The author states in the back matter of the book that “this is a true story, which means it’s a story.” This story is the series of events and interactions with people in the author’s life during her teenage years, all of which were shaped by her parents’ divorce, her struggles and alliances with friends and siblings, and finding her place in an ever-changing world.

A graphic novel memoir about growing up, maintaining friendships, and weathering family life after a divorce. Recommend for voracious graphic novel readers, particularly fans of Svetlana Chmakova, Lucy Knisley, or Shannon Hale and LeUyen Pham.

There is much to like in this mostly autobiographical book by Tori Sharp: it’s graphic novel format, the focus on a tween coping with divorced parents, frustrations with family, and the angst of growing up. The authenticity rings true and will resonate with my students as they read. However, the abrupt shifts in time and place were difficult to navigate and more than once, I turned back a page to see if I had skipped a few such as when I went from a panel with young Tori eating a midnight snack with her bff and in the next one, to a new day and a conversation with who I assume is a nanny/babysitter/housekeeper type character. (Banners with transition phrases or even “chapter” headings would make the frequent jumps less confusing.) Tori, in the book and in real life, has a vivid imagination and is always creating art and story in notebooks. Her imagination is, in large part, the tool that helps her process all the difficult changes in her life. However, few of my 5th graders are still dressing up and play-acting fairies and goddesses with their friends unless it is online or in their reading and the regular occurrence of this type of pretending will possibly feel awkward to other tweens rather than the encouraging message to let imagination take you to wonderful places that I believe Sharp intends. My ARC copy only had a handful of full color pages, but the illustrations are realistic and appealing. Final verdict? If you need more graphic novels in the vein of Telgemeier, Hale, Chmakova and similar, this one has a place in your collection.

This one wasn't bad. It suffered a little from the comparison to the Real Friends trilogy, because it just doesn't live up to the standard set by Shannon Hale and LeUyen Pham. And it shouldn't have to! Especially because this is a debut.

Daydreamy Tori likes to make up stories. Her writing helps her deal with the stressors in her life, especially her parents' divorce. Ever since the split up, Tori feels lonely at her mom's house and her dad's apartment, even when she's surrounded by her siblings. She writes a story about a magical fairy finding companionship and her way home.

I can see this one being popular with kids who like to write or just daydream.

This autobiographical graphic novel is similar in look and style as Smile and Real Friends/ Best Friends and will certainly have a similar appeal. Like those books, our young protagonist struggles with both home and school problems and like Best Friends in particular she has an active fantasy life. Unlike both of those books, Tori's writings become a real part of the story. The reader becomes as engaged in the story young Tori is writing as the story ABOUT Tori the adult author is telling. As a girl who wrote a lot when I was younger, I found that the book really captured how important writing is to a writer and how the world you create often becomes as important to you as the real one and reflective of your own experiences. Some contextual details require close reading and I don't think that her family was as fleshed out as they could have been, but still I think this is a great book for young girls in particular who enjoy characters that are JUST a bit older than the ones in most graphic novels of a similar type. 12-13 is such a tricky time and a lot of books tend to either gear too young or too old. Because of readability, a lot of graphic novels like Smile for example, have readers has young as 2nd or 3rd grade. Just Pretend might be read by younger children too, but I think it has a complexity and a maturity that will really appeal to the actual middle schoolers depicted, particularly those that are imaginative.

2.5/5 stars

This memoir is about Tori’s middle school years, when she dealt with divorced parents, friends moving away, sibling drama, and her time daydreaming and writing about fantasy stories.

I enjoyed the illustration style— it really reminded me of Raina Telgemeier. However, the story doesn’t flow well. It jumps in time, short amounts of time and longer amounts of time, a lot without any notice. Additionally, there are some mostly superfluous/unresolved storylines that just kinda hang there. I expect more from an edited story.

An autobiographical graphic novel with the feeling of raina telgemeier, but unfortunately with less substance than one might want. The story felt disjointed and unmoored from itself. It wanted to be a story but also a slice of life and together it became pretty plotless.

Tori, the author, lived in a fantasy world of her art and writing when she was a kid. This is a graphic memoir depicting her middle school year before high school. It describes how hard it was for her parents to be divorced, her anxiety, her daydreaming that had her getting called out in class, the ups and downs of her friendships. The Author's Note in the back was great, as well. Thanks for an ARC of this graphic novel!

Middle-schooler Tori's parents are divorced, her older twin siblings are acting like teenagers (which they are), and Tori herself is struggling with middle school and the transition from childhood to teenagerdom. Tori copes with these issues (and more) by escaping into her robust fantasy life an creative writing projects. I found the real life of Tori far more interesting than the story Tori was writing, although I appreciate what the author was going for by including these sections.

Just Pretend is the story of Tori and how she adjusts to life during middle school. Tori is navigating her parents' divorce, conflict with her older siblings, and changing friendships. During all of this, she is writing a book. Imagination is important to her, and I think it helps her cope with everything happening in her life. I did feel like there were times that it felt a bit young for the intended audience and was a bit disjointed when the story skips forward. Overall, graphic novel enthusiasts will enjoy this book.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

5 stars. I love realistic-fiction graphic novels, and now I want to write one about my own middle school years.

Just Pretend follows Tori from her seventh-grade year to the summer after eighth grade, while she attempts to cope with her parents' divorce and having to move between houses all the time. Thankfully, she has her best friend, Taylor, and the book she's writing about fairies in the real world.

Just like Tori in this book, I was constantly writing (only I had my own laptop and could work on it whenever I wanted to), and I loved art. Until high school, I was known as "the art kid
I also liked the early-2000s nostalgia. Even though I wasn't in middle school until maybe 10 years after Tori was, I still remember the things from my early childhood like flip phones, box-shaped computers/monitors, and the mall being extremely popular. One of my favorite parts, though, is the farm game Tori and Taylor play on their family computers, because it sounds almost exactly like Stardew Valley, which I'm currently obsessed with! I hope that's what it's based on.

I'd recommend this book if you liked Real Friends or Smile. I actually found it really similar to Real Friends.

This was so cute. The art reminded me of the comic Allergic. I really enjoyed the friendships and relationships in this one and can see this making middle grade students very happy.

Thank you for the e-arc!

This was probably more 3.5 stars, but I’m rounding up because I appreciated the author’s addition of her creative processes at the end, and I think young aspiring artists will, too.

This is a bittersweet middle grade graphic novel that explores the author’s 7th & 8th grade friendships, her relationships to her family members (older siblings, divorced parents, dad’s gf), and her creativity. This reads pretty young - the author is playing pretend well into middle school and high school - no judgment AT ALL, but just know that this will appeal to some kids and read “too young” to others. A book for every reader, etc! :D

I thought the time jumps were a bit disconcerting (oh wow, a whole year went by??) and found the ending abrupt and a tad unsatisfying, but overall this is a sweet story and the art is great. It would be a good addition to a upper elementary or middle school collection.

I had a hard time with this one. Think it will definitely appeal to Telgemeier and Libsenson fans. It follows a girl during a timeframe when she goes through a lot of change. Her parents’ divorce, anxiety issues, etc. I think firstly there was a lot covered in this and sometimes I find that to be a challenge to digest in a graphic novel because you have so much less time to tell a story. I think the plot inhibited a lot of character development and vice versa, if that makes sense. Overall? I thought this was just okay.

This book was ok. The story was fine, nothing I haven't seen before, really, but I think it will appeal to fans of Raina Telgemeier. One thing that really didn't work for me were the interludes of Tori's own story. I could have done with fewer of those. I get that they're there to point out escapism through fiction and to highlight a few parallels in her own life, but for me, they didn't work. I think the references to Tori's writing and her love of reading (esp with the near-allusion to Inkheart), those themes come across just fine.

Just Pretend follows Tori as she tries to navigate the stresses of middle years; divorced parents, friend issues, sibling rivalries, and general teenage angst. To help cope she daydreams, draws, and writes fantasy stories.

I really like the premise of this book, but the transitions were really choppy. I am not sure if that was intentional to illustrate the authors struggles or just so the they could cover more ground. The integrated fantasy story is actually really good… I need to look up if it ever got published because the storyline was kinda cool. Overall, the disjointedness of the scene changes (which sometimes I felt happened right in the middle of a dialog) were a huge turn off for me. I think my students will really like it and I like that it tackles an all too common situations with most of our kids – divorce, sibling conflicts, and middle years life. I did like her the extra information at the end of the book – about writing it, drawing process, etc.

Thank you Netgalley and Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for this ARC. I think my students will enjoy this book and I look forward to adding it to our library upon its release.

Tori is 12 years old and is going through a tough time. Her parents are divorced, she has trouble focusing in school, and it seems like nothing is easy. She is a writer so she escapes her normal by writing fantasy novels. This coming of age memoir goes into the ups and downs of middle school and growing up. The family and friend dynamics played a large part in Tori's life, and it is fun to watch her grow up.

I really enjoyed this graphic memoir. It read a lot like fiction, and I loved the artwork. It was also fun to read her fantasy story that was sprinkled throughout the book. I think this will definitely appeal to fans of Smile and the Babysitter's Club.

Graphic novels are very popular in my school library. This story shows a girl adapting over a year timeframe, to her parents divorce, and some of the anxiety and issues that challenge her. Tori is twelve, creative and in middle school. She is having to deal with many things including angry siblings, a new home, weekend visits to her dad's new apartment and his girlfriend. She is also navigating the school year where there are challenges with friends. I like her escape into her reading and writing to help her cope in her new reality. I also like the lessons of speaking up and being honest with feelings. This is a book that can help teens understand challenges of divorce in a family and the benefit of better communication. It may be more appealing to girls because the main character is a female but in my library boys will check these type of books out too. I'd recommend for 5th grade and up. Thank you NetGalley and Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for a temporary ARC ebook in exchange for a honest review.

A graphic novel about living in different places with different families, making and losing friends, adjusting to change, and doing what you enjoy. Tori has a hard time adjusting when her parents get divorced and she lives with her mother part-time and her father part-time. She has to deal with her siblings' issues and friend problems. She deals by writing her own stories and reading.

My 4th grade students love reading the graphic novel memoirs by Raina Telgemeier so I know they would enjoy Just Pretend as well. I think this would appeal mostly to girls because of the female friendships but the divorce storyline is a plot that many children can find relatable especially if they too have experienced going back and forth between parent's houses. I think this book clearly shows the stress associated with that transition and the effect it has on a young adult. The fantasy element creating made up stories was creative and tied in well with the author's desire to be a writer from a young age. While this book did not have one single clear cut problem or storyline, it did include several plots relating to the author and growing up.