Review: Sunny Side Up

Title: Sunny Side Up
Author: Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm
Genre: Middle Grade, Graphic Novel
Publisher: Graphix
Source: Library
Format: Ebook
Release Date: August 25, 2015
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Sunny Lewin has been packed off to Florida to live with her grandfather for the summer. At first she thought Florida might be fun — it is the home of Disney World, after all. But the place where Gramps lives is no amusement park. It’s full of . . . old people. Really old people.

Luckily, Sunny isn’t the only kid around. She meets Buzz, a boy who is completely obsessed with comic books, and soon they’re having adventures of their own: facing off against golfball-eating alligators, runaway cats, and mysteriously disappearing neighbors. But the question remains — why is Sunny down in Florida in the first place? The answer lies in a family secret that won’t be secret to Sunny much longer. . .

Review:

This graphic novel deals with important issues that children’s books don’t usually address.

Sunny was sent to stay with her grandfather for the summer while her family faced some problems at home. The story flashes between Sunny’s time with her grandfather and her past at home. During the chapters at her home, her older brother becomes friends with some bad people. He starts drinking and using drugs, which escalates out of control.

There were some funny parts in the story too. Sunny stayed with her grandfather at his retirement residence in Florida, so she had to get used to living there. She had to carry a visitor’s pass at all times because of the strict rules at the residence, and they went out for the early bird dinners at restaurants.

I really liked the way the story flashed between the two time periods. At first, I found it a little confusing, but at the end it all made sense. The ending revealed the reason that Sunny was sent to her grandfather for the summer.

This is a great story for children who may have to face these serious issues.

Author: jilljemmett

Jill lives in Toronto, Canada. She has studied English, Creative Writing, and Publishing. Jill is the creator and content producer of Jill’s Book Blog, where she has published a blog post every day for the last four years, including 5-7 book reviews a week. She can usually be found with her nose in a book. View all posts by jilljemmett

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