HOW IT ALL ENDS

An anxious, academically gifted student jumps from seventh grade to freshman year of high school.

Thirteen-year-old Tara, who loves to daydream about having adventures, is selected for an accelerated program in which she’ll skip a grade. Instead of attending the eighth grade dance and going on the class trip to Six Flags, she must instead navigate the intimidating new world of high school. Despite some guidance from her older sister, Isla, Tara can’t help but imagine nightmare scenarios, like being publicly humiliated or getting lost in a never-ending hallway. In reality, high school has its pros (pizza in the cafeteria every day) and cons (a group of rowdy boys in English class). When Tara is partnered with classmate Libby for a project, she finds a new favorite part of school in her new crush. Debut author/illustrator Hunsinger’s distinctive style, with its loosely drawn, thin black outlines, is reminiscent of doodles in the margins of student notebooks and perfectly suits the subject matter. The absence of panels reflects the chaos of this major life transition, and the limited color palette differentiates between teal-tinted reality and red-and-pink fantasy, with pops of yellow throughout. Tara’s voice rings true, and readers will find much to relate to in her various social and emotional struggles. Frequent moments of humor create a lighthearted tone despite Tara’s overall angst. Tara reads white; there’s racial diversity among the supporting cast.

A slice of life that’s as imaginative as its protagonist.