cbr16bingo Détante
The newest Emmie and Friends by Terri Libenson is Always Anthony. Book eight might seem a lot, after all, how many kids go to this middle school? (Well, if you look at the illustrations, A LOT! And though we have met almost 16 kids (a few books have doubled the love of characters point of view) we still have the potential for more).
When Libenson does the dual point of view, it is probably my favorite way of bringing in multiple characters into her stories. However, it can be tricky to switch back and forth, but she does it well when she makes the two characters different with their style of illustrations (one is “panel-less” and smooth; the other bubbly, loud, and even though both sides are colorful, even more colorful). While I felt she had gone too many times to this theme of middle school woes, because Surprisingly Sarah was not my favorite addition to the series, she brings it back with a realistic arch and contemporary themes.
We follow popular Anthony and shy Leah this time around. Forced into having a tutor (Leah), Anonthy realizes that the surface isn’t always what it seems. He’s proof of that: his robotic exterior hides a passionate, normal, emotional person. Leah, still dealing with grade school bullies in her actions and thoughts, the loss of her father when she was young and an offbeat family, she realizes that just because Anthony is a COOL KID, he’s still a kid and actually pretty cool. The realistic themes of jealousy, envy, gossiping, first impressions, and seeing how people can change come together. Also, there is an arc where another student is being bullied and how Anonthy and Leah do (or do not) deal with it, bringing it into a more modern setting, but handled with care and not too graphic.
Middle school was never this much fun for me!