A great upper elementary story about a young girl starting over, finding friends, and getting second chances in a new school and town with her dad. Without being heavy-handed, the book touches on issues of anxiety, grief, standing up for yourself and more that young readers will connect with. The bright colors and fun imagery of the art play perfectly with the fun and positive nature of the narrative, and the backgrounds of many panels are filled with hilarious little moments, so make sure to pay attention.

This is a fantastic middle grade graphic novel! Readers will be able to relate to the characters who struggle to maintain friendships, a new business and keep true to themselves in the process. Perfect for all middle grade collections!

After moving to Ohio, Mariana is struggling to find friends, not sure where she fits in. After connecting with Zoe and Everly, the trio decides to open their own hair salon- True Colors. With quickly gained popularity, the three have to find a way to keep up and stay true to themselves.

This graphic novel is precious. I love the friendship theme and the innovation and initiative the friends show.

Cupcake Diaries meets Click; The Do-Over is a cute quick fun read about friendship and creativity. The Do-Over follows Mariana as she moves from California to Ohio. She befriends Zoe and Everly. The trio starts their own hair salon called True Colors. The artwork is fun and bright. It's a little silly with the hairstyles they give people. I'm not sure I'd let a child of any age anywhere near my hair unless it's to brush it or braid it. But I do like the bits of Spanish thrown in. It might be a little frustrating to younger children but I think it's a perfect introduction to learning another language. The overdone 'get off your phone' stuff is annoying as always. But I do think most Middle Graders will really enjoy this one.

I've been finding more and more graphic novels that are touching on heavy topics and I think it is very effective because of the age of the people who are going to be reading these books. This graphic novel was beautifully written and although it feels short, it hits the nail on the head and I would highly recommend this to my middle school patrons at the library for sure.

Sweet without being saccharine, energetic and bouncy. The plot is perhaps a bit one note and color by number, but hell, the book isn’t alone in that.

This was a super cute read, I think kids are going to love this. On the surface it seems like a really quick, lighthearted read, but then it does discuss some important themes, like struggling with grief, making new friends, and growing into your own. I'm impressed with how this was all fit into a fairly short graphic novel, without weighing it down.

The Do-Over is a fun read and will likely appeal to middle-grade readers. The illustrations are appealing and the story has a positive, feel-good vibe. My only suggestion would be to include a glossary of Spanish words or some translation within the text. I found the sections in Spanish somewhat confusing, and I worry that this might be frustrating to younger readers.

Still, I will likely purchase this book for my school library. I would recommend this book to fans of BSC, Raina Telgemeier, and the Click series.

I received an electronic ARC from HarperCollins Children's Books through NetGalley.
Mariana and her father have just moved across the country to be near family and to heal from their grief. She is shy and struggles to make friends. Then she takes a chance and speaks to Zoe and Everly and the three connect over hair. With encouragement from her Abuela and Tio, Mariana and her friends create their own hair salon and offer people a chance to change their hair style and color with a dye that washes out quickly. Everly is an incredible artist who uses her talents to sculpt hair; Zoe uses her amazing science skills to create the safe dyes, and Mariana uses her social media skills to create buzz.
Readers will connect with the friendship troubles and triumphs as the three figure out how to run a business and share about themselves. Mari also learns to share with her dad as they both heal from her mom's death.
Realistic artwork captures the emotions and energy of the story.

Fans of Dork Diaries and Raina Telgemeier will really enjoy this book. I love the message of friendship, and also that the main character's dad initially had trouble helping. Great, authentic characters!

I really enjoyed this! First, I love anything that focuses on grief, especially for kids, is fantastic. It doesn’t explicitly state “I’m grieving,” but it’s clear what those emotions are. I also love the entrepreneurial spirit of these girls to start their own business! I loved it. Really reminds kids that they really CAN do anything they want.

I’d give this one a 3.5. I like the true colors message and the different personalities of the characters. I know a lot of my students would like this book. What I felt needed more clarification and development was the relationship between Mariana and her dad, as well as the text exchange at the end.

A wonderful middle grade graphic novel about finding your voice, new friends and navigating grief. Perfect for fans of the Click series and Smile series. I hope we get to follow these friends on more adventures!

This was such a great story of finding yourself and your people. Being different is hard, but also worth it in the end. The love of your family to support you through hardships and finding yourself as you learn and grow within the world around you. Such a fun heartwarming story that is highly recommended for all middle grade readers!!

This was a really cute middle grade graphic novel about making friends and doing something you are passionate about and how to have a business as well as have fun doing it together. The art was cute and I love all the different hairstyles and colors that were used while styling their fellow students hair. They came together at the end for the Harvest festival and the debut of their mobile styling truck.

Thanks to Clarion Books and Netgalley for the complimentary copy of this book in e-book form. All opinions in this review are my own.

Mariana (Maru) and her father, a barber, have moved from California to Columbus, Ohio to be near Maru's Abuela, who runs a local Peruvian restaurant. Maru misses her friends, but is glad to be near her abuela, and wants to help her father out with the business, which isn't doing as well as he had hoped. She posts pictures on Telepik, hoping to raise awareness. These pictures lead Zoe and Everly to visit the shop and ask Maru's father if he would be interested in their organic temporary hair dye, which they have packaged in a water bottle. Maru thinks it is a great idea, and in preparation for the local Harvest Festival, her abuela and uncle help the kids clean up an old food truck and turn it into a mobile salon, True Colors. Maru doesn't tell her dad anything about this, and avoids all of his questions. Maru doesn't want to dye her own hair, which leads to a little bit of tension with her new friends, but they find that they are very busy with cutting and dying people's hair, sometimes giving them hair dos that look like ice cream cones or ears of corn (which, in Ohio, ends up being very popular). Her father isn't pleased when he finds out, but when True Colors needs more help, her father is willing to step in and lend a hand.
Strengths: This was a fun graphic novel about Kids Doing Things that will appeal to the legions of young readers who themselves have dyed hair and the occasional nose ring. I appreciated that while Maru was sad that she had to leave California and was grieving her mother in realistic ways, she settles happily into her new life with new friends. Her relationship with her father is spot of for middle grade children, so it was good to see that she could turn to her grandmother while she is irritated with her father. The Harvest Festival and the True Colors salon are both a lot of of fun.
Weaknesses: While the Columbus representation is fine in both the events, setting, and drawings, I was surprised to learn that both authors are based in Santiago, Chile. While I love seeing books set in my hometown, I would love to see something set in Chile. Just a little confused.
What I really think: Readers who like Greenwald's 2009 My Life in Pink and Green, Santopolo's Sparkle Spa, or Ortega's Frizzy will love this graphic novel. Personally, my grandmother's voice was VERY loud in my head when I read this. She would have not approved of people spending money "to look silly". We used to have a school rule that hair couldn't be dyed bright colors, but then people used to not come to school in their pajamas. This made me feel old!

Moving to a new place is never easy, especially when you’ve just lost your mom. Making new friends in a new place can also prove difficult but when you find folks who think like you, believe in you and let you be yourself, it gets easier.

Not a super-original premise: dad/daughter combo, mom is deceased, moved to new city, daughter is shy and has trouble making friends. The ups and downs of the friendships ring very true to middle school and the anxiety the main character deals with is all too real for many kids this age. Must suspend belief that middle school students would be allowed to operate a hair salon in an RV without any type of licensing or training. I will purchase this as I could see many students relating to it.

The Do-Over is a fun graphic novel that kids are going to love! When three girls get together to create a hair salon, they’ll be unstoppable! Or maybe there will be some bumps in the road!

I plan on buying this for my library. I am always on the look out for contemporary realistic graphic novels and this one fits the bill.