Cover Image: Kyle's Little Sister

Kyle's Little Sister

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Member Reviews

I will try and read again. The story didn't hold my attention very much. I did like the themes of siblings and finding one's place in the world. I think older children and teens will be able to relate.

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Didn't capture my attention and engagement. Interested in trying it again though and hopefully it will take.

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A good story of how breaking out of one's shell can be painful and wonderful. Well-drawn with relatable characters.

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It's such a sweet and cute graphic novel about brother-sister relationship! It's also about friendship and forgiveness too.

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I randomly requested this graphic novel from NetGalley because the title and cover looked cute. I had no idea what this graphic novel was about going in, but I had predicted the story would follow Kyle and his little sister as they played sports. I imagined the story would be told from Kyle's perspective based on the title.

Well, I was entirely wrong on all of my predictions. This story is told in Grace's perspective, who is, in fact, Kyle's little sister. While the story does focus on Kyle and Grace's relationship at times, it's more of a story about Grace navigating middle school and figuring out who she is as the younger sister of super popular Kyle. I know a lot of sibling relationships are difficult to navigate, especially in middle school, but I found myself thinking that Grace and Kyle really had a challenging relationship and didn't do much to try and make it better. I wanted their mom to step in more and help them work through their challenges.

There are plenty of middle grade stories and even graphic novels that deal with the challenges of arriving to middle school and figuring out how to navigate new friendships, bullies, and crushes on older boys. This graphic novel didn't tell this story particularly well and I felt there were a lot of storylines that were rushed or left out entirely. For example, where is Grace & Kyle's father? He shows up for one phone call and then is never mentioned again. While this graphic novel didn't work for me, I can see where it might be better enjoyed by readers in upper elementary or middle school.

TW: bullying

**Thank you to NetGalley and Yen Press for an advanced reader's copy of this graphic novel in exchange for my honest opinion.

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What a great graphic novel about friendship and family. It's tough being in the shadow of a sibling that seems to be better than you in many ways. Lots of middle schoolers will resonate with this title.

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I would buy this for my Media Center. The students will love the graphic novel format do this story. They will also really be able to relate to the storyline. As a younger sister of the fun, outgoing older brother, I could really relate. I was always identified as his younger sister. This book hits on building a life without being associated.

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This was a super quick read with great illustrations. They suited the storyline perfectly.

Our main character is Grace and she basically lives in the shadow of her older brother. In Grace’s eyes, her brother Kyle can do no wrong. He is the favorite child. Kyle is a popular kid and involved in sports.

Grace is starting 6th grade and is going to her brother’s school who is in the 8th grade. Grace has two best friends Amy and Jay. Amy is the bossy friend who thinks she is doing the right thing and never realizes that not everyone is ready to step out of their comfort zone. We see that with her interactions with Jay. Jay has this crush on Kyle and she is not ready for him to know about it but Amy has other plans. She wants Jay to tell him. This soon becomes a problem with Amy pushes too hard and the girls have a falling out.

That was something that I could totally relate to, although my case was a let a friend push me outside my comfort zone. To this very day, I wish I could go back in time and redo it all over again. Trust me I would do it all differently.

Anyways back to the review. Since the following out Grace has been hanging out by herself until a group of popular girls take her under the wing. This thrills Grace but she soon realizes that they aren’t all they say to be especially when it comes to Cam, who is the leader of the group. They make her feel welcome and are quick to dump her when she won’t do what she is asked. This is very relatable to kids everywhere. What will Grace do when she realizes the truth?

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A solid debut graphic novel that captures sibling struggles, changing friendships and middle school relationship angst. At times I got a bit lost among the many characters, but the general tone of the story rang true. An adequate title for 10-12 year old graphic novel readers.

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Kyle's Little Sister is a heartfelt story. It delves deep into the complexities of sibling relationships as well as platonic relationships. I feel it is a must have for any library.

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I can see what this one was aiming for. Sometimes when you have older siblings it can feel like everyone is constantly comparing you and coming up short. Especially of those siblings are accomplished or popular. That is a compelling internal conflict especially when paired with friendship drama. While the plot lacks nuance it speaks a truth that will resonate with many young readers.

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I really enjoyed this one. This fits square in the strong group of YA graphic novels that treat school transitions, finding your place and self, and family dynamics as serious and important topics. Because they are, especially for kids in middle school! Both Grace and Kyle are interesting, sympathetic characters that make mistakes, learn, and try to do good. Their friend groups are also well created and the sibling dynamics feel all too familiar. There are almost no one sided or purely evil characters in the book, although the queen bee characters do not come off well as they are teaching a good lesson about being aware of manipulators. Grace does well to navigate the challenges and to have a resolution that, while on the happy ending side of things, still feels realistic and possible. Jeong's art is engaging and colorful and the writing is stellar. Looking forward to more!

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Admittedly, I was hesitant to read this. That cover is not doing this book any favors. The book itself is a delight. The illustrations are good as is the story.

For Libraries: Perfect for fans of Telgemeier, Chmakova and Holm. Kids are going to enjoy this exploration of sibling relationships, friendship struggles and bullying.

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Over all, Kyle's Little Sister is a relatable enough story for anyone who has older siblings. It doesn't matter how big the gap is. You're always going to be seen as a lesser version of them. At least, in your own eyes.
Besides being about sibling rivalry, this book is actually moreso about navigating friendship. There is a definite Mean Girls vibe to the book. Grace, desperate after a falling out with her best friends (one of whom is the little sister of her brother's best friend), she finds herself unknowingly being taken advantage of by a "cool" classmate who has a monster crush on Kyle.
A little stereotypical, but the art is nice and the story (even if not particularly new in subject matter) was told well. I'd recommend this to any middle school or late elementary aged comic reader. Especially one who is a younger sibling.

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A very fun easy to read graphic novel for the younger audience. This book captures the sibling rivalry, friendship and the importance of family.

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Plot- 4.5 stars
Graphic- 2 stars
Overall 2.5 stars
So I was really excited to read this but did not enjoy it one bit....
The plot and overall concept was appealing and the sibling rivalry was perfectly described though.

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Kyle's Little Sister is a kids' graphic novel that hits the themes of family, identity and friendship. Grace is a sixth grader starting at the same school as her popular elder brother. She's always lived life in his shadow and things come to a head when a friend's crush on Kyle fractures her friend circle. The rest of the graphic novel follows Grace as she befriends an antagonistic new friend, struggles to make amends with her friends, and overcome her problems with her brother. The art style for this was super cute and the story was endearing. I'd recommend this for readers who love the Berrybrook Middle School or Babysitters' Club series.

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This is a heartfelt story about sibling rivalry, friendship, and how things can change--and change back!--faster than you might imagine. Every interaction feels true-to-life, including the ones going on between unnamed characters in the panel backgrounds. Kyle's Little Sister is one of the best comics I've read in years, and I would recommend it not only to kids in or going into middle school, but anyone who wants a story that will tug at their heartstrings. In addition to the fantastic characters and plot, the art in Kyle's Little Sister is amazing and often very funny in moments that might otherwise feel like nothing was happening. Highly recommended to readers of all ages, and definitely going into the next children's comics RA I put out.
(I received a free digital ARC of this book on NetGalley in return for an honest review.)

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Oh, man, I remember being middle school-aged and what an absolute mess my friends and I could be, falling out with each other over things that seemed insurmountable back then but are such trifles in retrospect, and preferring to jump to (usually depressing, dramatic) conclusions instead of actually communicating with one another. I do not miss those days at all, and have probably sublimated more than I recall, but oh how memories of that time came roaring back to me while reading this sharply observed graphic novel of a 12 year-old trying to get out from under her popular big brother's shadow. Thank goodness I was at least the eldest, and didn't have to suffer that indignity on top of all the rest of the drama!

Grace Bailey is two years younger than her older brother, handsome, athletic, popular Kyle. All her life, she feels like she's been playing second fiddle to him. Even her parents have a mostly unconscious bias toward their gregarious, sunny older child. Grace is an introvert who mostly likes playing video games and hanging out with her two best friends, Jay and Amy. Amy is the little sister of Andrew, one of Kyle's best friends, and is obsessed with KPop bands. Jay, the quietest member of their trio, loves board games. She's also nurtured a huge crush on Kyle for years, and Amy is super enthusiastic about finally pushing the two of them together now that they're all in middle school. Grace is significantly more lukewarm to the idea, mostly because she thinks her brother sucks and doesn't deserve sweet, reserved Jay.

A sleepover of both Baileys' friend groups at Amy and Andrew's house ends in a huge fight between the girls. Things are spoken that can't be unsaid. The girls stop spending time together, leaving Grace especially feeling lonely and bereft. But when Grace is adopted by a popular older classmate, Cam, she thinks things are starting to look up for her social prospects. She even winds up confiding in Cam how she and Amy fell out, leading Cam to engage in several questionable mean girl tactics against Amy. Grace is too relieved to have a new friend to say anything, even tho she knows that what Cam is doing isn't right. But what will she do when she discovers Cam's real motivations for befriending her?

Kyle's Little Sister unerringly captures the turmoil of young adolescence, and how relationships form and fall apart and come back together. I loved how it showed so clearly the pettiness but also the deep feeling involved in all these kerfuffles. I also enjoyed how this depiction of middle schoolers wasn't at all cliched or simplistic. The art is well suited to its story, tho I did have a bit of trouble telling the difference between the guys at first. The girls, tho, are all easy to distinguish from one another, with an expressiveness that makes each girl both relatable and indelible. The only thing I wish this book had done differently was put in more Asian characters than just the KPop group members. It seemed a little weird that none of the actual cast was Asian, given that the author is.

This graphic novel is the perfect read for any kid trying to navigate the social wilderness of middle school, or for any adult who wants to reflect vicariously on those days. It certainly made me think about things that haven't crossed my mind in a good, long time, but that's for the better overall, I think.

Kyle's Little Sister by BonHyung Jeong will be published tomorrow June 22 2021 by JY and is available from all good booksellers, including <a href="https://bookshop.org/a/15382/9781975316549">Bookshop!</a>

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Grace is tired of always being referred to as “Kyle’s little sister.” When one of her friends develops a crush on her brother, it complicates the dynamic between her and her friends.

Can Grace mend her friendships? Should she seek out new friends? Is having an older brother really that bad?

Middle grade readers will definitely enjoy this story of friendship and forgiveness!

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