Amelia McBride continues to face life's challenges head-on--and with humor. In Happy she learns more about her former-rocker aunt's past. Superheroes brings a new friend with a secret. Present dives into a box of family photos and mementos. Life gets philosophical. The humor and tumult of the transitional middle-grade years are tenderly explored in these well-illustrated graphic novels.

Now 10, Amelia is struggling with new issues, some of which move her out into a larger world: Mom is dating, it's a new school year, Amelia has her first crush, and a friend's father, who is in the army, is being deployed. As always, Amelia's many feelings whiplash right across her elastic countenance, and there are some great laugh-out-loud moments. A few gags will resonate mostly with adults (Joe McCarthy Elementary School: "Weeding out the Wrong Element since 1952"), but this fourth entry in the Amelia Rules series still has plenty that's spot-on for kids.