The ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

A fun illustration of the ups and downs of a brother-sister relationship. It reads more like a collection of stories/memories than as a graphic novel with an overarching plot (though there is a main theme of "being bad" and forgiveness). I enjoyed it, though; and I was especially intrigued by the unique mention of the main character's difficulty in recognizing faces (prosopagnosia). (That could probably be turned into a whole book!) I wonder why the author didn't illustrate this one herself since she is an author-illustrator... and I'm also curious about what her relationship with her brother is like now as grown-ups! This will be an easy sell to kids who like graphic novels.

You'll have no choice but to relate to Charise throughout this heartwarming graphic novel about growing up. We get to have a peak into Charise's relationship with her brother and how she might not have always been the best sister. This is a great graphic novel for a child who may be struggling with sibling rivalry or competition.

Is Cherise really a bad sister to her younger brother Daniel? As the oldest, her need to dominate dictates her actions. Whatever the situation, she makes the rules and he plays along. The games (spinning in inner tubes, climbing into dumpsters, playing lawn hockey) end when someone gets hurt, cries, or both -- and it usually isn’t Cherise. She wants to be good and truthful, but she continues to lie and cheat to get her way. Daniel, naturally trusting and empathetic, forgives his sister over and over again, even when she’s downright mean. But two accidents with serious, painful consequences test the limits of Daniel’s (and their parents’) ability to forgive and forget. Rory Lucey’s retro color palette and artwork perfectly represent Cherise’s childhood memories. He depicts their deep sibling bond by portraying them together in almost every panel. It’s unfortunate that the author did not better develop her experience of Prosopagnosia (“face blindness”) or include a note with more information about the cognitive disorder. That criticism aside, Bad Sister is the kind of graphic memoir that leaves the reader longing to know what happens next in the author’s life.

This was a fun graphic novel. It was relatable to siblings whether you are older or younger. It seems like a lot of childhoods would be similar. Middle graders will enjoy reading this book and some will feel lucky that they have it easy with their sibling(s). I think a lot of older siblings feel regret when they are too mean or someone actually gets hurt but it is still hard to "be nice" and not torment the younger ones. It was funny and my library will be purchasing a copy for our collection.

Thank you to NetGalley and First Second Books for the DRC

Bad Sister is a graphic memoir about a girl who's convinced she is a bad older sister. Charise gets herself and her brother, Daniel, into trouble, sometimes leading to physical harm to him. She spins the truth or outright lies on occasion. She also always feels very guilty about her actions. To me, a lot of these actions read as a fairly normal sibling relationship. Charise never hurt Daniel on purpose, and she cared about him a lot. However, it's easy for the reader to see why she felt she was a bad sister, especially given how their parents treated them differently (although it's worth noting that this is through her eyes only, so we don't know how Daniel felt about their parents or their sibling relationship).

The story is told through a series of vignettes. This sometimes lead to it feeling a little disjointed, because there were points which I thought would be brought up again but weren't. For example, I thought we'd see something about Charise's prosopagnosia again, since it seemed important to who she was, but it was only mentioned once and never again. These scenes did serve the purpose of letting us know in what ways she thought her brother was better than her, and how much that bothered her.

Some spoilers to follow:
I also really wanted to see some sort of cathartic moment between Charise and her parents. It makes sense that this wasn't included - even though her parents caused a lot of her feelings of guilt (intentionally and otherwise, depending on the situation), the story was still about her relationship with her brother, not with her parents. Also, since it's a memoir, this cathartic moment may never have happened. It does go to show that parents can sometimes really affect their child's sense of self-worth and "badness," even if they don't intend to. Not that it's bad that Charise learned to be nicer to her brother, but she largely seemed to come to that because of Daniel's attitude towards her and how forgiving he was, not because of her parents shaming her.

3.5 stars, rounded up.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an electronic copy to read and review.

Ugh - this one hit me in the heart. Told through chapters of events with her brother, a girl, Charise, feels that she is 'bad'. She learns lessons from her brother on forgiveness and how saying 'sorry' too often makes it loose all meaning. As a parent, there were many times when the story hit home. Children are so fragile and it breaks my heart that Charise felt so alone. I really hope the author writes more; she is definitely one to watch.

As an older sister myself, I related all too well to Charise Mericle Harper's story. I, too, had (have!) the kindest and most forgiving younger brother. Yes, he was annoying because he was younger and seemed to always have it easier. I paved the way for him! I didn't like that I had to be responsible, and I took it out on him in all the uncomfortable ways that Cherise takes things out on her brother. It's a tough terrain to navigate, the complicated landscape of siblings. I appreciated the arc and lessons of Harper's memoir graphic novel, thoughtfully illustrated by Rory Lucey.
Eager to share it with students.