What a cute read! Not only does Kathy struggle with growing up in general, but she feels torn between the different world of her culture. The illustrations were so sweet and I think a lot of kids can relate to this one regardless of cultural background while also developing understanding, respect, and empathy for others - we've all been at a point when we feel lost and that we don't belong. I plan on adding this one to my classroom library and know it will be passed around frequently. Thanks for the ARC!

This is a really good look at different cultures and different parts of families and how they can affect a child's upbringing.
Kathy, likes going to America for the summer with her dad's family, but she also wants to learn more and know more about both sides of her family.
A really lovely graphic novel that explores different cultures and families.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

A warm and loving look back at a girl who grows up between two worlds and cultures, and is always looking for the place where she'll fit in.

This is such a good story! I love graphic novels and stories of how people live. We see Katy, who lives in Thailand and comes to America with her family each summer to visit her dad's side of the family. She even gets to go to sleep away summer camp. She has all these thoughts and feelings on how everything will go and writes about them in her journal. This would be wonderful for a middle school classroom or home library.

What a surprise! Continental Drifter has got to be one of my top books of the year! A middle-grade graphic novel examining the author's cultural identity crisis, I found her incredibly relatable on that front and also within family dynamics as well. She targeted emotions that I could never put to words. Like hers, my family also drifted to our individual "islands" whenever home, but that wasn't something easily shareable compared to other families around me. We ate at separate mealtimes at home. I saw my parents in how she described her parents' relationship.

MacLeod also captures the heart of what it feels like to want to fit in, finally fitting in towards the end (e.g. of the camp), and then for something awkward to happen that bursts your bubble. I found myself tearing up throughout the book for how much I saw myself in her, and I have no doubt that many other girls reading this book can see themselves in her too. A great read and highly recommended to all.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy of Continental Drifter.

This graphic memoir was honest, beautiful, and heart-felt. I felt as though I was walking in Kathy's shoes and seeing the world through her eyes. This is a great read for kids, teens, and adults.

A relatable story, regardless of background, about trying to fit in, not knowing the family history, etc.

Continental Drifter is marketed as a middle-grade graphic memoir, but I found it highly enjoyable as an adult. Kathy contrasts her summers visiting family in Maine with her life in Thailand. She explores themes such as anxiety, feelings of hopefulness, and racism in a way that is accessible for younger readers. The illustrations are beautiful, and colorful yet aesthetically pleasing.
This was a great read, and I will definitely be purchasing for my library.

Kathy is growig up in Thailand with her Thai mom, her American dad, and her sister. She feels torn - she feels Thai and American, but also neither. She is afraid she doesn't fit in anywhere. She always looks forward to spending the summer in Maine with her dad's family, and is thrilled when she finds out she is going to get to go to summer camp. But when camp doesn't live up to her dreams, Kathy has to re-evaluate who she thinks she really is.

A somewhat morose memoir about the author as a pre-teen and her feelings of isolation within her family and broader culture. It explores the experiences of mixed ethnicity children and the sense of belonging to both and neither at the same time. Isolation permeates the text, which is both impressive and somehow draining to read.

I absolutely ADORED this graphic novel about a girl tied between two countries and two cultures. Kathy's dad is from Maine and her mom is from Thailand. She spends the school year in Bangkok and the summers in Maine. And while she enjoys things about both countries, she doesn't feel like she completely belongs to one or the other.

Kathy's memoir takes us through a summer of her childhood while she thinks about family, culture, summer camp and blueberry pie.

The artwork is simplistic but in a way that feels cozy and nostalgic. It reminded me of reading "Amelia's Notebook" growing up.

A biracial Thai and white young woman reflects on a family trip to her father's Maine hometown and her time spent at summer camp. It's a warm tale of not fitting in. It's a fine book, but the art is very compelling. The style is watercolor, but the simple dot eyes really makes it feel like the art of communication a child's understanding of the world. There is no tidy ending but an view of understanding her family and the world just a bit better.

This memoir perfectly depicts the insecurity every preteen and teen feels, but also speaks directly to people who have struggled to find the balance between two cultures / ethnicities they belong to and how being seen as more than one thing can make you feel that you’re not enough of anything. I already have students in mind that I would love to get this book to.

I'm loving these graphic novel memoirs. I think that this puts an amazing touch on nonfiction and it'll make children want to read nonfiction more. I could see my patrons loving this book and it will definitely be flying off the shelves once it's published.

I really liked Kathy’s journey in this book. It highlights the struggles of a lot of bicultural/biracial kids. The illustrations are fun and I enjoyed the family photos at the end.

One of my favorite type of books to read are memoirs in graphic format and this one is superb. Kathy MacLeod, the author/illustrator, uses words and illustrations which perfectly match the story. She took two years to create this gem of a book. She looks back on being eleven years old when she was a “continental drifter” with her family living part time in Maine where her father was from and the rest of the year in Bangkok, Thailand where her mother was from. Readers get a peek at what it was like for her to grow up with two different cultures never feeling completely at ease in either one. The photographs at the end make for a beautiful ending to this memoir.