By Joy McCullough and Veeda Bybee
New York: Aladdin, 2025. Fiction. 184 pages.Jojo's middle school experience is not off to an auspicious start when her mom forgets to wake her up for her first day of school and her mom's boyfriend's cat vomits all over the first day of school outfit that she set aside. Did I mention that her mom's boyfriend is the viral cat influencer Mr. Meow, so he has A LOT of cats. To avoid being dropped off in the Catmobile, Jojo races out the door to catch her brother for a ride only to discover when it's pointed out to her by an elementary school bully in the middle of a crowded hallway, that one of the cats has also ripped a hole in her leggings and she's been showing off her cat-themed underwear to the whole school. When she flees during lunch to the only empty section of the school she can find, the locker room of an old abandoned gym, she finds three other students there who feel just as awkward about their own first day humiliations. Will Jojo be able to make friends even with everything that went wrong?
Middle school is a particularly difficult time for many kids, who will see themselves in the pages of these four students who are trying to forget their first day humiliations. Give this charming tale to upper elementary aged students to get them ready for middle school, or early middle school students who will see themselves in the pages. For kids who finish this relatively short novel quickly, and are waiting on pens and needles for the second book, they won't have to wait long. Book two is set to publish in June 2025.
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