ybug09's review against another edition
4.0
Rex is a 6th grader who finds out he needs glasses. There's many ups and downs he has to go through, but finally he becomes confident with his new look. I loved the art and enjoyed the story overall. I found this to be very relatable and perfect for middle graders. This is for the fans of the New Kid series, the Berrybrook Middle School series and the Emmie and Friends series.
mama7301's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Great book!
lawbooks600's review against another edition
4.0
Representation: Biracial main character, side Latina and Black characters
Trigger warnings: divorce (in the past), bullying
6/10, I was hoping that after reading Real Friends by Shannon Hale which is similar to this I would enjoy this one as well and I did but it wasn't as good as the last book I read since I found a lot of flaws with this which I'll get to later. It starts off with the main character Rex starting off 6th grade with his friends and everything looked normal at first until his vision blurs and he is forced to get a pair of glasses but he could only get the cheap ones much to his disappointment and I was confused when his mother rushed through the process only for him to say that he looks like the Mole Man. After getting them he goes to school again only for lots of people there to bully him for wearing glasses however I couldn't relate to him since now people don't get bullied for that anymore but maybe back then it could've happened but anyways he makes a big fuss and lashes out at everyone, even his parents which I didn't like. Even more disheartening is that no one seems to care about his problem so all he did was take it into his hands and Rex continues his rant; later on his glasses were broken and his family couldn't afford new ones so he had to use tape to fix it and the bullies kept teasing him. Towards the last half of the book his grandmother comes and says that his problems are small and she had a way harder life back then so he should be grateful for all the privileges he had and to not care about what others think, there was another part about her mother saying that she tries to do everything by herself which didn't work out very well by the way. He doesn't have any friends anymore but he would be better off having no friends than to have fake friends and I think the bullies still didn't leave him alone because he never did anything much about it. If you like memoirs try Real Friends by Shannon Hale for something similar to this.
Trigger warnings: divorce (in the past), bullying
6/10, I was hoping that after reading Real Friends by Shannon Hale which is similar to this I would enjoy this one as well and I did but it wasn't as good as the last book I read since I found a lot of flaws with this which I'll get to later. It starts off with the main character Rex starting off 6th grade with his friends and everything looked normal at first until his vision blurs and he is forced to get a pair of glasses but he could only get the cheap ones much to his disappointment and I was confused when his mother rushed through the process only for him to say that he looks like the Mole Man. After getting them he goes to school again only for lots of people there to bully him for wearing glasses however I couldn't relate to him since now people don't get bullied for that anymore but maybe back then it could've happened but anyways he makes a big fuss and lashes out at everyone, even his parents which I didn't like. Even more disheartening is that no one seems to care about his problem so all he did was take it into his hands and Rex continues his rant; later on his glasses were broken and his family couldn't afford new ones so he had to use tape to fix it and the bullies kept teasing him. Towards the last half of the book his grandmother comes and says that his problems are small and she had a way harder life back then so he should be grateful for all the privileges he had and to not care about what others think, there was another part about her mother saying that she tries to do everything by herself which didn't work out very well by the way. He doesn't have any friends anymore but he would be better off having no friends than to have fake friends and I think the bullies still didn't leave him alone because he never did anything much about it. If you like memoirs try Real Friends by Shannon Hale for something similar to this.
maireador20's review against another edition
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
moniska89's review against another edition
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
mgross22's review against another edition
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
greenlivingaudioworm's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying
kelseywaters's review against another edition
3.0
This is the first graphic novel I’ve ever read. It helped that I knew the characters and already cared about them, which kept me turning the pages. I found it interesting, after reading both Punching Bag and Free Lunch, how much more this book was geared for Middle Grade readers. Rex’s mom comes off as a little stressed by work, but otherwise encouraging and caring about his struggles. He even tries out calling Sam “Pop”?! I’m curious what the motivation for that choice was, when it doesn’t seem like there were any feelings like that in the other two memoirs.
I do think it did a decent job showing the way friendships shift and the pain of that process. Overall, it’s been fun to read these books and process the story in three different tellings.
I do think it did a decent job showing the way friendships shift and the pain of that process. Overall, it’s been fun to read these books and process the story in three different tellings.
maethereader's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0