My students are avid graphic novel readers and love this series! They will be excited to read on in this next installment. Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC!

This series is extremely popular with my middle grade readers of books by Telgemeier, Hale and similar. It has even found crossover into the boys on my 5th and 6th grade campuses due to the very realistic scenarios experienced by the kids at Berrybrook Middle School. Like the first two in the series, readers will recognize characters that mirror those at their own schools making the reading much more enjoyable. The “crush” doesn’t get too gushy nor physical in a way that would put this book in a more YA category and reading it is not dependent on having read Awkward or Brave. Highly recommended for 5-8 grade readers who enjoy realistic graphic novels.

A beautiful graphic memoir that is informative and necessary for all people to be aware of. I highly recommend this title.

This was an excellent addition to the series. The Berrybrook graphic novels are phenomenal and I highly recommend them for libraries. From rich art-styles to relevant character issues, they are a fantastic read for all ages.

This is the 3rd book in the "Awkward" series and I think it's one of the best for middle grade readers. Svetlana's artwork captures emotions so well. Her characters are diverse. And they experience life as many kids do. They are relatable. It's a great series and I look forward to more in the series or just more by her.

Fun book. It was a pleasure to read. .

This is an amazing book. This book discusses about many issues that kids face nowadays: multiracial environment and respecting people. I love the storyline. I will recommend this book to my friends!

I loved this book just as much as I love all of Svetlana Chmakova books! I read this book with my 10 year old...who absolutely loves all of Svetlana Chmakova books. He said it was just what he wanted to read before he goes into the 6th grade! Quirky and funny, Great read for a pallet cleanse!

4/5 stars!
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A charming and funny entry in Chmakova's series. I loved that this was from the POV of a brown boy and addressed current topics like cyberbullying. This is going to fly off the shelves.

Third volume in a series, although you don't need to read the first two I highly recommend it. It's so adorable and such a cute and heart warm reading. The author talks about serious stuff without leaving the reader feeling bad or with heavy thoughts, you know? It's sweet and an adorable story. This is definitely my favorite of them all, I loved Jorge and Liv.

Svetlana Chmakova has written yet another wonderful middle grade graphic novel. The third book covers Jorge, a sweet boy who accidentally develops a crush even though he is really irratwd that everyone else seems to have one. His friends are hilarious and supportive even though they have some issues, or crushes, of their own!

This was definitely an enjoyable book and was my favorite of the 3 in this series. I won't hesitate to recommend to my students and have already put a copy in my classroom library. Many students will be able to make connections with the characters in this book.

Perfect for YA (and others as well)! :) The characters were true to life, as well as the scenarios. The drawings were terrific, and it read very smoothly. I discovered that this is the third book in this series. Oops! However, that made no difference in my reading pleasure. I will be picking up the others. (3.5/5)

Oh wow, I finished reading this in one shot (despite the way it was displayed as an eArc - with the text on a separate page) - love, love, love the art-style and the storyline and characters lived up to my initial expectations. Cute YA comic! Definitely going to look into the other titles by Ms Chmakova!

If you've read Chmakova's earlier books, Awkward and Brave, you know what you're getting into. Chmakova captures the crazy, mixed up emotions that are your first crush. Jorge is a big guys who uses his size for good, often busting up bullies picking on others who aren't Jorge's size. But his size advantage means nothing when he can hardly string together a sentence around Jazmine, a cute friend in the drama club. The two eventually pair up and things go from there. Chmakova's adorable cartoony style perfectly captures the confusion and excitement of first love.

I am a huge fan of Chmakova's other graphic novels, and this one did not let me down! I loved the inclusivity, themes, lessons learned, and each character in ALL of her books have such personalities! I loved how the coach was a hijab wearing badass woman. I loved how the main group of friends were all diverse, as well as including a non binary character within the story. Chmakova doesn't touch upon, mention, emphasize the diversity and everything is subtle, which is how it should be, as the world is like that, filled with a melting pot of people. I also enjoyed the fact that we were able to experience a "crush" from a male's POV, as most crush themes are told from the female's POV. The side stories were interesting and the friendship theme was written beautifully. I am going to go out on a limb and say this is Chmakova's best! Also, this was my first time that I witnessed consent being written about in a children's book (aside from picture books, where a lesson was being taught) I loved the way it was written about in such a nonchalant way, as a quick lesson/"reminder" from the sports coach, in which the topic comes back later on in the book.

3.5★
“If you can’t use your sports skills to win and have to resort to verbal abuse and insults on my field, GET OFF MY FIELD!”

Middle school is hard. Being a new teenager is hard. But this is easy. An easy-to-read, easy-to-understand graphic novel that covers a lot of issues. Boys, girls, non-binary (one mention); extroverts and shy kids; sports jocks and bookish nerds; big guys and little kids; popular kids and loners; pale, medium, dark kids; blondes, brunettes, redheads, headscarf.

And names from around the globe: Jorge Ruiz (our hero), Olivia (Liv – Jorge’s best friend), Jazmine Duong (shy, quiet, and Jorge’s first crush), Zeke, Garrett, James, and a host of others, including Mrs. Rashad. Mrs Rashad is also the sports coach and the one who made the earlier remark about GET OFF MY FIELD.

Kids bounce around the hallways, open lockers, eat lunch together or alone, and most importantly, occasionally bully each other. Jorge is a big kid, and he doesn’t like bullying. When he calls it out, the kids call him the Sheriff. It’s a joke, but his interventions work.

When he meets Jazmine, he is surprised to find himself tongue-tied and blushing. You can guess where the story goes. It’s a long book, so I’ll just copy a few excerpts here to give you an idea. I’m not spoiling anything by saying it has a happy ending, but you probably figured as much, eh? 😊

Thanks to NetGalley and Yen Press for the preview copy from which I’ve pinched the pictures.

My Goodreads review includes a screenshot captioned:
Jorge, “the Sheriff”, breaks up boys ganging up on a smaller boy.

My Goodreads review includes a screenshot captioned:
Jorge shoots hoops and says that sports is simpler than middle school.

My Goodreads review includes a screenshot captioned:
Coach (Mrs) Rashad reads the kids the riot act about verbal abuse.

My Goodreads review includes a screenshot captioned:
Jorge realises he’s got a crush and gets so flustered he misses a passed ball.

My Goodreads review includes a screenshot captioned:
Garrett explains to Jorge he hangs out with another guy so he can be part of the in crowd.

My Goodreads review includes a screenshot captioned:
Mrs. Rashad makes sure the kids understand that they are in charge of their bodies.

My Goodreads review includes a screenshot captioned:
Jorge is upset because someone hacked his social media account and made nasty remarks about friends.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
Don't tell anyone, but my middle school self has a huge crush on Jorge. I can't help it. He's sweet, honest and exceptionally kind. He’s an athlete but not into toxic jock culture. Alas Jorge already has a crush on someone else.
Seriously, this book captures the essence of the tumultuous time of adolescence. It's all completely believable. I love how earnest Jorge and Olivia are about making their school a safe place. Sure there are the usual insecure, nasty jerks, one of whom is near to them. but ultimately these are great kids with good teachers.
Now I have to go back and read Brave, the second in this series. I am loving this high caliber graphic series. If you haven't read them yet, I encourage you to find and read Awkward, the first one. You too will be hooked.

Crush is a fun read that keeps you lost in the pages. I am planning to add this title to my classroom library. I instantly fell in love with Jorge and his huge heart. Crush reminds of the ups and downs of your first love. The friendship between Liv, Garrett and Jorge made me smile. I also loved the diversity in the characters in the book. Ms. Chmakova did a wonderful friendship, love and facing adversity. I would highly recommend Crush by Svetlana Chmakova.

Crush is another outstanding book by Svetlana Chmakova. I enjoy meeting her characters and falling in love with them! Jorge is a young man with such a good heart, trying to be a good person. Thank you Svetlana and please keep writing more books!