Crush ~ Svetlana Chmakova
This week I devoured an incredibly well-written and illustrated graphic novel. Does anyone else experience graphic novels absolutely flying off their shelves? I certainly do, and I’m not mad about it. Any way a kid can, a) build confidence as a reader or, b) enjoy a book, sounds good to me!
This book seriously took me right back into the whirlwind of emotions I felt EVERY time I had a crush on a classmate in middle school.
Crush, by Svetlana Chmakova will make kids laugh and cringe alongside the protagonist, Jorge Ruiz, who is seriously struggling with how to handle his feelings for his friend, Jazmine.
Typically cool, calm, and collected, Jorge is suddenly tongue-tied, sweaty, and awkward around Jazmine and everyone he’s close to. He feels ALL the feelings, has NO idea how to express them, but is luckily surrounded by incredible friends who help him through.
There are some bumps on the road to romance, though, and this book does a fabulous job delving into topics such as bullying, popularity, gossip, and what it means to be true to yourself and the people you care for.
Run and grab this book ASAP because graphic novels--especially this one-- are the bomb! This one will be added to my growing Book Talk One Pagers bundle because it is a must-have in every middle grade classroom.
Maturity: 1/4
This novel is ideal for students age 11+. It has no mature content.
Pages: 235
Lexile: GN150L
GN simply stands for “graphic novel.”
Lexile is a score that helps educators and parents match students with an appropriate text. A Lexile score is a measure of both a child’s reading ability and a text difficulty. However, Lexile does not take into account the content of a novel. So, pairing readers with a text is a complex process, and knowledge of a novel’s themes and plot is necessary to make a high-quality recommendation.
If you are curious about the grade-level equivalent to Lexile scores, check out the conversion chart here!
Happy Reading!
♥ Kara & Riley
