Chickenpox.
I had them as a child, and I vividly remember all of the stages I had to endure. UGH!
I had so much empathy for Abby and her sibling situation, but I also felt the sting of frustration with her friendship troubles. I felt as if I was immediately transported back to my middle grade years, reliving all of the confusing emotions.
Remy Lai is an expert in graphic novel storytelling, and Chickenpox will become a cherished favorite!
My readers will love this one.

This one was just okay for me. The protagonist is the eldest of five rather chaotic children. Often frustrated by her siblings and the expectations placed on the oldest child, she is less than thrilled to spend two weeks with them as they all recover from chicken pox. Drama associated with her friends and a few simple misunderstandings further exacerbate the situation. Younger readers (or those with siblings, I have none) may get more out of it than I did.

Thank you Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, Henry Holt and Co. BYR Paperbacks, and NetGalley for the advanced electronic review copy of this wonderful book. This highly relatable story with great graphics very accurately describes what it is like to be stuck home with your siblings when all of you have chickenpox. Looking forward to sharing it with my students.

Lai can do no wrong-- especially when it's the experiences that are shared with plenty of other people. In this case, it's about a big family with lots of siblings and she being the biggest/oldest sister. AND it's about getting chickenpox and having to hang out together in the house, not being able to go to school but also going mad spending all the together time with her siblings that drive her batty.

It is sweet and hilarious at every turn. It also talks about the stages of chickenpox and sibling relationships. Then snuck in there among the family drama is Remy's friendships as a fourth grader which include a friend "accusing" her of liking a boy and then saying the wrong things that are misinterpreted including birthday plans and unnecessary but oh-so-relatable drama. It's as realistic as it could be and that's why the book is to be adored. Who wouldn't fall in love with it? And shares bits and pieces of Indonesia life along the way.

Thank you to Macmillan Children's Publishing Group and NetGalley for the eARC!

From friendship miscommunications to sibling squabbles to struggling to learn to be a good person while going through puberty, this graphic novel has it all. I thoroughly enjoyed this story, which perfectly captured what it's like to be an oldest sibling and the pressures that come with it. As someone who has never had chickenpox, I can't speak to the reality of that aspect of the book, but it certainly seemed to be realistically awful in its depiction! The illustrations were charming and dynamic, and I love Abby as the main character. I loved her realistic flaws and her struggle to be a good sibling while sick and quarantined. Set in the 90s in Indonesia, the author has little notes throughout the book to explain things that readers might not understand like a lack of a remote for the TV or a cassette player. This is perfect for fans of Shannon Hale's Real Friends series or Raina Telgemeier! I can't wait to add this to my library's collection!

This graphic novel perfectly encapsulates what it feels like to be an oldest sister, a middle schooler, and go through have the chicken pox. I was impressed with how much I related to it as an almost 30yr old.

Perfect middle grade graphic novel! Abby is the oldest sibling of a family of 5; she finds herself constantly frustrated by her younger siblings. When the whole family is quarantined with chickenpox, Abby copes with friend drama, a potential love interest, and her super annoying siblings. The 90s setting and relatable characters will be a big hit with kids today. Highly recommend!

Chickenpox is a graphic novel based on the real life experience of the author. It was somewhat entertaining for a story about a large group of siblings infected with chickenpox. They learn about each other while quarantined.

I received an electronic ARC from Macmillan Children's Publishing Group through NetGalley.
Abby sometimes gets frustrated being the eldest of five children and she shares this with readers. When all five of them are quarantined with Chickenpox, the stress of being sick, itching nonstop, and coping with everyone cooped up in the house explodes. Lai wraps a serious message with humor as she shares her memories of a similar time in her family's life. Though a vaccine now exists, readers will connect with being together and unable to leave homes. Hopefully, they will begin to understand that relationships change - families and friends, and think about their own lives too. The artwork is vividly colored and adds so much detail to the dialogue.

I remember having Chickenpox when I was about 4 years old. It was before my brothers were born but I also remember them getting it when they were about 3. I was also shocked when I discovered there is a vaccine and that getting Chickenpox is no longer a part of childhood!

While my experience of Chickenpox is very different from that depicted in this graphic novel, I still found it very relatable.

I am a bit disturbed because I know that when I add it to my library, it will count as historical fiction and how is 1994 long enough ago to count?

The story is engaging, the drama makes sense, and I think my students will relate well to this!

Thank you to Net Galley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for the eARC. All opinions are my own!

Remy Lai’s illustrations are colorful and cute (except for when the close-ups of chickenpox get kinda gross), and the story and art style will certainly appeal to fans of books like Smile and Squished. Details of life in Indonesia in the 90’s give readers more context for Abby’s experiences, and it’s fun to see things like laser discs make an appearance. Lai does a good job of expressing how simple misunderstandings can spiral to larger problems, and I appreciated the nuances of the sibling dynamics. One moment in particular that stood out to me was when each child noticed that depending on who is around, each of them has been the eldest at different times. If Abby isn’t home, Amy has to be the mature and responsible one, if Amy isn’t home it’s Remy, and so on. Realizing this was a big moment for Abby, who often feels the burden of being eldest to so many “immature” children. Whether it’s with friends or family, Lai’s storytelling emphasizes the importance of communication and hearing someone else’s side of things.

This is such a fun graphic novel set in 90s Indonesia about being a big sister and dealing with the responsibility of being the oldest when her siblings annoy her and get her in trouble. There was a misunderstanding between Abby and her two best friends about hurt feelings and if they like the same boy which is worked out in the end. After the quarantine with her siblings, Abby ends up realizing that she loves being a big sister and that all the sibling except the baby get the you are older you know better lecture when fighting with their littler sibling. The artwork is really adorable and I loved the 90s callbacks with corded phones, Walkmans and laser disc movie rentals.

Thanks to Macmilan Childrens Publishing Group and Netgalley for the complimentary copy of this book. All opinions in this review are my own.

"For fans of Telgemeier" is a tag that gets tossed at any book like this, but Chickenpox is one of the few that has anything near the emotional resonance of her books.

Chickenpox, set in a time before the chickenpox vaccine, introduces a new generation to corded phones, chickenpox quarantine, call waiting, and the childhood of the 90s when siblings played together and invented games for entertainment. Remy Lai uses her own life in this memoir to tell about Abby, an oldest sister with four younger siblings. All Abby wants is to have friends and be cool...but that's proving to be more difficult when her friends make her feel like a baby and bright red pox marks appear as she catches the virus running through her family...chickenpox! Stuck at home for two weeks, Abby struggles with being unable to avoid her siblings, and then struggles with the surprising feeling of missing them when they are all sick, quiet, and out of her way. Abby's friendships have misunderstandings and communications typical of tweens, but totally genuine in a way that kids can relate to. This is a perfect addition to any elementary library or classroom.

What a fun time I had being a fly on the wall with the Lai family! Main character Abby is the oldest of 5 siblings growing up in the 90s in Indonesia. As a contemporary of the main character, I loved the nostalgic references to cassette players, video rental stores, and the like. Even chicken pox is mostly a thing of the past, and this graphic novel captured the feeling of being stuck in the house with your (annoying) siblings and trying not to scratch. Add in a healthy helping of middle school drama that Abby worries about while she's absent from school, and you've got the makings of a great book. One thing today's young readers will appreciate is how well the author explains references that they might not understand. At no time is the book about "learning a lesson," but the characters happen to grow and become more self aware during the book, which is a nice bonus. Overall, I'd compare this to graphic novels by Raina Telgemeier, Victoria Jamieson, and Megan Wagner Lloyd. I look forward to carrying it in my store!

Adorable story with adorable art work! Give this one to fans of Raina Telgemeier's Guts. Abby is over her all her siblings ("animal") that share her home ("Zoo"). Suddenly, due to a contagious virus, she is now quarantined at home with all of them, for days on end! I love the character development we see for several of the family members and Abby's two friends. Full of relatable friend drama, misunderstandings, and family members that you truly love but also can't stand, MG readers will love this one.

E ARC provided by Netgalley.

In 1994, author Remy Lai was living with her family in Indonesia, but she tells the story of her family's bout with chicken pox from the point of view of her oldest sister, Abby. Abby is 12, Amy is 11, Remy is 8, Andy 6, and Tommy just 3. This makes the household a bit like "a wild zoo" from time to time. Abby will do just about anything to escape the ruckus, including taking piano lessons, and spending lots of time at her friends Julia and Monica's houses. When the two want to meet Abby's siblings, she reluctantly has them over, but when the kids pester them, Abby finds herself fighting with them. Julia makes the comment that Abby is acting like "a fourth grader", which hurts her feelings. Julia comes down with chicken pox and is out of school, and Abby is wary of hanging out with Monica because of the comment, hanging out with her friend who is a boy, Sandy. When the Lai's go to a local hotel pool to swim, Remy notices that she has mosquito bites, but when the other children seem to have them as well, they get hauled to Dr. Sutanto, who diagnoses chicken pox (called "watery pox" in Indonesian). Abby seems to have escaped them and is glad, since her siblings have to be quarantined for 7-10 days, but she wakes up the next morning with them as well. The progression of the disease is nicely laid out for modern readers who have not experienced this; there's even a nice author's note talking about the vaccine that was available shortly after her experiences. Everyone is sick and laid low for a while; Abby rebounds a bit more quickly, so ends up trying to help her mother and amuse and cater to her brothers and sisters. Sometimes this goes awry, like the time that she suggest the forbidden game of "ghost" that involves covering each other with flour. Abby ends up having to clean up the mess, and as the oldest, is always blamed. Things are difficult with Julia and Monica; at one point, Abby calls Julia, and based on their conversation comes to the conclusion that she "like likes" Sandy. She tells Monica this, and is surprised that Monica is a little cold toward her. At one point, Abby calls Julia's house, but ends up telling Julia's mother that the remark about being like a fourth grader hurt her feelings, and Julia's mother cancels a birthday party. Abby is later able to fix this mistake. There are some sisterly successes, like when Abby must watch the other children while her mother takes Tommy to the doctor because his chicken pox have become infected, and she encourages them all to create a library with check out cards, and this keeps them amused for some time. Eventually, everyone gets better, and Abby manages to talk to her friends and figure things out, so that when she returns to school, it's not so bad.
Strengths: This is definitely a historical topic that we needed, before all of the authors are too young to remember what having chicken pox is like! Having it set in a family with five children makes it much more interesting; of course they all got sick at the same time. Adding a bit of friend drama, and explaining how the land line was the only way to communicate was a good move. There are some other things like VHS tapes and video rental stores that also have a tiny bit of explanation for middle school students, who at this point in time were born around 2010-2013! This was a fun but informative graphic novel from the author of Ghost Book, Pie in the Sky, and other popular titles.
Weaknesses: There could have been a few more 1990s references, but since this is set in Thailand, the popular culture was probably not quite the same. There are some good fashion depictions; I'm glad that chicken pox are gone, but we could use more bright colors! I was a little surprised that Abby and her siblings scratched their pox; I remember being coated in calamine lotion and being told that horrible things would happen to me if I scratched (I was younger than Remy!). I remember my mother taking her long fingernails and trying to scratch in between my pox!
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who want a historic look at a bygone disease, or who enjoy graphic novels with family interactions, like Lloyd's Squished or Tang's Parachute Kids.

The illustrations are great. Being a teen in the 90's made the book nostalgic to me but I wonder if the new generation will understand the old tech and even chicken pox itself. Great story but I would prefer more on the changing of relationships in a family/friendships etc.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I read the title of this graphic novel since kids don’t get chicken pox anymore; however, my fears were unfounded. I think this will be a winner with my students along with “Allergic” and “Guts” to name a few. Engaging artwork, brilliant storytelling with adequate historical context to draw in readers, and lovable siblings make this a sure purchase fo my middle school library.

Chickenpox is never a fun way to spend days off school, but I thoroughly enjoyed this read! Remy did such a great job of making me feel for the characters in this story and stay engaged the whole time. Abby is such a likeable character and you really felt for her juggling with middle school, friendships, and younger sibilings. I felt anxious when there were problems stirring, I felt annoyed at the younger sibilings while at the same time being annoyed at the oldest sibiling, Abby. So relatable and a fun read!

Fans of the Click series or Berrybook Middle School series will enjoy this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan for the advanced copy.