2024 has so far been fabulous with these two diverse, very different, reads. We have a middle grade novel in verse about autism and a sapphic graphic novel romance. Keep reading these mini reviews of Good Different and If You’ll Have Me in this blog post.
Good Different by Meg Eden Kuyatt
Selah knows her rules for being normal.
She always, always sticks to them. This means keeping her feelings locked tightly inside, despite the way they build up inside her as each school day goes on, so that she has to run to the bathroom and hide in the stall until she can calm down. So that she has to tear off her normal-person mask the second she gets home from school, and listen to her favorite pop song on repeat, trying to recharge. Selah feels like a dragon stuck in a world of humans, but she knows how to hide it.
Until the day she explodes and hits a fellow student.
Selah’s friends pull away from her, her school threatens expulsion, and her comfortable, familiar world starts to crumble.
But as Selah starts to figure out more about who she is, she comes to understand that different doesn’t mean damaged. Can she get her school to understand that, too, before it’s too late?
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the author. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
Good Different is one of those books I want to give to all the middle grade readers in my life. It’s about autism, masking, stigma, and finding our voice. Selah struggles to figure out the ‘rules of being normal”. But like a pot about to boil, one incident tips over her masking and her efforts leading to a domino avalanche. In Good Different it’s a story about acknowledging who we are, our brains, and the voices we have which can advocate and treat others with kindness.
(Disclaimer: Some of the links below are affiliate links. For more information you can look at the Policy page. If you’re uncomfortable with that, know you can look up the book on any of the sites below to avoid the link)
It is a story which is heartfelt, emotional, and moving. About all the efforts Selah goes by to skate under the radar, to never stick out. And how the burden shouldn’t be on the kids to figure out. We have to provide safe spaces and offer resources for them not only to help figure themselves out, but also to help. I can only whole heartedly recommend for anyone with middle grade readers in their lives. It’s both a window and a door to conversations. Find Good Different on Goodreads, Amazon, Bookshop.org, & Blackwells.
If You’ll Have Me by Eunnie
Momo Gardner is the kind of friend who’s always ready to lend a helping hand. She’s introverted, sensitive, and maybe a little too trusting, but she likes to believe the best in people. PG, on the other hand, is a bit of a lone wolf, despite her reputation for being a flirt and a player. Underneath all that cool mystery, she’s actually quick to smile, and when she falls for someone, she falls hard. An unexpected meet-cute brings the two together, kicking off the beginning of an awkward yet endearing courtship—but with their drastically different personalities, Momo’s overprotective friend, and PG’s past coming back to haunt her, Momo and PG’s romance is put to the test
Review
First of all, the graphic style is so cute. I love the color palette and drawing style which feels realistic with a hint of cute in every line. If You’ll Have Me is swoony and while I wished there was a sequel so we could delve into the characters and their backstories a bit more, this one was utterly precious. It revolves around the romance between Momo and PG. Momo for feeling insecure in her lack of experience and her expectations of PG, but also for PG and wanting to be seen as the long term, not the right now partner.
(Disclaimer: Some of the links below are affiliate links. For more information you can look at the Policy page. If you’re uncomfortable with that, know you can look up the book on any of the sites below to avoid the link)
I wish we delved a bit more into Momo and her quest to ‘be a bit more selfish’, but all in all I read this in one sitting. It was precious and you could really feel Momo’s angst, the tension between them, and I loved seeing the little glimpses of PG’s POV. Find If You’ll Have Me on Goodreads, Amazon, Bookshop.org, & Blackwells.