I adored this book. The characters are all so well developed, there's a realistic plot, humor, family interactions both negative and positive. And the art is colorful and wonderfully detailed! Marlena is delightful and lively as is her hair (except when it's 'tamed'). An excellent story not just for Latinx and Black children but for all--everyone can identify with bullying, family conflicts, anxiety about personal appearance, friendship, and so much more in this story. I am eager to get it out to our customers in October!

I LOVED this book! "Frizzy" is a middle-grade graphic novel about a young Afro-Latina girl named Marlene who struggles with her textured hair. Marlene likes wearing her hair natural, but hates all the comments her family and others will make about her hair, and her mother wants her to get her hair straightened every Sunday at the salon. The novel follows Marlene as she goes on a hair journey to try to find what routine works for her hair, along with coming to understand and accept the concept of self-love/self-acceptance. I thought this was a phenomenal graphic novel, which tackles important issues of "good" vs. "bad" hair, anti-Blackness, bullying, beauty, and more in a way that is accessible to young readers. Readers who may experience issues like these will find comfort in seeing themselves reflected on the page, while inexperienced readers can learn about issues like anti-Blackness that plague beauty standards. This book had a diverse cast of characters, and the art was so fun and colorful. I look forward to reading all of Claribel's future books!

A wonderful story about a girl standing up for herself and gaining self-confidence despite the pressures she faces from society and her mother.

As a wavy hair person, this book really hit home. I wish mine was as curly as Marlene's! It was a very relatable book. Great storyline. Great illustrations. A must read for all middle schoolers to know the pain they cause people who are "different".

A beautiful look into the life of a girl working to love herself, when she's dragged to painful salon visits every week and told that she has "bad hair" because of it's texture.

Frizzy shares a wonderful journey to self-love and appreciation. addressing aspects of colorism, bullying and the benefits of creativity and a great best friend. Marlene- our protagonist- tackles the dichotomy between being told that beauty is on the inside while having the importance of physical appearance stressed and reinforced by so many of the adults in her life,

My fourth grade students love graphic novels and many of the girls would find Frizzy super relatable. While I have never dealt with the struggles of maintaining curly or "frizzy" hair, I liked the theme explored in this book about staying true to yourself, owning your identify and standing up for what you believe in even if it rebels against those you love and respect. I felt sympathy towards the main character and was so happy with her journey and the happiness she discovered at the end when she left her hair in its natural state with the right products and maintenance. This is a perfect story to read following the picture book and short film Hair Love which is also popular amongst the children in my school population.

I wholeheartedly loved this middle grade graphic novel! Being a curly head myself, I identified with Frizzy. This was empowering and self validating. 5 Stars

This book was so great! Marlene, a young Black Dominican girl, is tired of straightening her hair. Her mom tells her it looks “professional,” her cousin tells her that curly hair is “bad,” and the kids at school make fun of her. With the help of her aunt, Marlene learns to embrace her natural curls and her natural self. I think this book is a powerful story that shows how the stigma behind curly or kinky hair is damaging to women, especially young girls. This book is empowering! I highly recommend it!

I would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed this story about a girl who feels unsure about her curly hair and how it’s deemed messy or ugly even by friends and family. Also shows the ups and downs of a mother/daughter relationship. Loved the art that went with it.

This book sends out positive massage to everyone who worries about his/her appearances.
The illustrations are nice.
The book is suitable for grade 3 and up.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC of this title.

This is a lovely graphic novel that middle grade readers will enjoy! Marlene learns about self-love, acceptance, and embracing her beautiful curls in this coming-of-age story. A must-have for the middle school library!

4.5/5 stars

I wish I had a book like this when I was a kid! As someone with naturally curly hair, I found it difficult to style and control. Much like the narrator’s mother, I thought straight hair was prettier and would spend so much time straightening my hair every morning. I appreciate that this book breaks down that beauty standard and even goes into explaining why her mother had these beliefs.

Another thing to note is all the bullying that the narrator experienced because of her hair. As an educator, I see how cruel kids can really be sometimes. Middle school is a hard age and bullies only make it worse. I didn’t like seeing the narrator get in trouble, but not seeing the kid who made fun of her dead dad receiving no consequences. It really made me feel for the narrator. It seemed like an unfair situation.

The only thing I don’t like about in this book is in the beginning when the narrator goes to the salon, her hair is put into rollers so that it is styled into looser curls. Later at the party, her hair is referred to as being straight. I didn’t see her hair as being straight. I saw it as trying to fit into the stereotypical “pretty curls.”

I hope that this book reaches a large audience of young adults who are going through similar struggles and learn that their hair is beautiful, no matter the style.

"Frizzy" is a wonderful graphic novel about a middle schooler named Marlene who has very curly hair and is told to maintain and straighten it in order to be "presentable." She longs to wear her hair naturally, though, despite the majority of people in her life putting her down for it. The story does a fantastic job at covering topics like ingrained beliefs, intergenerational ideas, and anti-blackness at a level at which middle schoolers could understand. I also very much enjoy the art and how relatable the characters themselves are. This is easily a new favorite graphic novel of mine!

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This one hits more close to home so I'm sure there's bias I can't help. Following Marlene was a very realistic and painful showing of the prejudice curly hair is often treated with.

We see how her family views her hair, as well as internalized racism and its generational effects. There were moments where I was shocked at how bullied this little girl was and was blamed for most of it, bringing up the opportunity for a conversation about victim blaming.

I wish this book existed when I was young, it would have helped a lot with how I viewed myself. Even to this day I get nervous if I let my hair go natural with my tight curls.

My favorite scenes have to be the ones where the audience is shown through the story how to properly care for curly hair. This is often a misunderstood subject so it was refreshing.

All in all a sweet book that touches down on topics such as PTSD, grief, generational prejudice, internalized racism, and what it means to love yourself.

I got the chance to read an ARC of this book on NetGalley before it's release in exchange for a fair and honest review.

A coming of age, learning to love yourself graphic for tweens and teens.
I really enjoyed this book! It addresses some of the behaviors that are passed down generationally that have helped keep the black and LatinX communities safe and assimilate into into the mold of "appropriate hair".
Marlene is struggling with her "unruly" natural curls as she is finding out how important her appearance is to her family, and her classmates. All her life she has gone to the salon once a week to get her hair straightened, which she hates, but she endures it because it makes her mother happy, and gives them time together.
Marlene doesn't want to feel like she is inferior anymore for having curly, frizzy hair, so she begins the journey of finding her authentic self by going natural with her doo. She soon discovers that letting her hair down isn't as easy as it seems.
With the help of her best friend, a loving aunt who embraces her curls, and a lot of determination, Marlene learns that the way she feels about her own self is more important than what anybody else thinks.

SUCH A DELIGHT AND TREAT AND JOURNEY!! As an adult reader, I just wanted to protect Marlene and was looking forward to her self-love journey, since from the outside you're well aware of all the factors that come to her personal trauma (consider this my anti-blackness and remainants of colonial ideology and eurocentric beauty standards claxon!). However, you are also reminded (just in case you'd forgotten) that kids and adults alike can be absolutely terrible and not realise the damage that their actions can cause on young people.
WHICH IS WHY IT WAS SO WONDERFUL TO HAVE A POSITIVE INFLUENCE!! Who is not afraid of offering nuanced conversations and explanations behind these big concepts to said young people (hello generational trauma!).
The stunning illustrations really brought the story to life and the overall product owns my whole heart. Cannot recommend this highly enough to readers of any age.

This is a phenomenal graphic novel with great art and an engaging, relatable story. Young readers will empathize with the main character and her journey of self-acceptance. Highly recommended

What a beautiful, delightful graphic novel filled with heart, emotion, and spectacular characters. I would definitely recommend this to any graphic novel lover or middle-grade reader looking for an emotionally compelling and educational story.

This was just so cute and relevant!
I have curly hair myself and I used to experience similar situations in childhood. I've been called things just because of my curls and it's been hard for me to accept them but it's been easier over the years.
There is a lot to learn from Marlene, I hope - and I'm sure - it will help little girls and boys to love their beautiful hair.
I highly recommend to everyone: accept your differences, you're beautiful just the way you are.

A strong examination of ethnic hair and particularly Afro-Latino attitudes about looks, what is "acceptable" and the inner turmoil so many young Latine women in particular go through trying to fir into ALL the molds people think we should fit into a once! Strong title for young middle grade girls, will be adding to my library.