Big Apple Diaries
Big Apple Diaries
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Roaring Brook Press
Annotation: In Big Apple Diaries, a heartfelt diary-style graphic memoir, a young New Yorker doodles her way through middle school--until the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack leaves her wondering if she can ever be a kid again.
 
Reviews: 3
Catalog Number: #257176
Format: Publisher's Hardcover
Special Formats: Graphic Novel Graphic Novel
Copyright Date: 2021
Edition Date: 2021 Release Date: 08/17/21
Pages: 281 p.
ISBN: 1-250-77427-6
ISBN 13: 978-1-250-77427-9
Dewey: 921
Dimensions: 21 cm
Language: English
Reviews:
Horn Book (Fri Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2022)

Bermudez mined her middle-school diaries to create this appealing debut graphic memoir set in NYC just before and after 9/11. Twelve-year-old Alyssa splits her time between her Puerto Rican dad's apartment in Manhattan and her Italian American mom's place in Queens. While her seventh-grade year at St. Ignatius is full of universally relatable middle-school drama (a painful first crush, multiple friendship conflicts, and a cosmetic malfunction -- she accidentally shaves off too much of her eyebrows), Alyssa is also a quintessential New Yorker who rides the subway on her own and takes weekend art lessons at the Met. Then her bustling city life is shaken by the 9/11 attack, which takes place at the start of her eighth-grade year. Though she doesn't suffer a direct loss from the tragedy -- although her father worked in the World Trade Center, he was not in the building that day -- Alyssa's ideas about herself and the future are upended. The cool blue limited palette of the panels underscores the moodiness of the middle-school years and serves as an effective backdrop to the apple-cheeked and open-faced depictions of Alyssa and her friends and family. Fans of Craft's New Kid (rev. 1/19), Telgemeier's Smile, and Hale's Real Friends (rev. 5/17) will find much to love here. Jennifer Hubert Swan

Kirkus Reviews

Through the author's own childhood diary entries, a seventh grader details her inner life before and after 9/11.Alyssa's diary entries start in September 2000, in the first week of her seventh grade year. She's 11 and dealing with typical preteen concerns-popularity and anxiety about grades-along with other things more particular to her own life. She's shuffling between Queens and Manhattan to share time between her divorced parents and struggling with thick facial hair and classmates who make her feel like she's "not a whole person" due to her mixed White and Puerto Rican heritage. Alyssa is endlessly earnest and awkward as she works up the courage to talk to her crush, Alejandro; gushes about her dreams of becoming a shoe designer; and tries to solve her burgeoning unibrow problem. The diaries also have a darker side, as a sense of impending doom builds as the entries approach 9/11, especially because Alyssa's father works in finance in the World Trade Center. As a number of the diary entries are taken directly from the author's originals, they effortlessly capture the loud, confusing feelings middle school brings out. The artwork, in its muted but effective periwinkle tones, lends a satisfying layer to the diary's accessible and delightful format.An authentic and moving time capsule of middle school angst, trauma, and joy. (author's note) (Graphic memoir. 8-13)

School Library Journal (Thu Jul 01 00:00:00 CDT 2021)

Gr 5-8 Bermudez relies on her middle school diaries to document life as a preteen in New York City during and shortly after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Seventh grader Alyssa longs to be popular, frets about pimples, tries to attract the attention of her crush Alejandro, and strives for high grades so she can be accepted into a good Catholic high school and avoid disappointing her parents. Her family life causes her anxietyher Puerto Rican father and her white mother are divorced and are reluctant to give her the social freedom she so desperately desires. Feeling torn between two homes and lives, she struggles to see herself as "fully" Puerto Rican or white, turning to drawing in her diary as an escape. Alyssa's life takes a turn in eighth grade, when the World Trade Center towers are attacked. Confused and scared, she suddenly faces an uncertain future. In her author's note, Bermudez mentions that she never wrote about 9/11 in her real diary at the timeshe didn't process the events until she was an adult, and the tenderness of that experience is evident in her graphic memoir. Bermudez's illustrations are heartfelt and youthful, emphasizing her innocence and transition into young adulthood post-9/11. Stylized like funky doodles, illustrations rendered in shades of blue will appeal to younger readers without taking away from the serious undercurrent of the book. VERDICT Educators seeking firsthand accounts of 9/11 will want to share this with their students, while middle graders looking for an engrossing graphic novel in the vein of Raina Telgemeier's or Shannon Hale's work will be pleased. Elise Martinez, Racine, WI

Reviewing Agencies: - Find Other Reviewed Titles
Horn Book (Fri Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2022)
Kirkus Reviews
School Library Journal (Thu Jul 01 00:00:00 CDT 2021)
Word Count: 18,437
Reading Level: 4.4
Interest Level: 4-7
Accelerated Reader: reading level: 4.4 / points: 3.0 / quiz: 513695 / grade: Middle Grades
Lexile: GN650L

In Big Apple Diaries, a heartfelt diary-style graphic memoir by Alyssa Bermudez, a young New Yorker doodles her way through middle school-- navigating crushes, friendship, fashion, and identity, as well as the world-changing consequences of September 11, 2001. It's the year 2000 in New York City. For 12-year old Alyssa, a biracial Puerto Rican girl, this means all kinds of new challenges: splitting time between her dad's apartment in Manhattan and her mom's new place in Queens, navigating the ups and downs of middle school, harboring an epic crush on a new classmate, and figuring out how to be a "real" Puerto Rican. The only way to make sense of it all is to write and draw her thoughts and worries into her diary. But, when a terrible tragedy strikes, Alyssa must find hope and strength within herself. Fortunately, Alyssa's family and friends are safe, and through the shared love and support of her people and community, Alyssa discovers she can overcome anything... even middle school. This honest, moving graphic memoir is based on Alyssa Bermudez's own middle school diaries before and after September 11, 2001.


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