In this heartfelt diary-style graphic memoir, a young New Yorker doodles her way through middle school—until the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack leaves her wondering if she can ever be a kid again.
It’s the year 2000 in New York City. For 12-year old Alyssa, this means splitting time between her Puerto Rican dad's apartment in Manhattan and her white mom's new place in Queens, navigating the trials and tribulations of middle school, and an epic crush on a new classmate. The only way to make sense of it all is to capture the highs and lows in doodles and hilarious comics in a diary.
Then life abruptly changes on September 11, 2001. After the Twin Towers fall and so many lives are lost, worries about gossip and boys feel distant and insignificant. Alyssa must find a new sense of self and purpose amidst all of the chaos, and find the strength to move forward with hope.Author’s note, with photographs. Two-color digital illustrations.
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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