Svetlana Chmakova’s ‘Crush’ is an A+ School Adventure With All The Feels

I’m familiar with Svetlana Chmakova from her earlier work like Dramacon which was published by Tokyo Pop so many years ago. A friend of mine gave me a free comic book day issue featuring an excerpt from Crush. I read it and knew I wanted to read more. I haven’t read the other entries in the Berrybrook Middle School series, Awkward or Brave, yet I read up on them enough to know that they are award winning graphic novels about middle school aged kiddos and that they are well loved. I have twin god sisters who are finally in middle school and one of them–Rebekah–pops up with random questions and comments now, questions I’ve never heard before like: “Have you ever had a crush before?”  (To which I say ‘Yes, of course. It’s perfectly normal to have crushes on people) and comments like, “I’m just so SINGLE.” (To which I say ‘Yo, there’s nothing wrong with not having a boyfriend or girlfriend. There is NO rush. ) Hearing these types of things from her remind me that Rebekah and her twin sister are growing up and growing up means experiencing new things like having crushes, widening your social circles, and being on your own figuring out what life throws at you.

What I adore about this book is the creator, Chmakova, can craft a terrific story. A few of the overarching themes in this book that make it great are having your first crush, navigating newer spaces with new rules (elementary school is a whole new playground than middle school), and maintaining friendships—new and old. Se…