Oh, man, I remember being middle school-aged and what an absolute mess my friends and I could be, falling out with each other over things that seemed insurmountable back then but are such trifles in retrospect, and preferring to jump to (usually depressing, dramatic) conclusions instead of actually communicating with one another. I do not miss those days at all, and have probably sublimated more than I recall, but oh how memories of that time came roaring back to me while reading this sharply observed graphic novel of a 12 year-old trying to get out from under her popular big brother's shadow. Thank goodness I was at least the eldest, and didn't have to suffer that indignity on top of all the rest of the drama!

Grace Bailey is two years younger than her older brother, handsome, athletic, popular Kyle. All her life, she feels like she's been playing second fiddle to him. Even her parents have a mostly unconscious bias toward their gregarious, sunny older child. Grace is an introvert who mostly likes playing video games and hanging out with her two best friends, Jay and Amy. Amy is the little sister of Andrew, one of Kyle's best friends, and is obsessed with KPop bands. Jay, the quietest member of their trio, loves board games. She's also nurtured a huge crush on Kyle for years, and Amy is super enthusiastic about finally pushing the two of them together now that they're all in middle school. Grace is significantly more lukewarm to the idea, mostly because she thinks her brother sucks and doesn't deserve sweet, reserved Jay.

A sleepover of both Baileys' friend groups at Amy and Andrew's house ends in a huge fight between the girls. Things are spoken that can't be unsaid. The girls stop spending time together, leaving Grace especially feeling lonely and bereft. But when Grace is adopted by a popular older classmate, Cam, she thinks things are starting to look up for her social prospects. She even winds up confiding in Cam how she and Amy fell out, leading Cam to engage in several questionable mean girl tactics against Amy. Grace is too relieved to have a new friend to say anything, even tho she knows that what Cam is doing isn't right. But what will she do when she discovers Cam's real motivations for befriending her?

Kyle's Little Sister unerringly captures the turmoil of young adolescence, and how relationships form and fall apart and come back together. I loved how it showed so clearly the pettiness but also the deep feeling involved in all these kerfuffles. I also enjoyed how this depiction of middle schoolers wasn't at all cliched or simplistic. The art is well suited to its story, tho I did have a bit of trouble telling the difference between the guys at first. The girls, tho, are all easy to distinguish from one another, with an expressiveness that makes each girl both relatable and indelible. The only thing I wish this book had done differently was put in more Asian characters than just the KPop group members. It seemed a little weird that none of the actual cast was Asian, given that the author is.

This graphic novel is the perfect read for any kid trying to navigate the social wilderness of middle school, or for any adult who wants to reflect vicariously on those days. It certainly made me think about things that haven't crossed my mind in a good, long time, but that's for the better overall, I think.

Kyle's Little Sister by BonHyung Jeong will be published tomorrow June 22 2021 by JY and is available from all good booksellers, including <a href="https://bookshop.org/a/15382/9781975316549">Bookshop!</a>

Grace is tired of always being referred to as “Kyle’s little sister.” When one of her friends develops a crush on her brother, it complicates the dynamic between her and her friends.

Can Grace mend her friendships? Should she seek out new friends? Is having an older brother really that bad?

Middle grade readers will definitely enjoy this story of friendship and forgiveness!

I could really relate to this one seeing as how my older brother was this popular dynamic individual and I...well wasn't just like Grace. I thought the author portrayed this flawlessly. Even still, the dialogue didn't ring as true as I thought it should. Overall, I promoted the book on social media because of the core messages that middle school kids deal with all the time. I believe it would be read by its target audience.

I really enjoyed this one! This graphic novels follows Grace, as she enters her first year on middle school in the shadow of her popular older brother. I think that this is a really great book for middle grade readers, and it does a good job depicting issues that one might face at that age, starting a new school, arguing with friends, etc. As someone who is the younger sibling, I could also relate to Grace in some ways, because I know that people had expectations about me because of my sister, so while the specific circumstances differed, I think I also felt a stronger connection to the book because of that. I really felt so much for Grace as she tried navigating middle school and all the ups and downs that go with it. And I really loved the focus on friends and family in this story. The art was also so good, and I felt like it really was a great depiction of the story being told. Definitely recommend to graphic novel readers and to those who read middle grade novels.

Grace is excited to start middle school with her best friends, Amy and Jay, but there's one thing she's not thrilled about... her older brother, Kyle, is an 8th grader in the same school. Her extroverted, handsome, older brother who loves to tease her whenever he gets the chance. She's in Kyle's shadow whether she's at school or at home, forever being referred to as "Kyle's little sister", but she's so much more than that! Grace and her best friends have a falling out, but she falls in with a school mean girl, Cam, who decides to "help" Grace out by bullying Amy. Grace looks the other way, not realizing that Cam has her own reasons for wanting to be friendly with Grace - and Amy and Jay can see that a mile away, but have to figure out how to help Grace from a distance. Maybe Kyle isn't the awful big brother that Grace thinks he is after all? Kyle's Little Sister is, at its heart, a story of friendship and those inevitable middle school conflicts, and it's a relatable story about defining oneself. Manga illustrations make for expressive characters and playful storytelling. A good realistic fiction story to add to your graphic novel shelves, and a good way to introduce younger readers to manga outside of Pokemon.

Themes and Thoughts: I really enjoy reading middle grade books and graphic novels are the best because they are quick to read and easy to get through. I really enjoyed how short each of these chapters are and how this book focuses on friendship and family relationships. I liked getting a chance to see the main character’s feelings about being Kyle’s little sister and loved how the characters read as their age.

While this book focuses on relationships with people and how those shift during middle school. I liked that both of our characters are in middle school so we get to see how siblings feel towards each other, both one being a younger sibling and the other as an older sibling. I also really liked how we got to see both sides of their sibling relationship, so we see them fighting but we also see the love that they have for each other.

Characters: I loved getting the chance to meet Grace and Kyle through this book and liked the interactions that we get of them with their set of friends. I liked how we see how Kyle’s friends see Grace as his little sister and even some of her new friends view her this way. I liked getting to see how Grace’s friends don’t view her this way even if she worries that everyone only liked her because of her relationship to Kyle.

Writing Style/Art: I decided that in order to keep my review style the same, I would use this area to comment on both the writing as well as the art style when talking about graphic novels. I thought that the art was really cute and I liked how child like the characters look. There was never a time in which I confused the age for the characters and I also liked how diverse the characters were. I liked how each of the side characters looked different from each other.

Very cute. The story felt a little loose, but it was definitely an authentic representation of middle school life and social insecurity. I really liked Grace, even when her actions weren’t inline with her values. She got it right in the end.

I really enjoyed this book. They style reminded me of one of my favorites, Crush by Svetlana Chmakova. I really liked the artwork and the storyline was very true to middle school drama. Age appropriate, though be warned, there is bullying.

I have a younger sibling, so it was interesting seeing what they went through being portrayed. It is very close to what they experienced in school following in my footsteps. I sympathized with Kyle, it's not his fault he came first and colored everyone's expectations of his younger sibling!

I wasn't overly fond of Grace not speaking up for her former friend being bullied by her new friend, but that is also, unfortunately, true to life. It's hard to speak up to stop an injustice from happening, especially at that age. But it's not impossible, as others did speak up for the former friend and for her when she was the one being bullied.

4.5 stars, rounded down to 4. Really good book and highly recommended, especially for those who have dealt with bullying and both older and younger siblings.

My thanks to NetGalley and Yen Press/JY for an eARC copy of this book to read and review.

This was such a cute graphic novel about friendship and siblings.I would definitely reccomend this if you want a cute read the takes no time at all.If you have siblings I think you would definitely be able to relate to this.

I feel like this is a graphic novel ideal for children .

Cute story about dealing with friends, family, and becoming more accepting of what you bring to your relationships.

Grace is our adorable narrator, struggling with everyone always comparing her to her more outgoing brother. As an introvert myself, with a more active sibling, Grace's start on her journey to making a place for herself in a group of people, understanding her friends and family, and therefore understanding herself was an awesome glimpse into my own past!

Very cute, and a quick read! I would have loved to see more details into each character, and development of Grace's relationship with her brother a bit more fleshed out - the resolution felt a bit quick to me, but that's also how middle schoolers work so it's probably pretty accurate 🤣

Awesome for pre-teens, and teens!

I'm not sure what impressed me more with Kyle's Little Sister--the incredible art, or just how relatable the story feels. I immediately thought of an handful of teens that would love the book...and I can't wait to recommend it to them!

I loved this graphic novel - and I could so relate to Grace, as I am a younger sister myself. Grace looks up to her brother, Kyle, but at the same time, she feels that she is constantly in his shadow - he is outgoing, popular, athletic, all the things that Grace, who is introverted and into video games, with a small group of close friends, is not. When Kyle left for middle school, and Grace, two grades lower, stayed in elementary school, she had a chance to grow without being so closely within his shadow - but now she is in 6th grade, and they will be attending the same middle school. With her two closest friends, Amy and Jay, Grace tries to create her own space in her new school, complicated by Jay's crush on Kyle, and Amy's intricate plans to get Kyle to notice Jay. Full of middle school angst, misunderstandings, miscommunications, and well-intentioned mistakes on every side, Grace navigates her first year of middle school in a well-written and well-illustrated graphic novel that exemplifies the experience of many younger siblings as well as many new-to-middle-school adolescents, in a fun and accessible way. I strongly recommend this for children concerned about the transition to middle school, as well as to middle school counselors trying to help students struggling with the transition and parents concerned about their own children's upcoming transition or difficulty with siblings.

Do you have an older brother or sister? Do you go to the same school? Kyle and his litter sister, Grace are going through. Grace believes everyone likes her because of Kyle, but is it true? They have their ups and downs just like all brothers and sisters do, but they also have each others backs. The artwork is different, maybe a little like Manga.

This book was sweet, a glimpse into the emotional turmoil of a middle school girl trying to understand her relationships with family and friends.
I don't think the concept is groundbreaking, as I've seen very similar story lines and plot developments in other modern coming of age stories, but it was still a fun read.

I received an electronic ARC from Yen Press through NetGalley.
Sixth grade Grace wants to have an identity beyond eighth grade Kyle's little sister. Her older brother is outgoing and athletic and easily makes friends. She is an introvert and gamer. Each has a small group of friends and with the usual debates and, sadly, a major fight amongst Grace and her two friends that keeps them apart from each other. Middle grade readers will identify with the characters and see parts of their own lives. We see the wide variety of stereotyped middle school groups and how they interact. There was some depth to Kyle but I wish we had seen more. Grace is, of course, the most developed character. She's vulnerable and yet afraid to speak up for herself. I especially like her friend, Jay, who has an inner strength and capacity to forgive. She's a quiet force throughout the story. Her characters are stronger than they know. The artwork brings this out. In particular, the character expressions clearly show what is happening inside their minds. I didn't always like the choices Jeong's characters made but they were true to how she developed them.

Kyle's Little Sister presents a situation familiar to kids that may grow up in the shadow of a popular sibling, although being familiar with this dynamic is not necessary to enjoy the book. The kids' relationships are very realistic complete with middle school angst. The art style borrows heavily from manga. The one major drawback is the lack of diversity in characters.

I wanted to like this story, but I did not. Kyle's Sister, literally the sister aka main character Grace, was not a likeable character the longer the story went on.

It started out with a lot of hope. With Grace thinking she's just "used" to her identity being wrapped up in being "Kyle's Sister" and nothing else. Not by her name, activities she enjoys, or friendships she has.

But as she feels the pressure of middle school and other expectations piling on, she snaps. Fighting with friends she's known forever and things just aren't the same.

She's alone, then slowly builds a budding friendship with a cool girl Cam, who the longer we get to know her, you realize what a built she is.. But she's nice to Grace, so Grace goes along with it because she's lonely. Something I could understand if it was for a while, but it was all the time. Cam was not a likeable person, she wasn't meant to be, but Grace going along with her shangagains for so long doesn't sit right with me.

Watching her friends suffer and knowing what was going on, which went on for too long, really bothers me.

While I understand the fear of standing up for yourself, Grace mostly just complained about her "role" by defaulting to accepting it and not doing much else.

Didn't hate it, just an okay story, maybe just not my cup of tea.

**Thank you to Yen Press and NetGallery for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. **

Graphic novels about middle schoolers are sometimes difficult to decide if they are appropriate for an elementary library as many times the content is too mature. This book has a good balance for elementary students, especially for 5th/6th graders. This is a good look at what it feels like to be a younger sibling at the same school as an older, more popular sibling. I've been there! The artwork does have a magna feel. I would recommend for 4th grade and up.

This was a good story about friendship, family and learning to embrace your individuality. I thought the depictions of friendships were very realistic - being a friend is hard, it takes work, you may fight, but you can always make up in the end. I think a lot of kids will relate to being in the shadow of their older sibling. Overall, though, I felt like it had a really typical plot for this genre.

I haven't reviewed a graphic novel in a while and I'm sorry it was this one I'm reviewing after the hiatus, because I did not like it. It's really a manga, and those are not my favorite format even though this one reads left to right rather than 'backwards' as many of them do.

The artwork was perfectly fine (although quite often features were missing from faces), but a major problem was that every frame in every panel looked far too busy, and many were larded with stars and other symbols which distracted from the rest of the art, and most importantly from the dialog. That said, the dialog wasn't exactly stellar.

The biggest problem was the titular character, Kyle's Sister, whose name is Grace. I normally have issues with stories where the title describes a female as some sort of dependent or appendage of some guy ("The Time Traveler's Wife" 'the King's daughter' and so on). It's insulting to women to use titles like that, and I should have enforced my own guidance this time. More fool me for letting it slide!

Mistakenly, I thought that Grace might offer something of a strong female character to root for, and that she'd prove her mettle in coming out of Kyle's shadow, but she came across as miserable and whiny, and griping and uninteresting, and the focus of the girls in her sphere was entirely on boys - like these women had no agency of their own, and were essentially there to please guys or to pick up guys, or to validate guys, or whatever. This is how male writers preponderantly tend to depict females and it's truly sad. Again, it was insulting and it meant that the entire story was nothing more than an extension of the title: rather than a liberation, it was a subjugation.

I DNF'd this a little over a third of the way in because it was not doing the job and was insulting and badly-written. I can't commend it.