Ellie in First Position

September 11, 2023
Ellie is miserable following her parents’ divorce and her move to a new town with her mother and inattentive older brother. Luckily, working on her Super Stella comics makes life at home bearable for introspective Ellie, and she’s attending the same school as her cheerful yet sometimes pushy best friend Chloe. When Ellie laments that her new classmates only seem interested in sports, her mother—who is often dismissive about Ellie’s focus on art—urges her to join one of the school teams. What follows is a comedic string of disasters as Ellie attempts to participate in various activities, including volleyball, swimming, and archery. A family trip to the ballet helps Ellie find her passion, despite her mother’s brusque opinion of dancing. With a peer’s encouragement, Ellie sneakily pursues the art by joining a ballet class, unbeknownst to her mom. While the plot is familiar, the illustrations’ exuberant energy and vivid hues, combined with the laugh-out-loud physical comedy from Ellie’s numerous athletic missteps and her dogged determination to be true to herself, results in an impassioned graphic novel from Freschi (The Vertical Sea, for adults) and Triolo. Characters are portrayed with pale skin. Ages 8–up.

September 1, 2023
Are sports the only way to make friends? After Ellie's parents divorce, she, her older brother, Robbie, and their mother relocate. At the kids' new school, Robbie fits in right away, but Ellie feels alienated by her snarky, cliquish classmates. The school has a strong athletic culture, and though Ellie prefers reading about the superhero Super Stella and watching movies, her mother's convinced that playing a sport will help her make friends. So Ellie tries volleyball, tennis, archery, and swimming--with little success. After each failure, she asks to take dance lessons. Her father, who visits and calls, is sympathetic, but her mother thinks dance is too competitive and a distraction from school. Ellie's first romance and a small group of arty friends solidify her love of dance and help her find a sneaky way to pursue her passion. Translated from Italian, this tale is well suited for more experienced graphic novel readers; there are no chapter headings, and clues about the passage of time are often subtle. The story is relatable, though, and the loose-lined, often exaggerated images are filled with humor. Auditory details like a classroom chair squeaking when it's scooted back, Robbie tearing through moving boxes, and onomatopoeia add to the fun. Ellie and her family are light-skinned; her class is diverse. A relatable tale that will ring true with both creative and athletic readers. (Graphic fiction. 8-11)

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