Skip to main content

Sunny Side Up

By


Sunny Side Up
By Jennifer L. Holm & Matthew Holm
Graphix, 2015. Comics. 217 p.

Sunny is a fun-loving ten-year-old who is depressed to be spending the summer living with her grandpa in his retirement community in Florida. After receiving her mandatory guest pass, Sunny’s fears of a depressed and boring summer are quickly confirmed when she realizes that her grandpa’s idea of “big plans” is going to the post office or grocery store. Luckily, while visiting the golf course with her grandpa, Sunny meets Buzz, the son of Cuban immigrants, and the two quickly become friends. Buzz introduces Sunny to comic books and Sunny falls in love with the stories of Batman, Superman, Spider-man and Swamp Thing.

Alternating between the time of her visit to Florida and flashback sequences of her time at home leading up to the trip, the story progresses by revealing more and more of the purpose behind Sunny being sent to spend the summer with her grandpa. Her brother, Dale, began spending time with friends who were bad influences and became involved in doing drugs and drinking alcohol. As she remembers a number of experiences, happy and sad, surrounding her brother’s transformation and her management of her feelings, she relates to her beloved superheroes to make connections and cope.

Written and illustrated by the duo behind the Baby Mouse series, Sunny Side Up is a graphic novel that is as funny and entertaining as it is sweet and moving. A great Read-Alike for Smile by Raina Telgemeier.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Review: Faker

By
Faker By Gordon Korman New York: Scholastic Press, 2024. Fiction. 214 pages. 12-year-old Trey is used to starting over at a new school -- he has the routine perfectly memorized: make new friends, introduce his dad to the wealthy parents of his new friends, and "Houdini" themselves out of there before they get caught running their latest scam. Trey's dad is a master con artist, and Trey has just been promoted to full-partner. Their new scheme for the next big score brings them to the affluent suburb of Boxelder, TN where Trey's dad has cooked up a fake electric car company for investors to buy into. The only problem is that Trey is starting to grow tired of moving around and never putting down roots, especially after forming a fast friendship with Logan and developing a crush on Kaylee, a socially conscious girl in his class. As Trey longs for a normal life, is there any way he can convince his dad to get out of the family business? Gordon Korman is a perennial favorit...
Post a Comment
Read more

Review: Fresh Start

By
Fresh Start By Gale Galligan New York: Graphix, 2025. Graphic novel. 270 pages. Ollie Herisson is only in 7th grade, but she has already lived all over the world. Her father is an American diplomat, whose job has taken their family to France, Singapore, Thailand (where her mom is from), and now to Chestnut Falls, Virginia. Ollie loves that her family doesn't stay in one place very long, it allows her to have a fresh start and hide from any embarrassing moments each time they move. But Ollie's parents have big news -- they've decided to buy a house in Virginia and put down roots. Now, Ollie and her younger sister Cat have to figure out how to build lasting friendships which means resolving conflict rather than running away when things get hard.  Loosely based on the author's own childhood experiences, this graphic novel is sure to be popular with readers who like coming of age stories. Watching Ollie learn to think of others as she advocates for her sister Cat, and navig...
Post a Comment
Read more

Review: Will's Race for Home

By
  Willl's Race for Home  By Jewell Parker Rhodes Little Brown & Company, 2025. Fiction. 256 pages.    Will is a young man whose father and family are working the land as sharecroppers in Texas. When Will's father comes home with the news that there is land available in Oklahoma to those who can stake and settle it, Will's father expresses his deep desire to go and claim land for their family. Will begs to be included, but his mother is reluctant to let him go. After input from the entire family, they decide that Will is ready for the responsibility. Along the way Will and his father develop a deeper appreciation for each other, form deep friendship, discover hidden enemies, and encounter many challenges which force them to make difficult decisions. Will's father has to rely heavily on him, especially as they get closer to their final destination. Will's bravery is inspiring and commendable.  This book is full of many amazing elements: suspense, adventure, fr...
Post a Comment
Read more