Growing Pangs by Kathryn Ormsbee and Molly Brooks - ESSENTIAL

 Growing Pangs by Kathryn Ormsbee and Molly Brooks, 340 pages. GRAPHIC NOVEL. Random House Graphic, 2022. $21. 9780593301289 

Language: G (1 swears, 0 ‘f’); Mature Content: ; Violence: G 

BUYING ADVISORY: EL – ESSENTIAL; MS - ADVISABLE 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH 

Rising 6th grader Katie and her best friend Kacey were headed off to summer camp together, but Kacey resents Katie’s friendship with another camper. When their homeschool co-op starts up again, Kacey starts freezing Katie out. If that weren’t enough drama for Katie, she also starts having buzzing thoughts that won’t go away – thoughts that make her do weird things to make them go away. 

What an excellent book for students to discover the transitory nature of friendships, and such a gentle, but important introduction to OCD. A friendly, honest, and heart-warming look at the confusion of growing up. Katie has red hair, a few of the secondary characters are not white, but ethnicity doesn’t guide anyone’s actions. 

Cindy Mitchell, Library Teacher, MLS