Amy’s Big Brother
by BonHyung Jeong
Graphic Novel
Realistic Fiction
* * * Stars (Pretty good)
In this companion novel to “Kyle’s Little Sister,” we meet Amy’s big brother, Andrew. He thinks his little sister is super annoying (she is always in his business) and is thrilled that they’re going to different schools now that he’s in middle school. Andrew’s main love is basketball, until he meets Hannah. Now she’s all he can think about! Other people start to notice his crush, and then their friends sort of orchestrate things so that Andrew has to fess up to his feelings and ask her out. Hannah says yes, and suddenly they’re boyfriend-girlfriend. It’s kind of too fast for Hannah. She says right at the beginning that she *would* like to be Andrew’s girlfriend, but she also wants to get to know him better. Seems reasonable. Andrew falls all over himself trying to be the perfect boyfriend. He’s very sweet, but all of the attention and Andrew wanting to hang out all the time is overwhelming for Hannah, who still wants to do things with her friends and isn’t at all sure about dating and exclusivity. The tension builds between them and Hannah starts finding ways to escape and avoid the awkwardness. Andrew’s not sure what he’s doing wrong, but he knows something is up when several weeks go by and Hannah doesn’t seem interested in getting together. Eventually there’s a confrontation and they break up and Andrew feels like his world is ending. Hannah feels terrible about it all, but doesn’t know how to apologize or explain herself. She writes Andrew a letter, but it’s Amy’s meddling that gets her to talk to Andrew in person, where they’re finally able to have a more reasonable discussion about their relationship. It ends ambiguously, but realistically. Sometimes one partner wants more than the other can give, sometimes things don’t work out the way you plan or think they will. Andrew, however, has a better appreciation for his sister. This has a lot of relationship drama, but kids who are crushing and dating will be able to relate. Relationships and communication can be hard, but it’s how you figure things out. For tweens, grades 6-8.
Reviewed by YA Librarian
