Freshman: Tales of 9th Grade Obsessions, Revelations, and Other Nonsense by Corinne Mucha

Annie is ready for high school...maybe. Her older brother has warned her that whatever she does in her freshman year will set the tone for the rest of her life. Annie promptly freaks out and starts wondering who she is and who she wants to be. Her friend Richie is still there for her, but her friend Beth has practically become a new person. Then she meets Katrina and they bond over field hockey (and Annie can't help but notice Katrina's hot older brother). Maybe freshman year won't be so hard after all...as long as Annie can keep it together.

I loved this book. It picks up on the smaller moments that make high school such a strange place: icebreaker assignments, spirit week, cafeteria conversations.  The small moments - looks, expressions, realizations - are able to be explored because Corinne Mucha can do so much in the details. There's a definite tone of humour running throughout the book, particularly when you consider that it was written by someone who survived high school, but I didn't feel like it made fun of the experience. It's so easy to look back at high school and think, "Wow, that was lame" or "I thought that was a big deal, but it really wasn't, and I'm so much wiser now." This book doesn't do that. The drama is given its dramatic due while things in a way that completely gets it.I think that actual freshman would respond to it, but there's also a nostalgia factor at play that makes me remember what those days were really like, so older readers of graphic novels will enjoy it, too. Definitely keep your eye out for this book.

Check out Corinne Mucha's website for more of her work.

This book was published by Zest Books. 

Find it at IndieBound. 

Read it with:
My Every Single Thought by Corinne Mucha
Jinx by J. Torres
Smile by Raina Telgemeier