Cub

Copeland's first graphic novel for kids successfully integrates the right balance of coming-of-age issues into those arising from her early-'70s setting; many of the latter are eerily similar to those that the country is still experiencing. This tale of middle-grade angst and self-consciousness is laced with humor and nostalgia.

In her debut graphic novel for young readers, Copeland (Middle School Secrets) presents a memoir set in 1972-1973, when the then-12-year-old job-shadowed a local news reporter. If the lingo ("far out!"), heartthrobs (John Denver), and fads (sea monkeys) are dated, the references to Troll dolls, Earth Day, and Watergate have direct, contemporary links. When Cindy's best friend takes up with "the predators," three stylish girls whose clique name is inspired by both Jaws and Wild Kingdom, Cindy joins a goofy but loyal circle. Concurrently, the ERA makes headlines, and Cindy's father talks about careers only with his sons. After Cindy meets Leslie, a lone "female reporter" at a daily paper, she gains confidence by practicing writing and photography. Engaging full-color illustrations include Leslie's handwritten edits of the cub reporter's typewritten ledes. Deftly juggling Cindy's school days, internship, and home life, Copeland crafts a multilayered, year-in-the-life story within a complex historical context: "Our country is in turmoil: chaos in the White House, a senseless war, environmental crises, women having to fight for equal rights." Ages 8-12. Agent: Daniel Lazar, Writers House. (Jan.)

Copyright 2019 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

Gr 4-7—In this wholesome graphic memoir, Copeland recounts the ups and downs of middle school life in the early 1970s. Twelve-year-old aspiring writer Cindy always had trouble fitting in at school, but she cracked the code to the wild kingdom of Litchfield Junior High School: avoid the attention of the mean girl clique (aka the predators) by acting boring and "playing dead." After her teacher Ms. Shultz sets her up with an internship with the Torrington Register, Cindy spent seventh grade shadowing local reporter Leslie Jacobs. As the year unfolded, Cindy developed her skills as a cub reporter and thrived in the face of evolving friendship worries. Eye-catching design elements such as copyedited article rough drafts and comics panels that look like snapshots make Copeland's experiences especially absorbing. Subplots involving bullying and first crushes are blander but still relatable, and the jungle analogies will ring true with readers who are navigating similar middle school drama. While the narrative will empower many readers, dated, cartoonish illustrations that are more appropriate for a picture book limit the emotional impact. VERDICT Hand this to tweens and teens who want a gentle read about growing up. For large graphic novel collections.—Pearl Derlaga, York County Public Library, VA

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

"In both its story and its buoyant artwork—the groovy coloring was done by Ronda Pattinson—Copeland gets so many things right. She gets the nuances of hippie-chic '70s teenage fashion. She gets the daffy chatter of cousins after Thanksgiving dinner has been eaten. ('Eat it! Eat the weird pie!') She gets the ordinary heartbreak when, again and again, Cindy's father reflexively nourishes the ambitions of her brothers, looking past her as if she is invisible. ('You know, John, I think you'd be an excellent politician!' ) And she gets the way that Cindy's immediate problems, like a friend scorning her in the hall, can feel as vivid and epoch-defining as Watergate or the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment . . . Cub offers a road map for the . . . Cindys of today, proposing to the awkward and the ambitious that they are not, in fact, hostage to the merciless social sorting that can happen within the confines of middle school . . . Look outward, this delightful book advises. A great big world is waiting."
—The New York Times Book Review

"This charming, intelligent, funny book is a sharp look into the middle school ecosystem, its shifting allegiances, its hormonally charged confusions. It follows seventh-grader Cindy as she navigates cliques and crushes and takes on a role as a cub reporter under the wing of an ambitious young woman journalist. Copeland nails the cringy pre-teen humiliations, and the book also serves as a primer on lede-writing and journalistic ethics, as well as showing a person coming into her own and learning how to be the author of her own story."
—Boston Globe

"Raina Telgemeier fans will lap this up, particularly though who need a shot of courage or reassurance heading into the maelstrom of middle school."
— Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"Engaging and interesting . . . this [book] made me ridiculously happy."
—YA Books Central