I adore my big brother. When we were kids, I wanted to do everything he did and being the second-youngest, my parents indulged me. J is still. my number one hero though we live on opposite sides of the country right now.

Seeing the other side in Amy's Big Brother is adorable and makes me want to apologize to J for those years of following him and wanting my way. Andrew is adopted, and his younger sister Amy seems to do no wrong. He has to spend time with her and if he snaps, he becomes the bad guy. Middle school, he hopes, will provide a fresh start, and that he'll become the best basketball player on the team. Heck, Andrew might have a shot at true love! But young romance doesn't come easily, especially when keeping your girlfriend separate from your sister.

A very feel-good and honest graphic novel about how it feels to have your heart break, whether as a sister or as a brother

This is a short and sweet book about Andrew, Amy's brother, and his interpersonal relationships.

It explores the dynamics of navigating a relationship where one person likes the other way more than the other likes them back. It's an awkward feeling, but I'm glad that the book dives into both sides of the situation. I loved the way they handled the relationship. Seeing Andrew become overbearing with his intense emotions, and how Hannah struggled to balance her newfound relationship and her friends. It's rare to find series where the couple doesn't drop everything to be with eachother. It's rare in real life, and it's rare in media. I liked how Andrew wasn't aggressive or cruel to Hannah even though his romance didn't go the same way he envisioned, and I thought they wrapped up the plot well - they didn't blame any single person for the way the relationship went, but it was a bit of everyone's fault.

The depiction of sibling relationships was realistic, and it reminded me of my relationship with my older brothers. Growing up, I wanted to spend a lot of time with my brothers but they always shrugged me off or tried to avoid me in a similar manner to Andrew and Amy. It was sweet to see how his family had his back even when he was going through a tough time.

The art is really cute, and I loved seeing representation sprinkled throughout the book! Andrew is asian (adopted), and the rest of his family is white, but a lot of the students and their friends are POC.

Hi Again!

I have been in such a cozy reader mood the past week. It’s been very cold outside where I live and it’s nice to grab my favorite cozy blanket and a book at the end of a long day or week and just read all bundled up! Recently I picked up a graphic novel that I received an ARC of on Netgalley (thank you so much to the publishers for granting me an E-ARC in exchange for my honest opinions). It was the perfect read for a cozy reading night in!

SPOILERS AHEAD

Andrew is about to start middle school! It’s going to be a whole new school year and this time without his younger sister (who is super annoying but he loves her). Amy annoys him every day when he gets home from school and she used to also be at the same school as him, so it was pretty much nonstop. But now Andrew gets to go to a new school and be alone! He is super excited on his first day of school and quickly meets a girl he kind of likes. It takes a bit of time but he musters up the courage to ask her out. However, his little sister finds out and wants to tag along on what Andrew believes will be his first date. Andrew’s first few months at his new school are definitely not shaping up how he imagined with his little sister appearing everywhere. But maybe he can still find a way to be the best and make the most of it.

I really enjoyed this graphic novel. The characters were all interesting and unique. It was interesting to see Andrew and his little sister’s interactions change as Andrew grew up. Sometimes growing up and changing is hard not only on the person it is happening to but on the siblings or other close family members and this is definitely the case with Andrew and his little sister. After finishing this graphic novel I learned that there is another graphic novel by this same author, so I am definitely going to be checking that out. This graphic novel is out now! So go check it out!

Goodreads Rating: 5 Stars

***Thank you so much to the publisher for the E-ARC in exchange for my honest opinions.

After reading the entire story, I think that the story is not that much about Amy even though she should have a bigger role since her name appears in the title.
The story has a central character: Andrew and how he ends up in a relationship with a school classmate: Hannah. Amy is just annoying to Andrew until the very end where he recognized that she might have actually helped him in clearing our things in his relationship. The main theme would be how personal space and feelings are very important in getting a relationship going on. Andrew has a lot of obstacles due to the fact that he avoids saying things clearly and having a conversation with Hannah about his feelings. The same is available for Hannah and Amy.
I enjoyed the art, the fact that Andrew represented an adopted boy which his family loved very much after they had their own natural child.

Andrew Stewart has an annoying younger sister Amy, who keeps wanting to tag along, and get in the way when he wants to "court" the girl he has a crush on. Hannah is all that to him, and he is so happy when she agrees to be his girlfriend.

But crushes are intense, and although Andrew is happy with their relationship, Hannah feels she doens't have time for her friends.

I suppose we are supposed to be on Andrew's side in this story, but I sympathized more with Hannah. He was intense, and I can see how she would want to pull away and have her own space again.

Story is fine as relationship stories go, and I am probably not the rigth audience for this.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest reivew. It was published in December of 2023

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an electronic copy to read in exchange for an honest review.

This graphic novel was okay. I think many older siblings can relate to Andrew's feelings about his younger sister. There was a lot going for Andrew throughout the book - definitely relatable to many kiddle school kids. The illustrations were detailed yet simple.

The title and cover of the book once again caught my attention. I do judge books by their covers. I was also looking for a graphic novel to read. I did like the story, and how a 6th grader falls in love. It brought me back to when I was younger (not a young as 6th grade) and a boy liked me. I felt the same way as Hannah. The expectations that others have for relationships. For example, how you should spend all your time together. The division and time management that goes into a relationship, but yet you are missing friendships time. The title of the book should have been something else. I do see why the little sister had a part in it; but the book seemed to me was about Andrew and his first love, Hannah.
This is a book I will suggest students to read. It will help them to relate.

I personally did not enjoy this books as much as I thought I would. I did not like the sister or the parents one bit. I also didn't like that the girl was pressured into a relationship.

This was cute and great! I think fans of Heartstopper would really enjoy this one too.

I really felt the struggle and emotions throughout this graphic novel. I do think the title is a bit misleading. This is more about Andrew & his crush Hannah than about Andrew’s relationship with his little sister although that relationship is an important part of the book too and Andrew struggling with being the adopted child.

Andrew has some amazing parents and an annoying little sister (but she does really love him). He loves and is great at basketball (his dream is to become a star basketball player one day) and he has a crush on a really sweet girl at his new school.

I loved it when we started getting Hannah’s POV too!! Hannah isn’t sure she even wants to have a boyfriend but Andrew falls in love with her so hard… When he finds the guts to tell her how he feels about her, she has a great and honest response. She wants to get to know him better first. But as soon as they start dating, there’s so much meddling by everyone at school, Hannah needs more personal space and Andrew needs more Hannah. A rollercoaster of emotions and struggles and miscommunication and eventually awkward but much needed communication follows and a surprising role for Andrew’s little sister Amy.

I had a great time reading this and I’m grateful Yen Press and NetGalley provided me with a copy of this arc in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Yen Press for the e-arc!

Amy's Big Brother follows Andrew and his relationship with his little sister Amy. As an older sibling myself, I couldn't help but relate to Andrew. He is starting middle school which comes with its own set of problems and he wants space from his sister. I think this was overall a good read but I did finish it wishing there was more discussions with the parents. I felt his parents could have talked with him more to better understand him. Other than that, I think the romance between Andrew and Hannah was done well. Being in a relationship is hard when there isn't a balance and this demonstrated that in a nuanced way. I recommend checking this out regardless if you are the older or younger sibling.

As an older sister, I understand well what the main character is going through.

His life, school and friends is so well represented, The emotions come across the page, we've all been through the emotions of having a crush, and the need and want to be with that person, and then have friends interfering... Is the worst, but is part of the teenagers years.
The book makes us reflect on the needs in relationships, such as communication, personal space and dealing with the other person's feelings and and how it affects people in the relationship.
But I loved seeing the connection between what he goes through with his sister being almost what he makes his girlfriend feel.

A very beautiful book, with fantastic and expressive illustrations, the color brings the drawings to life and gives it strength, and personality to the characters. And with a reflection on love, family and relationships.

This was a sweet and fast read. Loved the art style. Andrew reminded me of a video game character that because famous this year (can't remember his name) and I enjoyed the silly school relationship

Thank you to netgalley and Yen Press for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Amy's Big Brother is a story following a middle schooler named Andrew, who has big plans for 6th grade. He aims to be team captain of his basketball team, and get the girl of his dreams, Hannah, to date him. Andrew is a really sweet kid who has a bit of trouble with his kid sister Amy, who has the full attention of his parents seemingly because she is their biological daughter, and he was adopted. When all Andrew's plans start to go the way he hopes, Amy comes in and crushes them and he gets blamed for getting mad at her while his parents do nothing about her behavior. This story explores the uncertainty of being a preteen, first dates, and mild depression.

Pros: Andrew is a really sweet kid, and he treats Hannah really well throughout the story. I think he reacts the way any big brother would react to their kid sister getting away with everything. He still does his best to humor her. I think Andrew could be a great role model for young boys on how to treat their girlfriends. He is accepting even when things don't go his way.

Cons: Amy is a brat and the issues in the story are solved because she is a brat. She gets away with everything, presumably bc she is the biological daughter, an issue that is brought up briefly, but never expanded upon. It drove me nuts how the parents coddled her.

Art: The story is told with a more minimalist style of artwork. The characters are all white, while there is a bit of color more on backdrops and clothing. The colors are duller tones, but I don't think they were representative of any plot points in the story. I found the overall art style and choice of colors to be enjoyable, and can definitely see a younger audience drawn to the art.

Audience: I think the concepts in this book would appeal to a younger audience, middle schoolers and young adults, because the problems faced by the main character are problems that would relate to a younger age range. It was still a fast paced read as an adult, and I would definitely recommend it.

4/5 stars

Actual rating: 4.5

I am very much loving all these middle grade stories JY is currently publishing. After totally falling in love with Svetlana Chmakova’s Berrybrook Middle School, there’s an itch I just can’t scratch. And Amy’s Big Brother scratched that itch.

We have two main plots occurring as our MC, Andrew, goes into his first year of middle school. First is gaining some space away from his younger sibling, who also happens to be the biological child in his family, second is Andrew having his first crush and first relationship with Hannah, a girl he meets at school.

Amy’s Big Brother tackles first relationships in a way I absolutely loved. The intensity of Andrew’s feelings, the distance Hannah accidentally puts between herself and her friends, and finally, bringing all the plots together to discuss how the big conflict was a little bit of everyone’s fault, but also not entirely because they’re still young and still new to life.

I would happily give this to any middle grade kid in my life (or middle grade story loving adult) and I’m excited to see what BonHyung Jeong writes next!

*I received an eARC from Yen Press, JY, & NetGalley. All opinions are my own*

This was such a wholesome read!

I absolutely adored the cute, pastel art style and it reminded me of a lot of slice of life manwhas/webtoons that I love!

As someone who also has a younger sibling (3 in fact!), I found Andrew's feelings to be quite relatable at times and reminiscent of my early teenage years. I feel like there were certain aspects that could have been expanded on a little, like Andrew's worries about being different from the rest of his family as an adopted kid, but I understand that there's only so much that you can cover in one volume.

What I enjoyed the most was the fact that throughout the ups and downs of his blossoming relationship with Hannah, he never failed to communicate his worries or concerns to her - although the matter of reciprocation is something else entirely - and the comic drives it home by emphasising how important it is.

I also loved how supportive both friend groups were, Andrew's and Hannah's, and I'm curious to read the prequel 'Kyle's Little Sister' to learn more about some of these characters!


— Thank you to Netgalley and Yen Press for providing the eARC for review purposes. All opinions are my own