by Hope Larson
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Review copy provided by the publisher.
Release date: August 4, 2020
Others in the series: All Summer Long
Content: There is some romance. It will be in the middle grade graphic novel setion of the bookstore.

Bina and her friends are now in eighth grade, and all Bina wants to do is be a part of a band. She ropes her friend Darcy into it, but it’s not really a band without a drummer. So, Darcy gets the new kid, Enzo, to play drums. And there starts all of Bina’s problems. Darcy like-likes Enzo, and they end up dating, which makes Bina the third wheel. And then Darcy and Enzo’s musical tastes clash with Bina… and eventually leads them to pushing her out of the band. That she started. Of course that smarts! Complicating everything is that Bina is suspicious that her best friend, Austin, like-likes her. She’s not interested in him that way. All she wants to do is write songs and play music. Why is that so hard?

I really do love how Larson captures the uncertainty of early teen hood, and that she is able to capture the varying degrees of interest and non-interest in relationships. Eighth graders are really all over the map, and I love that Larson is not judgmental about any of that. Bina feels left out, but she’s not really interested in being “in” either, and that’s all okay. Larson balances this beautifully.

I love spending time with Bina as she grows up and figures things out. I would definitely read more!