Starred Review for Kirkus Reviews

Searle writes and illustrates her first graphic novel for middle-grade readers.Whiling away the long summer days alone in a new apartment in a new city, Harriet "Harry" Flores begins to spin stories. Perhaps the nice mail carrier has nefarious intentions for the neighborhood dogs. Maybe the house is haunted. The old woman who lives downstairs? Probably a murderer. Though her tales frustrate her parents, the escapism this storytelling offers seems to comfort Harry as she faces an uncertain future with a chronic illness. Begrudgingly, Harry begins to spend time with Pearl, the mysterious old woman from downstairs. Through that budding relationship, and the memories and books they share, Harry finds the courage to be honest with her parents and to face what lies ahead. The subtle absence of cellphones and computers as well as pop-culture references place the story in the 1990s, yet it feels incredibly current. The pacing is masterful as the truth behind Harry's many fears is slowly and poignantly revealed, maintaining the tension and mystery of each story thread until the tapestry is complete. Searle tackles Harry's anxiety about her illness as well as common adolescent concerns about friendships, school, and family with an honesty and tenderness that will resonate with readers. Harriet's biracial: Her mother is white while her father is Mexican; Pearl is black.Heartfelt and heartwarming, highlighting the power of story to both conceal and reveal. (Graphic historical fiction. 8-12)

ALA Booklist (Mon Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2019)

Harriet Flores is an awkward, imaginative preteen who has just moved to Chicago. While her parents are at work, Harriet spends her days avoiding summer reading, writing postcards to camp friends who don't write back, and keeping her elderly downstairs neighbor, Pearl, company. Harriet helps Pearl assemble a family album and, in the process, discovers a photograph of Pearl's now-grown son. Pearl's son, who came down with polio in the 1950s epidemic, is pictured in a wheelchair. Harriet, who has a chronic illness, instantly feels a connection to him, and instead of writing to camp friends, she starts writing to him. Searle's artwork shows the characters' faces up close, centering the narrative around their intense, everyday emotions. The straightforward linework effectively captures old Chicago architecture. The warm color palette portrays Harriet's family's unwavering love, even when she feels lost and misunderstood. Middle-grade readers will relate to Harriet's anxiety about fitting in and making friends, while also exploring subjects like ableism and intersectionality, which Searle depicts with grace and empathy.

Kirkus Reviews (Fri Oct 04 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

Searle writes and illustrates her first graphic novel for middle-grade readers.Whiling away the long summer days alone in a new apartment in a new city, Harriet "Harry" Flores begins to spin stories. Perhaps the nice mail carrier has nefarious intentions for the neighborhood dogs. Maybe the house is haunted. The old woman who lives downstairs? Probably a murderer. Though her tales frustrate her parents, the escapism this storytelling offers seems to comfort Harry as she faces an uncertain future with a chronic illness. Begrudgingly, Harry begins to spend time with Pearl, the mysterious old woman from downstairs. Through that budding relationship, and the memories and books they share, Harry finds the courage to be honest with her parents and to face what lies ahead. The subtle absence of cellphones and computers as well as pop-culture references place the story in the 1990s, yet it feels incredibly current. The pacing is masterful as the truth behind Harry's many fears is slowly and poignantly revealed, maintaining the tension and mystery of each story thread until the tapestry is complete. Searle tackles Harry's anxiety about her illness as well as common adolescent concerns about friendships, school, and family with an honesty and tenderness that will resonate with readers. Harriet's biracial: Her mother is white while her father is Mexican; Pearl is black.Heartfelt and heartwarming, highlighting the power of story to both conceal and reveal. (Graphic historical fiction. 8-12)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

In her middle grade debut, comics creator Searle slowly unspools the story of a middle schooler living with multiple sclerosis. Harriet (-Harry-) Flores, 13, is a solitary girl whose family has just moved to Chicago. While her parents work, she spends long summer days alone in a hot row house apartment, wondering about a possible upstairs haunting, penning chipper postcards to former friends, and venturing only as far as the mailbox and downstairs to visit her grandmotherly landlady, Pearl. The dialogue conceals her innermost thoughts, but hints surface when Harry learns about Pearl-s son Nicholas, who suffered from polio as a child and experienced isolation similar to her own. After Pearl shares the books Nicholas read while in quarantine (Harry cannot abide The Secret Garden but devours Peter and Wendy), she confesses her fears-about friendlessness and being sick-in letters to an imagined Nicholas. In jewel-toned art, Searle successfully creates a claustrophobic, lonesome ambience. An author-s note discusses invisible disabilities and chronic illness, and offers resources for further reading. Ages 9-14. (May)