Nell is back, and she is going to summer school. No, it's not a bad thing. This program involves camping, science, and teamwork since competing groups can win an embroidered jacket. Plus, she needs to beat her nemesis on the other team, Tony Pfluff. Leader Ramesh feels the same way, since his rival Didwell is the leader for Tony's team. Longtime friend Gil doesn't care one way or the other, feeling like his Thumbkin size is a burden on everyone else. But then one wish goes wrong, and everyone is Gil's size. To make matters worse, Tony takes an opportunity to cheat and sabotage the team, dropping them off in the middle of nowhere. They have to somehow complete the expedition,

These are such large problems for a small team. But Nell is optimistic. They've been through tougher scrapes. She just needs to listen to Gil, to find out why he's feeling inadequate. And they do have an adventure, even if as Nell points out, no one really gets what they wanted. Gil does find out more about himself and his mother's past.

The story is a breather compared to how the first book involved Nell and her friends having to save their home from fairy corporate development. Here, they just have to pass a summer course to avoid taking a remedial class in the fall. Sure, there is danger, but the stakes are relatively lower. The ending had some ambiguity about if their adventure counts as passing the course.

I ended up reading this to my kids and they loved it. They did have a hard time keeping the characters straight as there are kind of a lot but it was fun and engaging.

Nell and her friends are back and going to summer camp to win special jackets and skip a class the next school year. Some of the relationship ship dynamics are shifting and the characters have to navigate the changes and it was well done. Great for middle schoolers. Even my little kids liked it.

Thanks to netgalley and random house children’s for an eARC.

Even better than the first one!

I love Nell and the world that has been built in these books. I definite think I’m going have to purchase 10 of them as a class set for my classroom.

This was just as cute, if not better, than the first. I loved returning to the world of Gumbling and spending time with old, and new, friends. I felt like I was on the camping trip with the crew, and lessons were learned by all. Emma’s artwork is so fun, and I still love the unique format of mixing journal entries with traditional comic style.

Emma Steinkellner has once again made a charming and relatable middle grade graphic novel. Even tweens in a fairytale world still have to go through awkward coming of age drama with Nell and her friends being no exception. I continue to enjoy the journal/graphic novel approach to the writing as it really helps get reluctant readers drawn in. The illustrations and facial expressions of the characters get me every time, I love the art style. The story was again, relatable, the groups problems with crushes, insecurities, and differences in size were dealt with well. This was a really fun summer/camp story that I will be suggesting to others. I hope to see more tales from Gumbling!

What an adorable middle grade book! Nell and her mythical friends are off on a camping adventure. Nell is determined to have this be a fun an positive experience and is disappointed when her friend Gil seems to be in bad spirits. While Nell tries to cheer up her friend and win the camp competition an unexpected wish is made which results in big, and small, adventures. This book is wonderfully illustrated and shows the trials of friendship and growing up and the importance of listening and feeling all of your feelings.

This was a super fun sequel in the Nell series! I really like the graphic novel/text ratio in this. And the illustrations are super cute! Although it is a fantasy adventure, middle graders will be sure to connect to the characters and the navigation of different challenges they face. Of course this forest adventure is action-packed and full of fun times!

Nell Starkeeper is excitedly anticipating starting a summer camping program called MDWEA (Multi-Disciplinary Wilderness Engagement Adventure). This trip was supposed to be packed with learning and outdoor adventures with friends. However, Nell’s friends' attention seems to be more on their crushes than having fun. And when they decide to take a walk through the forest the group of friends soon learn that wishes can go terribly wrong. Gil, Nell’s Thumpkin friend, wishes Nell and the rest of her friends would know how it is to be tiny. Now, Nell and her friends must not only navigate being Thumbkin size, but how to work together to get themselves out of this huge mess!
Overall rating 3/5
I enjoyed how the characters had complicated relationships with each other, and how they would work to overcome those obstacles. Nell’s persistence to do anything to help her friends is a great characteristic trait for young readers. And the representation on how being a bad sport and only worrying about winning is also a great topic for children to recognize and learn how to deal with in real life.

*Thank you to Emma Steinkellner, Random House Children's | Labyrinth Road, and Netgalley for the ARC copy. I am freely leaving my honest review.

Nice mix of fantasy and friendship in this middle grade/upper elementary graphic novel Second book in the series

This is a very fun middle school graphic novel where about kids going to summer camp. And it's normal in a lot of ways, as we see worried parents, insecurities and new crushes. But there is magic here, and during a contest, a group shrinks down and has to find their way through a much different environment! The voices are charming, the artwork is great, and it's just so creative. I highly recommend this for new readers and for kids who want to have fun. Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this

I did not realize when I requested this title that it was a sequel. I do think it could be read as a standalone but reading the sequel would help understand the friendship dynamics even more. While I did like the message of listening to people instead of just trying to offer positive platitudes or fixing their problems, I found the overall story just okay.

An adorable installment in this delightful graphic novel series. As with the previous entry, I was impressed with Nell's inner-growth; her desire to help and frustration at being left out felt very true to real tweens everywhere— despite one of her best friends being a fairy and the other being only a few inches tall. Loved the further inclusion of queer and trans characters. Also the character design continues to blow me away with each installment, tons of shape, face, and color diversity. I can't wait to see what happens next in this series!

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC of this book.

10/10 for the artwork, but I did not enjoy the story for this one at all. Nell was a side character in her own story while everyone else was concerned with crushes. It was really Gil's story and I wanted to see it from his perspective. The ending, although a good lesson to learn, was unsatisfying.

Nell Starkeeper is an ordinary girl living in a magical land. Just like any normal middle-schooler, she is about to embark on a rite of passage, a week long camping trip, except in this fairy-tale land the trip isn’t in just any old forest, it’s in the Enchanted Forest. This adventure, full of gumblecreatures, wishes granted, and crushes discovered, has Nell wondering if her friends can find a way to work together and celebrate each other’s strengths and vulnerabilities.
A delightful cross between the Babysitters Club series and The Tea Dragon Society, this graphic novel was such a sweet and honest insight into the life of Nell and her friends while also being full of whimsy and adventure. It is perfect for fantasy-loving tweens.

I read the first book and I enjoyed it alot so I was very much looking forward to the second book. I was not disappointed, this book deals a lot with friendship and dealing with life changes as well as self acceptance.

Nell and her friends are back for more adventures and forest fun. The back and forth between comics and diary entries make for a fun read just like the first one. I love the illustrations and look forward to more from this series!

I received an electronic ARC from Random House Children's Publisher through NetGalley.
What fun to return to Gumbling and see the latest adventures for Nell and her friends. They are embarking on a week of summer classes in the Enchanted Forest and will get to end the week with a two night campout. All should be perfect as the five friends are together in one unit and they're ready to pass this class. However, life never is perfect and Nell has to figure out how to help everyone rally, especially when they all shrink to Gil's size. They have to work together to reverse the wish and to trust each other's skills. In the end, all comes right though they did not pass the course and will have to take it again in the fall. Nell learns some valuable lessons about friendships and support and accepting that not everything can be positive. She listens to Gil and figures out that it can be through sadder emotions that people grow and learn.
I appreciate the compassion Steinkellner shows for her characters. She wraps some important lessons in humor and fun.

I enjoyed the continuation of Nell and her friends’ story. It was a delightful read with cute pictures. I’m sure this will become a series that students love to read.

This story was like reading the journey of a girl who is at a summer camp. As they are exploring the forest the smallest camper makes a wish that everyone was small like him. Then they all became small and had an adventure and even had some good lessons to learn how to put yourself in someone else's shoes as well as being cheery and happy does not always help.

This was pretty cute and a fun read. I didn't realize this was apart of a series so I'm sure I missed out on some character building from the other book as well as some background information, but I was able to understand this one pretty well. I didn't love this as much as I would like though, I found Nell incredibly annoying and grating. While the plot was cute and the art was equally adorable, I just didn't vibe with it. And I usually do enjoy middle grade comics/graphic novels so I don't think this was a case of being "the wrong demographic. I would still recommend this for a fast and quick read for fans of summer camp stories and who are looking for a palette cleanser