These discussions, and the series of flashbacks they often elicit, ultimately lead readers to the truth surrounding Sunny’s visit: back home in Pennsylvania, her teenage brother is struggling with substance abuse, and Sunny is convinced that she made the problem worse-a misconception Gramps lovingly corrects. Why can’t they save the people they love?”). The two spend their time doing odd jobs for spending money and mulling over age-old superhero dilemmas (“But they’re heroes. Her less-than-thrilling days at the retirement community, complete with early-bird specials and trips to the post office, improve after she befriends the groundskeeper’s son, comics-obsessed Buzz. Ten-year-old Sunshine “Sunny” Lewin had been looking forward to spending August at the shore as usual, but her parents have suddenly sent her to Florida to stay with “Gramps” instead. bicentennial festivities, and a trip to Disney World-but it is much more than a lighthearted nostalgia piece.
Set largely during the summer of 1976, this semiautobiographical graphic novel from the brother-and-sister team behind the Babymouse series includes an amiable grandfather, U.S. VERDICT A humorous yet emotional story with a memorable protagonist and detailed full-color art that make this a perfect choice for fans of Raina Telgemeier.- Marissa Lieberman, East Orange Public Library, NJ
This title sensitively portrays how drug abuse affects loved ones through visual imagery and realistic dialogue. Sunny feels confused and responsible for her brother’s erratic behavior. She loves her older brother, but when he takes drugs, he makes poor choices and unintentionally hurts her. Overshadowing Sunny’s summertime adventures are events from the past year that have led to her last-minute Florida trip. Sunny’s days start to look up when she befriends a boy from the neighborhood together, they read superhero comic books and find lost golf balls and missing cats for reward money. Sunny arrives in Florida feeling hopeful that it will be an exciting summer, but her enthusiasm quickly fades when she realizes that she has to sleep on a squeaky sofa bed and her grandfather is too busy dragging her on boring errands to take her to Disney World. Artistic details in the panels, such as the style of the clothes and the cars, give readers a good sense of the time period. The year is 1976, and Sunny Lewin will be spending the summer with her grandfather in Florida. The Holm siblings of “Babymouse” (2005) and “Squish” (2011, both Random) fame and colorist Pien of American Born Chinese fame (First Second, 2008), have created a must-have graphic novel based on true events from the Holms’s childhood.
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