But after having read a few online reviews of Jennifer L. Although the cover illustration may suggest that this is strictly a children's book, it really was appropriate for ANY age over ten.Īs most of my friends probably well know by now, I am generally not all that much a fan of graphic novels as a genre. The 70's nostalgia factor was one of the notable aspects - TaB cola, the Polaroid SX-70 'instant' camera, Dorothy Hamill's 'wedge' hairstyle, and other little details solidly ground the thoughtful story in those weeks following America's Bicentennial celebration. Buzz - who is always bedecked with a Dodgers baseball cap (woot-woot!) - then becomes Sunny's de facto sidekick / best friend, and introduces her to the world of comic book superheroes as they hustle to earn an honest dollar or two for a little spending cash of their own.

(The reasons for Sunny's parents sending her away for a month soon become clear via many flashbacks.) Although initially fighting a case of terminal boredom - after all, this is set in the long-ago era before cable TV, cell-phones, and the Internet (thanks, Captain Obvious!) - Sunny soon meets Buzz, an ingratiating Cuban-American boy of similar age. A native of suburban southeastern Pennsylvania (woot-woot!), she is suddenly shipped off to spend August of 1976 with her widowed grandfather at his retirement cottage in quiet Vero Beach, Florida. Matter-of-fact graphic novel that alternates between the amusing and the bittersweet, Sunny Side Up centers on the plucky blonde ten year-old Sunny Lewin. (Aug.'What superpower would you want?' - Buzz Agent: Jill Grinberg, Jill Grinberg Literary Management. 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. 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. 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. 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. Sunny’s planned vacation with a best friend has turned into a solo trip to visit her grandfather at a Florida retirement village. 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 Side Up by Jennifer L. Holm