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INTERMEDIATE FICTION
Greene, Jarad

A-Okay

240 pp. | HarperCollins/HarperAlley | November, 2021 | Trade ISBN 978-0-06-303285-9 $22.99 | Paper ISBN 978-0-06-303284-2 $12.99 | Ebook ISBN 978-0-06-303286-6 $10.99
(2) 4-6 In this graphic novel, Jay starts his eighth-grade year just as his acne starts to worsen to the point that he needs medical treatment for it. It's bad enough that he's self-conscious about his looks, but now he has to deal with the side effects of medication, too. Moreover, Jay is navigating the minefield of middle-school friendships and crushes. His best friend, Brace, becomes more invested in his rock band, and they grow apart, while Jay forms new friendships with classmates Mark and Amy. Over the course of the school year, Jay realizes he doesn't experience strong sexual attraction the way that many of his peers do and that he identifies as asexual. Fortunately, Jay's interest in art is a steady constant, as is his supportive family. In focusing on acne, the story centers a commonplace adolescent experience we rarely see presented in children's literature in a way that perfectly contextualizes it in the daily life of its character, never giving it (or his asexuality) too much or too little weight. It's a middle-school version of a problem novel, a kind that seems ideally suited for the medium of comics. Greene's use of color, line, and composition in his comic-panel layouts enhances the humor and angst of this particular slice of adolescent life. An appended note explains the connections to the author's own background.
Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2021

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