ALA Booklist (Fri Oct 04 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

Penny is a for-real, big-time worrier. When she starts fifth grade, she gears up for another year of comfortable friendship with her pal Violet, but suddenly Violet thinks Penny is too babyish and starts hanging out with a new crowd. While Penny tries to get back into Violet's good graces, she unexpectedly makes some new friends, and this time, they're the good kind who don't exclude her or put her down. This book is set up like Dork Diaries, with all of Penny's private thoughts and retellings of her day peppered with simple cartoon drawings showing what is going on, but they're charmingly addressed to her dog, Cosmo, instead of "Dear Diary." Readers will likely relate to her concerns, such as worrying whether people are laughing about her behind her back, feeling nervous about talking in front of people, or meeting new friends. Penny also learns that looks can be deceiving, and that rumors can be harmful as she gets to know her new misfit pals. This new series comes straight from the heart.

Kirkus Reviews

Penny learns important lessons about friendship and worry in a series opener inspired by the author's own early struggles with anxiety.As Penny prepares to start fifth grade, she can't wait for her best friend to return from camp, but when Violet gets back, things are awkward. Violet's no longer interested in drawing, and she's spending all her time with popular but mean Riley. Penny tries to accept this, but intrusive, spiraling thoughts continue to interrupt her life; between Violet's distance, her parents' big secret, and her little brother's croup that requires frequent ER visits, she has plenty of real reasons to worry. Thankfully, Penny's visits to Mrs. Hines, the Feelings Teacher, give her a safe place to talk about what is going on in her head, and familiar faces open the door to new, unexpected friendships whose value becomes clear when something bad really does happen. Illustrated throughout with black-and-white sketches that highlight some of the more comical moments in the story, the book features just the right amount of humor to balance out more serious explorations of changing friendships and the ways uncertainty and lack of control can contribute to an increase in feelings of panic for young anxiety sufferers. Many readers will see their own concerns and feelings reflected here. Penny and her family read White.A bright and emotionally accessible story full of wit and warmth. (Fiction. 8-12)

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

As outlined in an author’s note, Shepard (the Pretty Little Liars series) draws from her own childhood experience with anxiety for this diary-style illustrated novel. Rising fifth grader Penny is looking forward to her best friend Violet’s return from summer gymnastics camp. But the start of school promptly reveals that Violet has moved on: she’s no longer into Art Club—an activity the girls previously shared—and camp has bonded her with popular mean girl Riley. But Mrs. Hines, the “feelings teacher” Penny speaks with regularly about her worries, proves a catalyst for personal change, giving Penny a journal to work through things. As Penny encounters, and slowly befriends, other students who talk to Mrs. Hines, she directs her diary entries to her “loyal and nice” dog, Cosmo, who shares many of Penny’s fears (“Storms. Fireworks. Balloons. Clowns”). In chatty, quick-moving installments, Penny tells entertaining anecdotes and details her brother’s recurring croup, her concerns about social scenarios, and a secret her parents seem to be keeping. Shepard’s light touch and sketchbook-style b&w doodles make for an engaging read that candidly portrays the effect of destabilizing changes on one child experiencing anxiety. Character portrayals reflect the white of the page. Ages 8–12. Agent: Richard Abate, 3 Arts. (May)