The illustrations in this book were on point. Great imagery, beautiful colors. Just loved it. I just felt like as for the subject material, there was a lot going on and it would be hard to find a mid-grade girl that happens to fit in this niche. There's theater and homeschool and church and youth group and friends leaving and getting a period and curiosity about feelings towards the same sex. I know this time. In a child's life has a lot going on, but it didn't feel like it represented a certain individual.

This is a great story for young girls who are going through puberty. It's something that a lot of girls don't get taught about because, for a long time, it was something that was kept like a taboo secret. This is a great story because it is from the young girl's point of view and shows us how she is feeling as she is going through these new changes.

Middle grade fans of the Emmie series will gravitate toward this one. Graphic novels are in high demand, and this will fit right in with the rest of the realistic stories these kids crave.

Thank you to the publishing company and author. I picked this out for a cute quick little read and that is all that it was. I love anything with mental health rep/lgbtiap+ characters. This had both, alongside a fun to follow preteen protagonist.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a fun and enjoyable story. This book will be a great read for kids and they will really connect with the characters and the story as a whole. The illustrations in this book were so adorable.

A lovely follow up on the first book, although it can definitely be a stand alone. The artwork is consistent with the first book and should appeal to the target audience, since it's a similar style to these types of coming of age middle school graphic novel. Ormsbee touches on some pretty heavy topics, most especially figuring out sexuality and desire. She also touches on conflicts with the church or, more specifically, the way in which her religion treats women and homosexuality.

Katie is mature for her age and is surprisingly insightful about herself, and so, as she figures out her feelings towards Grace and her relationships with her friends, faith and family, the story evolves in a way that is supportive of others who may be going through similar emotional awakenings. I found the conflicts in her life were reasonable and that nothing jumped out at me as a negative, although I was definitely incensed with how her faith was tested because of the misogyny. It's also a great book for starting some dialogue about how we are still very much living in a world where women are told to dress a certain way so as not to tempt men. Ugh.

The characters are developed well enough, with Katie of course being front and centre, and the story moves along despite the many different things that happen through the course of Katie's milestone year.

Again, this is part of a series, but it can definitely be read without picking up Growing Pangs. And they don't need to be read in order if you were to read this and then decide you wanted more Katie. .

This is a great middle great graphic novel. It touches on friendship, crushes, lgbtq identities, religion, family, coming of age, bodily changes, etc. It really captures that time of life when we all feel a little lost as we figure out who we are and how to present that to the people on our life. The art is terrific and the story was very touching.

This was a good book that looked at bisexual and how a person in these day images deal with modern day situations.

Katie goes to church, she is home schooled, and she loves theater.She is so hoping to be lead in the play Annie, but doesn’t get it. However, she lands the role of one of the orphans, as do the girls she is performing with. There is something so freeing about being part of the theater, something she is not allowed to feel in both church and in the home schooling group she is in.

All her friends keep talking about boys they have crushes on, and Katie can’t join in, because she doesn’ts have these feelings. At least not these feelings for a boy.

The author said she wrote this for all the kids out there who are afraid of what they are feeling, and hide that part of themselves to fit in with the norm. She says she wishes she had had a book like this when she was growing up.

Oh, I know that so well. I also remember all the girls talking about boys they liked, when I, like Katie, had a crush on a girl. You can pretend to be part of the group, but it feels wrong, and that is what Katie feels.

This book does not, of course, solve all the problems of going through puberty and having first crushes, but it does show a way to navigate those waters.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review. This book is coming out the 29th of October 2024.

Turning Twelve is an incredible graphic novel that all upper MG readers and beyond should read and will absolutely love. The characters are well-developed and easy to connect with, readers will feel for Katie as she navigates the struggles of becoming 12: her best friends are temporarily moving away, she is home-schooled, she gets her period for the first time, and she has her first crush. Katie feels alone and is nervous that liking a girl is wrong. Throughout the book she learns that it's important to be who you are, it's okay to disappoint people, and that being true to yourself should be your top priority. This book is important and needed by so many! I highly recommend it!

This book was so beautifully written! I have never read a book that left me in such happy tears. Everything with the church and the friends was on point with what happens in real life and it was brought this book in such a cute way. I almost wanted to hear more about Katie and Grace!

This graphic novel follows Katie who is turning 12 and learning she has new things in life to worry about: getting her period, having a crush on a girl, losing friends, and questioning God. It is a great book for girls who are entering this age and trying to figure all of these life changes out. Middle school is a hard time for a lot of children so this book can help them explore their feelings regarding these topics.

A great graphic novel to include in classroom libraries.

I felt that this graphic novel tackled sexism and homophobia, particularly in religious circles, very well. Rather than telling the reader outright that homophobia is bad, the dialogue in the graphic novel allows the reader to think about equity and guide them toward their own understanding.

I think this would be a very beneficial read for tweens in similar scenarios.

The MG sequel to Growing Pangs by @kathsby @goodgollyetc
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Katie is so excited for her twelfth birthday pool party, but quickly realizes growing up isn’t all fun and games. One of her friends has to move away for a while, her new babysitting gig is tiring and new year as a seventh grader is looming where Katie will have to deal with crushes, shaving and body changes. And while everyone is crushing on boys, Katie realizes she might have feelings for her new friend, Grace, but is afraid to tell anyone for fear they won’t accept or understand her.
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Honestly time: I haven’t read Growing Pangs yet, but I definitely will now after this graphic novel Katie is such a likable character, as well as relatable. Her OCD issues are ones many kids can connect with. Turning Twelve is our generation’s Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. Read the author notes! This book releases October 29!

CW: homophobia, mental health issues, OCD, anxiety, religious trauma, sexism

Books like these need to exist, but those looking for a more universal graphic novel might find the specific issues Katie struggles with in regards to religion and sexuality specific and niche.

My daughter read this in a few hours. She is a 5th grader and she couldn’t put it down. It is a great story about figuring out who you are. Middle school is hard, and this book was so relatable.

This is a follow up to Growing Pangs and was an adorable addition to the series. Katie is growing up and entering puberty. I enjoyed watching her character learn more about herself and the world. This story is full of ups and downs and is super relatable. I liked seeing how Katie was exploring her feelings in a healthy way and just trying to understand the expectations from her family, friends, church, and herself. I think this is a great coming of age tale for preteens who are becoming more independent and experiencing new feelings.

Okay, that's it, I'm obsessed!
Turning Twelve is the follow-up novel to Growing Pangs, where readers were introduced to Katie, a middle school girl who finds herself growing apart from her best friend and experiencing more anxiety. In Turning Twelve, Katie is more confident in her friendships and herself. She sees a therapist for her anxiety and OCD. She's trying out for a play during the summer, and watching her friends start to form crushes... And then Katie realizes that she might have a crush on a girl. How does that work, when she goes to church and attends a youth group where she's told that her existence is a temptation for men, and that only men and women can be together (otherwise God cries)?
A perfect, age-appropriate bildungsroman that ends on a happy, hopeful note. Highly recommend.

A very good, honest look at the age. I especially appreciated the author's afterward. We need more books like this.

Turning Twelve is a fantastic sequel to Growing Pangs. The story will resonate with middle school readers who also are exploring new friendships and new relationships. Everyone will find something to relate to. Highly recommended for middle school collections.

I really loved this follow up to Growing Pangs. It was cute and fun, but also very realistic and didn't offer easy solutions to friends moving away, dealing with religious homophobia while coming to understanding your own sexuality, or realizing sometimes friends turn on you and you never get an explanation why. It felt very true to real life in that people often experience a situation and never get to confront an antagonist or have everything neatly solved, they just move forward with the new knowledge. It's one of the things I like best about this book and the first. It also made reference to being in therapy to get a better handle on OCD symptoms.

This surprisingly was one of the few areas I felt a bit let down. The first book, Growing Pangs, did a phenomenal job of depicting OCD compulsions and the "buzzing thoughts" but it took a major backseat in this one. We're told at the beginning that the thoughts had quieted down some recently but weren't gone, so I did think it made sense we weren't seeing them at first. But when things start becoming difficult we don't really see the resurgence depicted either despite the narrative asserting there is one. We're told "the thoughts are getting loud" and see one instance of a compulsion followed by a mention to the therapist that the thoughts had gotten worse again, but that's pretty much it. It felt very tell, not show this time around.

I loved how we saw the crush develop and the way friends become pen pals and the importance of having community spaces where you feel you can be yourself. I'd definitely enjoy another installment if one ever comes along.