ALA Booklist

Grace is more often than not known as "Kyle's little sister," as if she's not her own person. One of Grace's friends, Jay, has a crush on Kyle, and the other, Amy, tries too hard to social-engineer situations that push Jay and Kyle together. This leads to a blow-out fight that separates the three girls for weeks. In the interim, a classmate swoops in to be Grace's new friend, but her motives definitely aren't altruistic, and she's taken to bullying Amy as a way to endear herself to Grace. Grace must learn how to settle conflict and stand up for herself outside of her brother's shadow. This story touches on some important topics, including personal boundaries, depression, bullying, and sibling rivalry, to name a few. Jeong's art is unique from manga and other manhwa, most notably in character design. Pages are pleasantly colorful like Western graphic novels but mostly devoid of backgrounds, like manga. Shannon Hale and Raina Telgemeier readers will definitely be drawn to this stand-alone comic.

Kirkus Reviews

How would you like living in a shadow?Sixth grader Grace knows that starting middle school is going to be tough. New classes, new students, and, worst of all, being labeled as Kyle's little sister. Kyle is two years older and seemingly perfect: athletic, good looking, and popular. Everyone expects Grace to be the same, but unfortunately, being shy, quiet, and awesome at video games doesn't compare. Fortunately, Grace has Amy and Jay, her two best friends, by her side. When the three girls get into a big fight, Grace has to navigate middle school by herself. A girl named Cam takes Grace under her wing and brings Grace into her friend group. They are nice to Grace, but they start bullying Amy, to Grace's discomfort. When Amy and Jay make up, Grace is left out in the cold, especially as she suspects Cam may have ulterior motives for befriending her. Everything resolves itself in the end, with Cam's true motives coming to light, friendships being mended, and the realization dawning that Kyle may not be so bad. The manga-style illustrations successfully magnify the range of feelings expressed in the story while the text and image placement effectively enhance the drama and conflicts. The color palette, with light purples, peaches, and blues, lifts Grace's brooding storyline with a playful feeling. Most characters present White; Jay reads as Black.A story of friendship and sibling rivalry that will resonate with many readers. (character profiles) (Graphic fiction. 9-12)

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

Brown-haired, green-eyed gamer Grace Bailey is finally starting sixth grade at local school Elington. The only problem is, her older brother Kyle is an eighth grader there, and Grace is unenthused to once again fall under the popular basketball player-s shadow. Still, Grace has her two best friends-blue-eyed K-pop enthusiast Amy Stewart and diplomatic card gamer Jay, who is Black-by her side. That is, until Amy oversteps and aggressively meddles with Jay-s crush on Kyle, causing a rift in the trio and leading Grace to lose faith in Amy-s friendship (-I-m only friends with you -cos of our brothers anyway-). Unwilling to forgive and forget, Grace begins spending her days alone, until popular blonde classmate Cam befriends her. Things start to look up again, but Cam-s bullying of Amy begins to bother Grace, while Cam-s own motives for friendship grow murky. With a soft color palette and stylized faces, bouncy illustrations interplay seamlessly with denser speech bubbles, making this ideal for intermediate graphic novel readers. Jeong delivers an endearing portrayal of friendship and sibling bonds (-Why? -Cos you-re my sister. Duh-) in this accessible, appealing debut. Ages 8-12. (June)

School Library Journal (Sat May 01 00:00:00 CDT 2021)

Gr 48 "Kyle is the source of all my problems in life." So declares Grace, who, after a brief respite from being forced to attend the same school as her athletic, popular big brother, fears that she is doomed to fall under his shadow once more as she enters sixth grade. Grace's best friends, Jay and Amy, are the distraction she needs from dealing with her brother at schooluntil strife breaks out among the group. Jay has a crush on Kyle, and overbearing Amy crosses a line trying to matchmake, resulting in a fight that splinters the trio completely. Nervous to approach Jay and hurt by Amy's cruel words, Grace finds herself suddenly alone. Will she ever have friends again? And when will Kyle stop ruining her life? This is a fast-paced, fresh, and funny take on the tried-and-true fractured middle school friendship story. The problems plaguing the various friend groups are nuanced in scope and resolution. Young people dealing with their own friendship woes will find inspiration and consolation in how Grace approaches her situation, as well as catharsis from her anger and frustration. The artwork is drawn in soft brown outlines colored with cheerful pastels, in a peppy, manga-like style that will appeal to fans of Svetlana Chmakova's "Berrybrook Middle School" books. Grace and Kyle have light skin and brown hair, Amy has light skin and red hair, and Jay has brown skin and black hair. VERDICT With endearing characters and compelling drama, this title will serve as a balm for middle graders navigating friendship issues. Fans of Varian Johnson's Twins and works by Raina Telgemeier and Victoria Jamieson will be enchanted. Darla Salva Cruz, Suffolk Cooperative Lib. Syst., Bellport, NY