The science club and the art club coming together to realize and work around their individual shortcomings is also a great read.Also, the way the bullies are confronted by their peers and made to realize their cruelty is beautifully done.Friendships evolve and change and a sense of peace is achieved.It just manages to capture that sense of childhood with all its vulnerability and insecurity and hope and positivity.Anyway, this graphic novel is probably my favourite graphic novel right now.Jaime is also the tutor who the science teacher assigns her after her work becomes less than stellar.Jaime, the boy Peppi shoved away, is also in the science club.Which is true but…the science club is also made of vile people some of whom are related to those in the art club.They are told that they don’t contribute to the school and community whereas the science club does.

Or anything that doesn’t involve shrieking loudly at the injustice of it all. Obviously the art club isn’t going to take this lying down.Then disaster strikes when the art club is told that the table they were going to get at the school fair is being given to the science club instead.She doesn’t know and it’s driving her crazy.

And she cannot seem to be able to approach him to apologise.

Even when she found a place to belong in the art club, she still couldn’t get this sense of guilt that kept eating away at her on the inside.

And proceeded to feel like crap for weeks later.

Because he is a nerd and she got flustered at being called the nerd’s girlfriend by these very vile bullies.

Peppi Torres gives in to peer pressure and shoves away the only kid who had tried to help her up when she fell down on the first day of school.

And there is no tokenism or even an awareness of this inclusion but simply a matter of fact–this is how it is so this is how I’m going to show it feeling.

The book is a true reflection of the diversity that exists in most classrooms all across North America.

I mean, of course the cover gave me a glimpse of the POC heroine but that did not prepare for the level of amazingness.

So I was totally unprepared for the awesomeness I would find in this graphic novel when I went into it.

Svetlana chmakova books in order