Curlfriends: New in Town | Review

Curlfriends: New in Town
by Sharee Miller
Little, Brown Ink, $24.99 (hardcover), $12.99 (paperback)
Publisher’s rating: Grades 3-7

Charlie is used to moving around the world, but her dad has retired from the military back to his hometown. She’s worried about making new friends, but she’s got a plan to fit in at her new middle school. She’s hiding her geeky love of comics, getting contacts, and copying outfits out of magazines, and maybe she’ll finally be popular.

Things don’t go as she expects, but what could have been a disaster is averted by new friend Nola, who helps Charlie tidy up. Nola also introduces her to Cara, who’s athletic, and Ella, who’s into creative fashion and thrifting. They even appreciate Charlie’s art skills.

The art is comfortable and friendly, deceptively simple and attractively colored by Luke Healy. I enjoyed spending time with these girls and even with almost 300 pages, I wish we got more.

I did find myself wondering why Charlie kept feeling the need to lie after a while. If a trendy treat makes you sick, why pretend otherwise when people are already hanging out with you? But I guess that means I never felt THAT much pressure to be popular, although some kids might. She does seem to take things a little too seriously—but at that age, everything can seem super-important.

The important thing is that she learns friendship means most when you’re honest about who you are and what you like, and that’s a message that’s worth appreciating.

Filed under: Graphic Novels, Reviews