Review by Booklist Review
In August of 1976, 10-year-old Sunny's parents send her to Florida to visit Gramps. Unfortunately, staying with Gramps means a creaky hide-a-bed, early dinners, and, well, tons of old people. Soon Sunny meets Buzz, whose dad works at Gramps' retirement resort, and thank goodness! Buzz introduces Sunny to Swamp Thing, Spiderman, and Batman, and a whole universe opens. The two wile away hours at the comics shop, find senior residents' lost cats, and get chased by a local alligator all in a summer day's work. Woven into the Florida frolic though, through dated flashback images, is the real reason for Sunny's last-minute visit: her older brother is struggling with addiction, and Sunny thinks she got him in trouble. Though Sunny will appeal to all kinds of readers, an authors' note shares the Holms' hope to let kids in similar situations know that it's OK to feel sad and to talk about it. Clear dialogue bubbles, plenty of wordless spreads, and Matthew's cartoons and beach-umbrella color palette keep Sunny's story an upbeat one that readers will easily stick with.--Bostrom, Annie Copyright 2015 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In a compassionate story that opens in the summer of 1976, the brother-sister team behind the Babymouse and Squish series introduces 10-year-old Sunny Lewin, who is facing unwanted change on multiple fronts. Sunny's planned vacation with a best friend has turned into a solo trip to visit her grandfather at a Florida retirement village. With no kids in sight, a squeaky hide-a-bed to sleep on, and a haircut that falls short of the Dorothy Hamill wedge she'd hoped for, Sunny is disappointed at the direction her summer has taken. Through skillfully deployed flashbacks, the Holms reveal that these concerns, while not trivial, mask a larger one-Sunny's older brother's increasingly out-of-control use of alcohol and drugs. Colored by Lark Pien in creamy aquas, corals, and yellows, the illustrations shout "Florida coast," and, along with the short chapters, give the story the feel of a serialized Sunday comic. Sunny's introduction, via a new friend, to comic-book heroes like Swamp Thing and Batman creates some slightly heavy-handed but effective parallels for Sunny's conflicted feelings about a family she cares for deeply. Ages 8-12. Agent: Jill Grinberg, Jill Grinberg Literary Management. (Aug.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 4-6-The Holm siblings, of "Babymouse" and "Squish" (both Random) fame, and colorist Pien, of American Born Chinese fame (First Second, 2008), have created a must-have graphic novel based on true events from the Holms' childhood. The year is 1976, and Sunny Lewin will be spending the summer with her grandfather in Florida. Artistic details in the panels, such as the style of the clothes and the cars, give readers a good sense of the time period. Sunny arrives in Florida feeling hopeful that it will be an exciting summer, but her enthusiasm quickly fades when she realizes that she has to sleep on a squeaky sofa bed and her grandfather is too busy dragging her on boring errands to take her to Disney World. Sunny's days start to look up when she befriends a boy from the neighborhood; together, they read superhero comic books and find lost golf balls and missing cats for reward money. Overshadowing Sunny's summertime adventures are events from the past year that have led to her last-minute Florida trip. She loves her older brother, but when he takes drugs, he makes poor choices and unintentionally hurts her. Sunny feels confused and responsible for her brother's erratic behavior. This title sensitively portrays how drug abuse affects loved ones through visual imagery and realistic dialogue. VERDICT A humorous yet emotional story with a memorable protagonist and detailed full-color art that make this a perfect choice for fans of Raina Telgemeier.-Marissa Lieberman, East Orange Public Library, NJ © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Set largely during the summer of 1976, this semiautobiographical graphic novel from the brother-and-sister team behind the Babymouse series includes an amiable grandfather, U.S. bicentennial festivities, and a trip to Disney Worldbut it is much more than a lighthearted nostalgia piece. Ten-year-old Sunshine Sunny Lewin had been looking forward to spending August at the shore as usual, but her parents have suddenly sent her to Florida to stay with Gramps instead. Her less-than-thrilling days at the retirement community, complete with early-bird specials and trips to the post office, improve after she befriends the groundskeepers son, comics-obsessed Buzz. The two spend their time doing odd jobs for spending money and mulling over age-old superhero dilemmas (But theyre heroes. Why cant they save the people they love?). These discussions, and the series of flashbacks they often elicit, ultimately lead readers to the truth surrounding Sunnys visit: back home in Pennsylvania, her teenage brother is struggling with substance abuse, and Sunny is convinced that she made the problem worsea misconception Gramps lovingly corrects. Matthew Holms loose, less-is-more cartooning is easy to read and expressive, if occasionally unpolished. Straightforward dialogue, captions establishing time and setting, and extended wordless scenes swiftly propel the narrative and will be appreciated by Raina Telgemeier fans. An affirming authors note delves further into the Holm siblings personal experience with familial substance abuse and encourages young readers sharing a similar struggle to reach out (as Sunny eventually does) to the responsible adults in their lives. patrick gall (c) Copyright 2015. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Family troubles temporarily strand 10-year-old Sunny in a Florida retirement community. Imagine the recreational possibilities. In the hands of the sibling creators of Babymouse and Squish, even a story inspired by troubling circumstances in their own mid-1970s childhoods offers hilarious turns aplenty. Instead of a trip to the shore with a friend, Sunny finds herself on a solo flight to stay with her genial grandfatherin a development where a trip to the post office is the day's big outing, Walt Disney World is hours away, and her exposure to senior culture includes being fawned over by old ladies. Happily, there is one other child around: Buzz, a groundskeeper's boy, who turns her on to superhero comics and joins her in starting up a moderately lucrative business recovering golf balls and residents' (illegal) lost cats. Less happily, interspersed flashbacks reveal the reason for the sudden change of plans by tracking her older brother Dale's increasingly erratic behavior and drug abuse, leading up to an intervention in the wake of a violent incident. Colored by Lark Pien in subdued hues that subtly reflect Sunny's state of mind, the sequential panels present both storylines in a mix of terse labels, brief dialogue, and, particularly, silent, effective reaction shots.Funny, poignant, and reassuringly upbeat by the end but free of glib platitudes or easy answers. (afterword) (Graphic historical fiction. 9-11) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
