Thank you to NetGalley and Yen Press for the e-arc!

Amy's Big Brother follows Andrew and his relationship with his little sister Amy. As an older sibling myself, I couldn't help but relate to Andrew. He is starting middle school which comes with its own set of problems and he wants space from his sister. I think this was overall a good read but I did finish it wishing there was more discussions with the parents. I felt his parents could have talked with him more to better understand him. Other than that, I think the romance between Andrew and Hannah was done well. Being in a relationship is hard when there isn't a balance and this demonstrated that in a nuanced way. I recommend checking this out regardless if you are the older or younger sibling.

As an older sister, I understand well what the main character is going through.

His life, school and friends is so well represented, The emotions come across the page, we've all been through the emotions of having a crush, and the need and want to be with that person, and then have friends interfering... Is the worst, but is part of the teenagers years.
The book makes us reflect on the needs in relationships, such as communication, personal space and dealing with the other person's feelings and and how it affects people in the relationship.
But I loved seeing the connection between what he goes through with his sister being almost what he makes his girlfriend feel.

A very beautiful book, with fantastic and expressive illustrations, the color brings the drawings to life and gives it strength, and personality to the characters. And with a reflection on love, family and relationships.

This was a sweet and fast read. Loved the art style. Andrew reminded me of a video game character that because famous this year (can't remember his name) and I enjoyed the silly school relationship

Thank you to netgalley and Yen Press for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Amy's Big Brother is a story following a middle schooler named Andrew, who has big plans for 6th grade. He aims to be team captain of his basketball team, and get the girl of his dreams, Hannah, to date him. Andrew is a really sweet kid who has a bit of trouble with his kid sister Amy, who has the full attention of his parents seemingly because she is their biological daughter, and he was adopted. When all Andrew's plans start to go the way he hopes, Amy comes in and crushes them and he gets blamed for getting mad at her while his parents do nothing about her behavior. This story explores the uncertainty of being a preteen, first dates, and mild depression.

Pros: Andrew is a really sweet kid, and he treats Hannah really well throughout the story. I think he reacts the way any big brother would react to their kid sister getting away with everything. He still does his best to humor her. I think Andrew could be a great role model for young boys on how to treat their girlfriends. He is accepting even when things don't go his way.

Cons: Amy is a brat and the issues in the story are solved because she is a brat. She gets away with everything, presumably bc she is the biological daughter, an issue that is brought up briefly, but never expanded upon. It drove me nuts how the parents coddled her.

Art: The story is told with a more minimalist style of artwork. The characters are all white, while there is a bit of color more on backdrops and clothing. The colors are duller tones, but I don't think they were representative of any plot points in the story. I found the overall art style and choice of colors to be enjoyable, and can definitely see a younger audience drawn to the art.

Audience: I think the concepts in this book would appeal to a younger audience, middle schoolers and young adults, because the problems faced by the main character are problems that would relate to a younger age range. It was still a fast paced read as an adult, and I would definitely recommend it.

4/5 stars

Actual rating: 4.5

I am very much loving all these middle grade stories JY is currently publishing. After totally falling in love with Svetlana Chmakova’s Berrybrook Middle School, there’s an itch I just can’t scratch. And Amy’s Big Brother scratched that itch.

We have two main plots occurring as our MC, Andrew, goes into his first year of middle school. First is gaining some space away from his younger sibling, who also happens to be the biological child in his family, second is Andrew having his first crush and first relationship with Hannah, a girl he meets at school.

Amy’s Big Brother tackles first relationships in a way I absolutely loved. The intensity of Andrew’s feelings, the distance Hannah accidentally puts between herself and her friends, and finally, bringing all the plots together to discuss how the big conflict was a little bit of everyone’s fault, but also not entirely because they’re still young and still new to life.

I would happily give this to any middle grade kid in my life (or middle grade story loving adult) and I’m excited to see what BonHyung Jeong writes next!

*I received an eARC from Yen Press, JY, & NetGalley. All opinions are my own*

This was such a wholesome read!

I absolutely adored the cute, pastel art style and it reminded me of a lot of slice of life manwhas/webtoons that I love!

As someone who also has a younger sibling (3 in fact!), I found Andrew's feelings to be quite relatable at times and reminiscent of my early teenage years. I feel like there were certain aspects that could have been expanded on a little, like Andrew's worries about being different from the rest of his family as an adopted kid, but I understand that there's only so much that you can cover in one volume.

What I enjoyed the most was the fact that throughout the ups and downs of his blossoming relationship with Hannah, he never failed to communicate his worries or concerns to her - although the matter of reciprocation is something else entirely - and the comic drives it home by emphasising how important it is.

I also loved how supportive both friend groups were, Andrew's and Hannah's, and I'm curious to read the prequel 'Kyle's Little Sister' to learn more about some of these characters!


— Thank you to Netgalley and Yen Press for providing the eARC for review purposes. All opinions are my own