Published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Summary:  Bina’s excited that seventh grade is over, but disappointed to learn that her best friend Austin is going to soccer camp for a month.  Summer seems totally boring without him, but then surprising things begin to happen.  She gets to know Austin’s older sister, Charlie, who has always seemed mean, but turns out to be pretty cool.  Bina loves music and has started learning guitar, but over the summer her passion deepens.  She gets the opportunity to meet the guitarist from one of her favorite groups, and dreams of starting her own band in high school.  When Austin gets home and starts acting weird, Bina’s confident enough to stand up to him and get their friendship back on track.  The end of the book suggests there might be a sequel that includes a new high school band for Bina.  170 pages; grades 5-8.

Pros:  Fans of realistic girl-centered graphic novels (Raina Telgemeier, Victoria Jamieson, Jennifer Holm, et. al.) will embrace this emotionally engaging summer tale with a strong and quirky heroine.

Cons:  Although there is nothing that makes this explicitly inappropriate for elementary grades, it definitely has more of a middle school/teen vibe than some of the authors mentioned above.

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