators seeking firsthand accounts of 9/11 will want to share this with their students, while middle graders looking for an engrossing graphic novel in the vein of Raina Telgemeier's or Shannon Hale's work will be pleased.--Elise Martinez, Racine, WI
Publisher's Weekly Review
Bermudez (My Singing Nana) makes her solo debut with this humorous and sincere graphic novel memoir chronicling her middle school years in New York City. Drawing on her own childhood diaries, recollections with former classmates, and a friend's "special 9/11 diary with poems, reflections, and news articles," the telling opens on Sept. 7, 2000. It's 11-year-old Alyssa's first week of seventh grade at St. Ignatius, a Catholic school on 84th Street--the burgeoning artist struggles to balance schoolwork with hopes of popularity, and feels socially constrained by her parents' rules. Utilizing a palette of blacks and blues, as well as lively, fully illustrated diary entries, Alyssa shares her interior life as a shy and artistic half--Puerto Rican, half-white tween with divorced parents. Entries include everything from lighthearted comedy (a disastrous eyebrow mishap) to nervous excitement (her first romance) and--most powerfully--poignant reflection (the aftermath of 9/11). Combining eye-catching layouts with frank vulnerability ("Tomorrow I will be in the vast unknown space of my future"), Bermudez puts her whole heart on the page, and the love she holds for her younger self can be deeply felt in every entry. Ages 8--12. Agent: Claire Easton, Painted Words. (Aug.)
Horn Book Review
Bermudez mined her middle-school diaries to create this appealing debut graphic memoir set in NYC just before and after 9/11. Twelve-year-old Alyssa splits her time between her Puerto Rican dad's apartment in Manhattan and her Italian American mom's place in Queens. While her seventh-grade year at St. Ignatius is full of universally relatable middle-school drama (a painful first crush, multiple friendship conflicts, and a cosmetic malfunction -- she accidentally shaves off too much of her eyebrows), Alyssa is also a quintessential New Yorker who rides the subway on her own and takes weekend art lessons at the Met. Then her bustling city life is shaken by the 9/11 attack, which takes place at the start of her eighth-grade year. Though she doesn't suffer a direct loss from the tragedy -- although her father worked in the World Trade Center, he was not in the building that day -- Alyssa's ideas about herself and the future are upended. The cool blue limited palette of the panels underscores the moodiness of the middle-school years and serves as an effective backdrop to the apple-cheeked and open-faced depictions of Alyssa and her friends and family. Fans of Craft's New Kid (rev. 1/19), Telgemeier's Smile, and Hale's Real Friends (rev. 5/17) will find much to love here. Jennifer Hubert Swan January/February 2022 p.130(c) Copyright 2022. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Through the author's own childhood diary entries, a seventh grader details her inner life before and after 9/11. Alyssa's diary entries start in September 2000, in the first week of her seventh grade year. She's 11 and dealing with typical preteen concerns--popularity and anxiety about grades--along with other things more particular to her own life. She's shuffling between Queens and Manhattan to share time between her divorced parents and struggling with thick facial hair and classmates who make her feel like she's "not a whole person" due to her mixed White and Puerto Rican heritage. Alyssa is endlessly earnest and awkward as she works up the courage to talk to her crush, Alejandro; gushes about her dreams of becoming a shoe designer; and tries to solve her burgeoning unibrow problem. The diaries also have a darker side, as a sense of impending doom builds as the entries approach 9/11, especially because Alyssa's father works in finance in the World Trade Center. As a number of the diary entries are taken directly from the author's originals, they effortlessly capture the loud, confusing feelings middle school brings out. The artwork, in its muted but effective periwinkle tones, lends a satisfying layer to the diary's accessible and delightful format. An authentic and moving time capsule of middle school angst, trauma, and joy. (author's note) (Graphic memoir. 8-13) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
