2.5/5 stars

This memoir is about Tori’s middle school years, when she dealt with divorced parents, friends moving away, sibling drama, and her time daydreaming and writing about fantasy stories.

I enjoyed the illustration style— it really reminded me of Raina Telgemeier. However, the story doesn’t flow well. It jumps in time, short amounts of time and longer amounts of time, a lot without any notice. Additionally, there are some mostly superfluous/unresolved storylines that just kinda hang there. I expect more from an edited story.

An autobiographical graphic novel with the feeling of raina telgemeier, but unfortunately with less substance than one might want. The story felt disjointed and unmoored from itself. It wanted to be a story but also a slice of life and together it became pretty plotless.

Tori, the author, lived in a fantasy world of her art and writing when she was a kid. This is a graphic memoir depicting her middle school year before high school. It describes how hard it was for her parents to be divorced, her anxiety, her daydreaming that had her getting called out in class, the ups and downs of her friendships. The Author's Note in the back was great, as well. Thanks for an ARC of this graphic novel!

Middle-schooler Tori's parents are divorced, her older twin siblings are acting like teenagers (which they are), and Tori herself is struggling with middle school and the transition from childhood to teenagerdom. Tori copes with these issues (and more) by escaping into her robust fantasy life an creative writing projects. I found the real life of Tori far more interesting than the story Tori was writing, although I appreciate what the author was going for by including these sections.

Just Pretend is the story of Tori and how she adjusts to life during middle school. Tori is navigating her parents' divorce, conflict with her older siblings, and changing friendships. During all of this, she is writing a book. Imagination is important to her, and I think it helps her cope with everything happening in her life. I did feel like there were times that it felt a bit young for the intended audience and was a bit disjointed when the story skips forward. Overall, graphic novel enthusiasts will enjoy this book.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

5 stars. I love realistic-fiction graphic novels, and now I want to write one about my own middle school years.

Just Pretend follows Tori from her seventh-grade year to the summer after eighth grade, while she attempts to cope with her parents' divorce and having to move between houses all the time. Thankfully, she has her best friend, Taylor, and the book she's writing about fairies in the real world.

Just like Tori in this book, I was constantly writing (only I had my own laptop and could work on it whenever I wanted to), and I loved art. Until high school, I was known as "the art kid
I also liked the early-2000s nostalgia. Even though I wasn't in middle school until maybe 10 years after Tori was, I still remember the things from my early childhood like flip phones, box-shaped computers/monitors, and the mall being extremely popular. One of my favorite parts, though, is the farm game Tori and Taylor play on their family computers, because it sounds almost exactly like Stardew Valley, which I'm currently obsessed with! I hope that's what it's based on.

I'd recommend this book if you liked Real Friends or Smile. I actually found it really similar to Real Friends.

This was so cute. The art reminded me of the comic Allergic. I really enjoyed the friendships and relationships in this one and can see this making middle grade students very happy.

Thank you for the e-arc!

This was probably more 3.5 stars, but I’m rounding up because I appreciated the author’s addition of her creative processes at the end, and I think young aspiring artists will, too.

This is a bittersweet middle grade graphic novel that explores the author’s 7th & 8th grade friendships, her relationships to her family members (older siblings, divorced parents, dad’s gf), and her creativity. This reads pretty young - the author is playing pretend well into middle school and high school - no judgment AT ALL, but just know that this will appeal to some kids and read “too young” to others. A book for every reader, etc! :D

I thought the time jumps were a bit disconcerting (oh wow, a whole year went by??) and found the ending abrupt and a tad unsatisfying, but overall this is a sweet story and the art is great. It would be a good addition to a upper elementary or middle school collection.

I had a hard time with this one. Think it will definitely appeal to Telgemeier and Libsenson fans. It follows a girl during a timeframe when she goes through a lot of change. Her parents’ divorce, anxiety issues, etc. I think firstly there was a lot covered in this and sometimes I find that to be a challenge to digest in a graphic novel because you have so much less time to tell a story. I think the plot inhibited a lot of character development and vice versa, if that makes sense. Overall? I thought this was just okay.

This book was ok. The story was fine, nothing I haven't seen before, really, but I think it will appeal to fans of Raina Telgemeier. One thing that really didn't work for me were the interludes of Tori's own story. I could have done with fewer of those. I get that they're there to point out escapism through fiction and to highlight a few parallels in her own life, but for me, they didn't work. I think the references to Tori's writing and her love of reading (esp with the near-allusion to Inkheart), those themes come across just fine.

Just Pretend follows Tori as she tries to navigate the stresses of middle years; divorced parents, friend issues, sibling rivalries, and general teenage angst. To help cope she daydreams, draws, and writes fantasy stories.

I really like the premise of this book, but the transitions were really choppy. I am not sure if that was intentional to illustrate the authors struggles or just so the they could cover more ground. The integrated fantasy story is actually really good… I need to look up if it ever got published because the storyline was kinda cool. Overall, the disjointedness of the scene changes (which sometimes I felt happened right in the middle of a dialog) were a huge turn off for me. I think my students will really like it and I like that it tackles an all too common situations with most of our kids – divorce, sibling conflicts, and middle years life. I did like her the extra information at the end of the book – about writing it, drawing process, etc.

Thank you Netgalley and Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for this ARC. I think my students will enjoy this book and I look forward to adding it to our library upon its release.

Tori is 12 years old and is going through a tough time. Her parents are divorced, she has trouble focusing in school, and it seems like nothing is easy. She is a writer so she escapes her normal by writing fantasy novels. This coming of age memoir goes into the ups and downs of middle school and growing up. The family and friend dynamics played a large part in Tori's life, and it is fun to watch her grow up.

I really enjoyed this graphic memoir. It read a lot like fiction, and I loved the artwork. It was also fun to read her fantasy story that was sprinkled throughout the book. I think this will definitely appeal to fans of Smile and the Babysitter's Club.

Graphic novels are very popular in my school library. This story shows a girl adapting over a year timeframe, to her parents divorce, and some of the anxiety and issues that challenge her. Tori is twelve, creative and in middle school. She is having to deal with many things including angry siblings, a new home, weekend visits to her dad's new apartment and his girlfriend. She is also navigating the school year where there are challenges with friends. I like her escape into her reading and writing to help her cope in her new reality. I also like the lessons of speaking up and being honest with feelings. This is a book that can help teens understand challenges of divorce in a family and the benefit of better communication. It may be more appealing to girls because the main character is a female but in my library boys will check these type of books out too. I'd recommend for 5th grade and up. Thank you NetGalley and Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for a temporary ARC ebook in exchange for a honest review.

A graphic novel about living in different places with different families, making and losing friends, adjusting to change, and doing what you enjoy. Tori has a hard time adjusting when her parents get divorced and she lives with her mother part-time and her father part-time. She has to deal with her siblings' issues and friend problems. She deals by writing her own stories and reading.

My 4th grade students love reading the graphic novel memoirs by Raina Telgemeier so I know they would enjoy Just Pretend as well. I think this would appeal mostly to girls because of the female friendships but the divorce storyline is a plot that many children can find relatable especially if they too have experienced going back and forth between parent's houses. I think this book clearly shows the stress associated with that transition and the effect it has on a young adult. The fantasy element creating made up stories was creative and tied in well with the author's desire to be a writer from a young age. While this book did not have one single clear cut problem or storyline, it did include several plots relating to the author and growing up.

A cute graphic novel about being yourself and learning more about yourself as you grow and change. I really liked the imaginative nature that the characters had and the illustrations to go along with it. You are never too old to pretend.

Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!