Hope Larson

Abby thinks the new girl at summer camp, Shasta, is great because they both like all the same things, but Abby's friends can stand her, leaving Abby in the middle of a tough situation. Simultaneous.

Chiggers

Sarah Sammis

Ciggers by Hope Larson is another of the grahpic novels to make it to the second round of judging for the Cybils.

Abby goes back to summer camp hoping to spend her time with her old friends Rose and Beth. There's one problem: Rose is too busy becase she's a cabin assistant / camp counselor and Beth is now pierced and has declared herself too cool for the likes of Abby. Chiggers follows Abby's reluctant friendship with Shasta after another girl is sent home early for an infestation of chiggers.

The artwork is drawn with a bold stroke in stark black and white. The characters are often wild looking, bordering on animalistic. The style captures the awkwardness of teenagers as they transition from children to adults.

Until the end, Chiggers is pretty much just a coming of age at summer camp story. It tries to add in a bit of magical realism through these electrical balls that are following Shasta. I'm not sure what the point of these balls are. They come so late in the book that they are like an after thought. The novel could have been better with a greater sense of narrative direction.

Hayley 📖🌈💜🌸

3.5 stars.
This was really cute, but like, apparently I can only read comics or graphic novels this month? 🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️

Chiggers

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