Relatable, imperfect characters, humor, and a heartfelt story. What a great combo for middle grade readers! Will certainly purchase for my elementary library.

I love the hybrid style of this book. Part chapter book and part comic make the story of Henry Khoo come alive.

I really went back and forth with this book. The whole helicopter family theme was taken to the extreme and you really felt annoyed by them as you read. So annoyed that I wanted to put the book down and not have to deal with them. But that makes the reader really understand how Henry must feel and why he makes the decision to go on his own wuxia drama-like journey to prove he is not a baby anymore and gain some independence.

Henry’s low self esteem really comes across and readers will feel bad for him at first, then root for him as he makes realizations that not everyone acts they way they do for one reason only.

Overall, the story felt a bit jumpy and certain themes were overdone. I don’t know that I would purchase this book for our collection, but I would recommend it to certain patrons if we could get it through consortial sharing.

FLy on the Wall is about Henry, a complex character dealing with many emotions. Like many other kids his age, Henry is tired of the way he is being treated by his family (feels babied) and by his classmates (feels invisible). He wrestles through his emotions in this book by going on an adventure to see his dad in a foreign country. Readers will like the various ways the story is told and the illustrations. Readers will be able to connect to Henry through the lessons he learns about life and himself.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I received an ARC of Fly on the Wall through NetGalley.

Henry has a helicopter family. Everyone hovers over him and he doesn't have any room to make decisions, speak up, or be himself (if he could ever have some space to figure that out). Everyone always tells him what to do and how to do it until he plans the revenge of a lifetime. Henry plans to fly to Singapore to visit his father. Alone.

While you have to suspend reality to make some of the scenarios possible, what reads as total truth is Henry's underlying desire to have a friend. A real one. He had one once, but she turned against him. When he turned his loneliness and anger into a webcomic that pokes fun of his classmates, he became an undercover villain and bully. If he is ever discovered, he won't ever have a friend again.

Now, can he pull off his giant international adventure to prove that he is not a baby and that Henry Khoo has thoughts and ideas of his own? Can he maintain his secret authorship? If not, he might lose any chance of having a friend. Ever.

Lai’s work in Pie in the Sky touched upon depression and grief. In Fly in the Wall, she switches over to finding the balance of being too protected vs. isolated (looking at you, the opposite of helicopter parents with your eyes on a device never once looking at your kid 💔).

The book juggles so much without once dropping a thread in the story and has just the right touch of humor to have you laughing out loud at, oddly, just the right times. (Official Babies scheme, the one that asks, “what’s the meaning of life?”)

High praise for the flotsam spread, wow. I dare you to find a kid in school who does not understand what Lai is talking about, or an adult at work for that matter. (Is anyone seeing a rise of attempts to de-stigmatize mental health, particularly in graphic novels of late?)

Peppering the book with Chinese = genius!! I don’t read it but it got me talking with mom to help with translations. And I know of cousins should would’ve gobbled up a hybrid like this while torturously trying to get through Chinese school.

And please, please say there’s a story for Nor possibly in the future, even a short one? Or a world in which Jingwen, Henry and Nor all somehow meet....

Don’t stop what you were meant to do Ms. Lai. Your work is fantastic.

Once again, Remy Lai captures the angst of middle school with an incredibly deft hand. While the adult/parent/teacher in my thought, "Oh, it couldn't possibly be that bad." The once junior-high-aged girl in my jerked her head up and shouted, "Yes. It. Could!" And though the travel scenario would not probably have raced as far as it did in our society of airline security overkill, it was not so far-fetched as to tax the imagination.

For all who feel invisible, who feel misunderstood, and who yearn to be heard - this is a wonderful read. An excellent priority purchase for middle schools.

In Remy Lai's second book, twelve-year-old Henry runs away to fly to his dad in Singapore as a way to prove to his overprotective family that he is not a baby anymore; his trip is complicated not only by his family's hovering but also by Henry's haunting knowledge that he has hurt people in his cutting school web comic "Fly on the Wall"--and someone knows it's him! Readers are in for a breezy, light-hearted story full of fart jokes, Henry's constant setbacks (like tripping over a child on a leash or getting on the wrong flight), and the narrator's witticisms (Henry's grandma makes his sister call him because she "is allergic to learning how to text"). The book is fast-paced, set over the course of only one day, and many illustrations in the style of Diary of a Wimpy kid also move the story along. While the story is ultimately goofy, there is also subtly deeper content, including Henry's social loneliness and his fear that his dad doesn't like him. Henry describes his trip as a heroic disciple's journey like in one of his grandmother's Chinese tv dramas, which fleshes out a theme of self actualization. While not as poignant as Pie in the Sky, Fly on the Wall is more fun and more readable. Great for fans of the Wimpy Kid-style art, as well as any readers who want a good laugh. Ages 8-12.