School Library Journal Review
Gr 6--10--Tuva has a plan for seventh grade: write in her diary, be cool, go to her first sleepover, and fall in love. A typical 12-year-old, Tuva lives in Norway with her dad. As she starts school, her best friends begin quarreling over boyfriends, makeup, and how to spend their spare time. As the year progresses and things get worse, she is caught in the middle, trying to figure out how to be friends with one without alienating the other. Can she reunite her friends, or will being in love with Mariam cause them to drift farther apart? Tweens will relate to Tuva being caught in friendship drama and feeling compelled to fit into a specific mold. The relationships with friends and family are authentic and add dimension to the story. Her questions about sexual orientation will ring true with readers. Fans of Annie on My Mind by Nancy Garden may enjoy this title as well. The diary format is easy to read as digital illustrations add depth and vitality to the story. This is a also a good choice for struggling readers due to the uncluttered format, copious white space, and large text. VERDICT A great story about finding one's place in the world, fitting in, and learning to be comfortable with who you are, despite what others may impose upon you. Well-told and reassuring for young people questioning their place in the world. A good choice for most collections.--Elena Schuck
Publisher's Weekly Review
Reuniting with her best friends--Vietnamese Bao and pale-skinned Linnéa--is the only reason that 12-year-old white-cued Tuva is excited to head back to Norway following her summer in Greece. But after Tuva returns, Linnéa ditches the trio's after-school hangout early, frustrating Bao and worrying Tuva. When Linnéa reveals that she has a boyfriend--and admits that she'd rather do "girly things" like wear makeup than spar with sticks in the woods like they used to do--she and Bao have an argument that ruptures the group's dynamic. Soon, Tuva's classmates split into "girls who fall in love" and "girls who NEVER fall in love." Hoping to stay neutral, Tuva befriends brown-skinned new girl Mariam, but when Bao disparages Tuva's constantly talking about her ("I really can't handle another friend in love"), Tuva struggles to sort out her feelings--especially since the only thing her peers seems to agree on is that girls shouldn't date other girls. In this warmly rendered debut graphic novel, structured as Tuva's illustrated personal diary, Dåsnes punctuates Tuva's anxieties surrounding her fear of losing friends via styles that shift between sparsely detailed monochrome panels and moody full-color spreads that capture Tuva's indomitable spirit. Ages 10--up. Agent: Evy Tillman, Oslo Literary. (Sept.)
Kirkus Review
A new school year brings difficult--and exhilarating--changes for a seventh grader. In this diary-format graphic novel from Norway, 12-year-old Tuva is looking forward to seeing best friends Bao and Linnéa. The three girls spent the previous school year playing in the woods near their school, but Tuva and Bao are shocked to discover that Linnéa not only has found a boyfriend, she also now scorns their old activities as childish and wants to do "girly things." Bao has no time for romance, but Tuva is torn between her besties: She still wants to run around in the woods, but she's secretly curious about love and worried about being left behind. None of the boys she knows seem like soul-mate material. But there's Mariam, the nice, interesting new girl at school; being around her makes Tuva feel shy, and at first, she's not sure why. This charming story captures the challenges of navigating strains on friendship bonds; following some emotional highs and lows, the girls reassuringly find their ways back to one another. The sketchy lines of Dåsnes' digital art combined with the hand-lettered font convey the feeling of a tween's diary. The fresh color palette with ample white space is visually appealing and effectively adds emotional impact to Tuva's journey. Bagguley's translation reads smoothly, and the humorous and intense moments alike read completely naturally. The cast is racially diverse. An absorbing, sincerely told story of adolescent self-discovery and connection. (author's note) (Graphic fiction. 9-13) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Are you team "Girlswhofallinlove" or team "GirlswhoNEVERfallinlove"? With best friends on opposite sides of the classroom war, Norwegian 12-year-old Tuva finds herself struggling someplace in the middle. Tuva, Linnéa, and Bao have been friends forever. However, seventh grade brings new tensions. Linnéa gets a boyfriend, starts wearing makeup, and only hangs out with other girls with boyfriends. Bao spitefully recruits classmates to form the team "GirlswhoNEVERfallinlove," but Tuva is torn. She wants to support Linnéa, but trying to act more mature feels awkward. Things become more complicated when Tuva develops feelings for her new friend, Mariam. Technically, Tuva is now a girl who falls in love, but does it still count if she's in love with a girl? If so, does that mean she can't hang out with Bao anymore? From author and illustrator Dåsnes comes a delightfully honest bildungsroman, evoking the charming vulnerability of the in-between years through Tuva's distinctive voice and drawings. The novel floats between Tuva's charming doodles and lush panels, complementing her journal entries and bringing vivid life to the character. Dåsnes captures the metamorphosis of middle school, evocative of greats like Judy Blume and Sharon Creech. Equal parts raw, sweet, relatable, and realistic, this modern classic has a timelessness that will leave a lasting impact, particularly for middle-school readers.
