Fabulous MG Graphic Novel - Mixed Feelings

Mixed Feelings: A Graphic Novel by Sara Amini (Author), Shadia Amin (Illustrator)

From the publisher, Scholastic, Published April 7, 2026.

Things are getting hairy!

What could go wrong on the first day of sixth grade?

A: You wake up with leg hair out of nowhere.

B: You have zero classes with your BFF and watch her run off with her new (annoying) friend.

C: You struggle to decide which school club to join because being mixed race makes you feel like you don't belong anywhere.

D: All of the above. SERIOUSLY?!

At first, Sara's got mixed feelings about middle school. But she finds comfort in TV -- whether she's watching it, performing her favorite scenes, or imagining her life is a show itself. So when she joins drama club, Sara discovers a community where she can be anything she wants -- including herself. Has Sara finally found a place to fit in? Or will she instead find herself buried under her growing leg hair and off-stage friendship drama?

In Sara Amini's semi-autobiographical story, navigating life as a mixed-race girl has never been more hilarious or heartfelt, with family, friendship, and fuzz all at the forefront of this laugh-out-loud and painfully relatable middle-school memoir.

I loved seeing the friendships in this story, old and new. Loved that getting hairy was tackled, lack of communication among friends and family, being mixed race, annoying younger siblings, finding your place with the theatre kids, and how to resolve some of the difficult situations we find ourselves in. (Whether our fault or not!) And finding your way amidst all the craziness in life.

So well done and loved how the illustrations captured so many feelings. How big they really feel inside.

It looks like there's a second graphic novel coming out in Oct called Mixed Signals. I look forward to reading that one too! 

AWESOME MG GN! BUZZING

BUZZING by Samuel Sattin, illustrated by Rye Hickman

Little, Brown Ink (July 18, 2023)

From the Publisher:

A moving middle grade graphic novel about friendship, belonging, and learning to love yourself despite the voices in your head.

Isaac Itkin can’t get away from his thoughts.
 
As a lonely twelve-year-old kid with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), everything from studying to looking in the mirror becomes a battle between him and a swarm of unhelpful thoughts.
 
The strict therapy his mother insists on doesn’t seem to be working, but when a group of friends invites him to join their after-school role-playing game, the thoughts feel a little less loud, and the world feels a little brighter.
 
But Isaac’s therapist says that exposure to games can have negative effects on kids with OCD, and when his grades slip, his helicopter mother won’t let him play anymore. Now Isaac needs to find a way to prove to himself, to his mother, and to the world that the way to quiet the noise in his head may have been inside him all along.

I loved this book. I know a little bit about obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and some from what I’ve seen on TV or in movies. But this is the first time I’ve read about it in young people. 

We get to see what the disorder is like from the inside and how it affects Isaac, the main character, his life, family, relationships and school. And how Isaac finds his own place in the world. He starts to understand that he’s not what his thoughts are telling him. Buzzed is about how he finds friends and activities/outlets and how they add to his well-being. His mom is about protecting him but doesn’t realize how his new friends make him healthier and happier. The mom and the sister also have their eyes opened to how stuck they are in the family dynamic and that it can change for the better. For anyone who feels different or weird – and that includes almost all of us – there is a community waiting for us. It’s just a matter of finding it.

Really well done.