A '90s teenager pours her heart out in style.Sixteen-year-old Christine, living in Asheville, North Carolina, begins her year of diary entries with a New Year's resolution: "BE SHINY! (And get a new boyfriend.)" Her best friend, Landry, has better luck with boys, and their relationship is turbulent, eventually culminating in an intense physical fight. Despite her friendship woes, Christine stays focused, continuing to write for her school newspaper and later getting a summer job at the local video store. Her experimentation with dating wealthy neighbor Whit is tumultuous, and good friend and fellow student journalist Paul is an additional, complicated love interest. Each beat of this drama is compulsively readable and intense; Christine's interior life is full of rage, hyperbole, sarcasm, and vulnerability-especially as she also is mourning her father's death. The best parts of the diary entries are Christine's incredible drawings, which are generously interspersed throughout. Ranging from simple pen-and-ink-style sketches to intricate full-page spreads featuring gorgeous detail, diverse techniques, and searing emotion, even the more quotidian details are brought to life. Fans of Larson's graphic novels will appreciate the short, intermittent full-color comic panels that are especially reminiscent of her trademark style. Some misogynistic name-calling and cruel descriptions of other people that aren't unpacked may make it difficult for readers to always root for Christine. All characters read white.An emotional and art-filled slice of teenage life. (Illustrated fiction. 14-18)

Evoking a teen’s private journal complete with comics, drawings, and 1990s ephemera, Larson (All My Friends) chronicles a year in the life of an artsy 11th grader figuring out who she wants to be. On Jan. 3, 1996, Christine resolves to become “shiny” like her “incandescent” bestie Landry, who is attending a different school for the first time. To be more like Landry, Christine believes she must be more outgoing and find a boyfriend, goals she balances alongside getting her first job, saving for a car, and growing more confident in her writing and art. As her friendship with Landry wanes and new relationships take its place—such as those with film-loving new best friend Paul and a budding romance with the boy next door—Christine is forced to consider whether she wants to continue embodying Landry’s persona or create an identity that’s all her own. Pre-internet cultural references may elude contemporary teens, but specificity of time, place, and character render a vibrant, lived-in narrative. Elaborately designed pencil sketches feature beside cartoon renditions of key players in Christine’s life, crafting an empowering story that hits the right balance of big events and daily minutiae. Ages 14–up. Agent: Judy Hansen, Hansen Literary Management. (Oct.)