All Summer Long

Gr 5–8—It's a summer of changes for 13-year-old Bina. Her best friend Austin is off to soccer camp, her oldest brother and his husband are adopting a baby, and nobody has time for Bina. An aspiring guitarist, she takes solace in music; it grounds her when she feels adrift. Over the course of long weeks filled with babysitting, mini-golf, concerts, and family, Bina experiences a full range of emotions as feelings are easily hurt, moods are topsy-turvy, and friendships are formed, broken, and reshaped in different ways. This sensitive, relatable graphic novel explores many familiar touchstones of adolescence as Bina seeks her place in the world. Constantly looking up to the older, more accomplished people in her life, Bina finds it hugely satisfying when she realizes that she, too, has something to offer. A limited palette keeps the focus on the story and character development, and Larson's expressive drawings add to the emotional resonance of the teen's journey to self-discovery.