I have a lot of different feelings about this book, including fondness, and also bafflement. I think it's trying to do some lovely things and express a heartfelt message, but it ends up hovering in a confusing liminal space between pure allegory and being grounded in the reality of the narrative, in which the surreal elements are addressed seriously in the text sometimes but not other times.

It begins as a totally contemporary, realistic-feeling middle grade slice of life, in which Greta and her best friend Lotti are about to start seventh grade and worrying and wondering about the things many girls do at that age: fitting in, boyfriends, boobs, periods, and Greta's imminent move to a new house. It's not the most compelling read as an adult, but it's not written for me—I think it will feel relevant and appealing to the 8-12 set! Then as the story progresses, surreality starts to creep in. Greta's eyes itch and seem to be getting bigger; after a frightening encounter with a boy at a party, she has a strange dream overnight and sheds her skin, revealing orange skin underneath. Though she's bullied at school and brought immediately to the doctor by her mother, Greta and Lotti both like this change, which was refreshing! As Greta continues to transform, she feels more and more like herself. She stands up to her mother; stands up for Lotti at school; makes a new friend, and cares less and less what others think about her. I'm SO INTO this message—that regardless of how strange she may seem, Greta feels best when she's the most herself, and the people closest to her come around to loving who she is as each new layer is revealed.

It's the ending that really perplexes and disappoints me. When Greta wakes up as a moth—a big one as moths go, but still an actual insect—she accepts this as the form that is most her, and pays final visits to Lotti and her new friend, and to her devastated parents who think their daughter has simply gone missing. There's no sense that she will have a new community as a moth, or that total removal from humanity is something she wants; there's also no attention given to the reality her loved ones are still living in, where Greta has vanished without a trace. I'm sure it wasn't intended this way, but it reads to me like a death rather than a child who has learned how to fully be herself; Greta removes herself from her own life, and the people who are missing her regard the Greta-moth with a joy that doesn't match the story they're in.

All in all, I wish the story had been more cohesive in its allegory, and given us a Greta who has fully transformed and found her place in her own life, in her new house and at school with her confidence-boosting friend group, instead of a Greta who fully transformed and then flew away into the empty sky. (Either that, or really lean into a Metamorphosis-style tragedy for middle grade kids, which I would have loved at that age.)

I was drawn to the book by its cover. I thought the book was sweet and funny. I wasn't expecting the sexual assault incident and what transpired afterwards. I was fine with the ending even though I know some people didn't think it was finished.

I feel like this is one of those books that will make people uncomfortable simply by existing. A middle grade book that discusses sexual assault? Pretty shocking, sure. Is it as shocking as how often this kind of thing happens, though?

One of the things I really appreciate about this book is that the attack is presented only briefly. It focuses primarily on what Greta feels and how she responds, keeping her experience centered.

I love the symbolism of her transformation. She’s beautiful, before and after, and it feels like an expression of her true self rather than some kind of punishment or harm done to her.

For me, one of the hard things about the book is that the harm doesn’t get directly addressed. That feels uncomfortable. (Too often true in real life, and that’s also uncomfortable.) It also feels uncomfortable to me that the transformation separates her from her friends and family. Greta is happy, so she doesn’t view this as a bad thing. But for them, it is a kind of change that means they give up the kind of relationship they had with Greta.

What’s interesting to me about that is that those other kinds of resolutions– the perpetrator being confronted, the family hearing Greta’s story, etc– are things that would satisfy us as readers and observers.

Instead, the outcome of the story centers Greta’s healing and wholeness in a way that isn’t beholden to anyone else in her life. Once I saw that, I couldn’t stop thinking about what a powerful experience that is for someone who has been harmed. To remain centered in their own story. To experience a healing transformation and feel more whole and more oneself. Wow.

Greta is an unusual, imaginative book that probably won’t appeal to everyone. What it does really well, though, is keep the assault survivor’s story centered in the narrative, allowing her to experience healing and wholeness. It’s a powerful story perfectly tempered for a younger audience.

Thank you NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for inviting me to read this book!

I want to start off this review by giving a trigger warning for sexual assault.

Greta is the story about a young, middle school girl who is experiencing a lot of transitions. Her family is moving and she's starting middle school. To make matters worse, everyone seems to have changed overnight. Girls are maturing and boys are behaving inappropriately. Overall, Greta is under a lot of stress. Then everything takes a turn after Greta attends her first party and is sexually assaulted by a classmate. This incident precedes Greta's gradual transformation. What starts with strange dreams and skin change eventually evolves into a unique metamorphosis.

This book was so interesting and unique. It made me think of Kafka's Metamorphosis for a modern audience that addresses important issues at the middle school level. As much as some don't want to think about it, these things do happen at middle school, and middle schoolers deserve to be seen and heard. I could see this book giving countless opportunities for classroom discussions like Speak did for generations in the past.

With that being said, I also fear that at times the execution of some of the things was a bit too abstract and could potentially go over the head's of younger readers. The way the themes are presented is very unique and special way. It spoke so much about how one changes as they age but also as they experience events in their lives.

Perhaps the thing I appreciated the most was the resources part at the end of the book that was written by Dr. Alycia Davis. I think it was important to have at the end because not a lot of the information was not presented in the book itself. It really did bother me that there was no true resolution concerning this issue. As a therapist, I approved of this addition at the end. I think it was necessary to bring the story into the real world for readers, especially for middle schoolers who may have not had any conversations around sexual assault and what are not safe touches.

Overall, this was a very unique new read that I hope gets more attention the longer it is out in stores!

The metaphor of transformation was beautiful, but it left a bad taste in my mouth.

It's lovely that Greta undergoes metamorphosis and turns into a beautiful butterfly, and she learns to own her body. But she never discusses her assault with anyone, not even doctors. One of the most important things we can teach a child (and is mentioned in the back) is to talk about important things like an assault. She also flies away, which is wonderful, but it means that she completely leaves her friends and family. Perhaps a future novel will explore the trauma that causes for Lotti, Greta's parents, and Fej. Lotti in particular lost her best friend, and she doesn't even know why.

One other thing: I wish magical realism was present throughout the story. She doesn't start changing until over 50% of the way into the story, and even a hint of magical realism beforehand would balance the novel.

Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan's Children Publishing Group for an eARC in exchange for my honest review. I am an assistant librarian at an elementary school, so I tried to take the perspective of my students. They deserve stories that talk about major issues, but I did not find that this book was the best way to do it. :/

Trigger Warnings: Assault

In this reminiscent of Kafka’s Metamorphosis Greta Goodwin’s life is changing - not only is she moving across town and far away from her best friend, Lottie, she’s also starting middle school. Greta doesn’t feel like she’s up there with everyone else: she could care less about boys, makeup, and cafeteria food. Instead, Greta lives by the motto, “Do not call attention to yourself”. But, at her first party, a boy does pay attention to Greta. At first, it feels good, but then it feels awful. In the aftermath, Greta can’t make sense of what happened, she can’t talk about it, not even to Lotti. Then, Greta’s body begins to change, in a vastly different way than those around her.

I was immediately interested in this novel as soon as it said it was reminiscent of Kafka’s Metamorphosis. I’ve always loved Kafka and enjoyed retellings, reimaginings, or reminiscences of his works. I’ve never really read a Kafka inspired novel that was aimed towards Middle Grade readers, so I was curious to see how this one was written.

First off, I absolutely adored Greta and Lotti’s relationship and the love that they had for one another. It reminded me of my childhood girlfriends who were my ride and die growing up.

Secondly, I think J.S. Lemon did a fantastic job writing Greta’s “metamorphosis” after the incident at the party. I don’t want to give away any spoilers, but the lesson at the end of the story is that one’s own skin (body) is their own.

Overall, I believe Middle Grade readers will get a good understanding of the message(s) Lemon writes about and will hopefully bring attention to how they may interact within their own lives.

*Thank you Farrar, Straus and Giroux and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

4 ½ stars rounded down. While this is a middle grade book, it deals with mature subject matter when the main character is sexually abused. However, the author does handle it at a middle grade level. I did enjoy this book and would recommend it to the students at my middle school. Even though Greta told her best friend what had happened, I wished she would’ve gone to an adult or the friend would’ve pushed her to tell an adult. I think it’s important to show kids they can tell a trusted adult to help them. I did appreciate the resources portion at the end of the book and hope that kids read that part as well. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced reader’s copy.

I received an ARC from Macmillan Children's Publishing Group via NetGalley. Greta is navigating 7th grade middle school with her close childhood friend Lotti. New experiences abound and Greta’s family is also packing up to move to a bigger house.
This story uses magical realism to navigate loss of innocence and transformation. I felt very connected to Greta; the ending just surprised me. Middle readers might need an adult to discuss the themes in this story.

This middle-grade debut follows Greta Goodwin as she grapples with starting middle school and moving houses. It's a lot of change at once, and it overwhelms her. Throughout the story, Greta leans on her best friend, Lotti, as she enters this new chapter of her life. I adored Greta and Lotti's friendship. It was true to middle school friendships: they spent every hour possible together and rushed to find each other during lunch to catch up on the day.
While I enjoyed this story overall, I found the fantasy aspect hurt the story's strength instead of helping it. As the fantasy aspect of Greta's transformation took hold, I found myself disconnected from the story. Additionally, I am not a fan of how Greta's assault was handled. After a boy at a party ignored Greta's boundaries, she was able to run away, but Greta became a shell of herself. She was scared and shut down. While this part was handled well, I didn't like how she didn't tell even her best friend what happened. Additionally, her healing was glossed over and it felt like all of a sudden she was not afraid anymore.
So, while this was a fine novel, the way the story evolved meant the story just got weaker as the pages went on.

Greta is a trick! It’s a book that the reader thinks is one thing, but is actually getting something very different. This book was a fast read, but I’ve taught middle school for many years and this doesn’t feel like a book my middle school students will pick up. The last 25-30% was too quick. The ending wasn’t satisfactory to me and I think any students getting to the end of it will be disappointed in the ending too.

Thanks to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus, and Giroix for this ARC.

Greta
by J. S. Lemon

This young adult reader book shows the nature and change of youth as two best friends slide into middle school. They face roomers, and consent problems and the magic of change. The book has humor mixed with the reality. The love of two friends pass through the problems of childhood at the edge of adulthood.

I was able to read this book by obtaining an ARC copy from NetGalley. This is a coming of age tale about experiencing something traumatic and trying to navigate dealing with the aftermath of it. As an adult reading this book it was a little choppy and I’m not sure what happened at the end. It left me feeling unfulfilled and sad. I’m not sure middle grade kids would understand the ending either.

This was a beautiful and important read for middle graders regarding themes of consent and sexual assault, however I wish it talked more about getting the necessary support. Even though I felt the ending was beautiful and a unique metaphor for transformation, I felt unsatisfied as I again wished the book would have tackled real life scenarios.

I don’t know how to rate this book. Greta, an eighth grader unsure of if she’s ready for everything that comes with being an eighth grader, experiences a trauma that leaves her changed. I like the imagery and the metaphor. I do not like that there is no real talk of grief or support or of the trauma at all. I would hesitate to hand this to a middle grades (or even a YA) reader without knowing whether or not there would be someone there to talk it through with them.

Our main character is Greta Goodwin and she has a LOT on her mind. She lives with her mom, dad, and little brother, Jeff also known as Fej. The family is in the process of moving to a new home and Greta is completely reluctant. After all the new neighborhood far away from her best friend Lotti.

Coming of age, Greta, doesn't quite feel ready for middle school. It means boys, bras, and more work than she's used to in her daily life.

Greta attends her first middle school party with loyal friend Lotti by her side. She's more than a little surprised when a boy pays a lot of attention to her. That surprise turns into discomfort as what initially feels good suddenly feels invasive, wrong and violated.
The theme of the story is growth and change, sometimes painful, and in a small way, loss of innocence and becoming more aware of the dangers that can confront young girls. Greta feels herself growing stronger and more able to deal with teasing and ostracizing, and even LOUDLY AND PUBLICLY defends her friend Lotti when she is called names by some cruel peers.



To me this was a really good story until it bridged into wired fantasy, bur I think middle grade female readers will really enjoy the story f they don’t mind a fantastical ending.

To me this was a really good story until it bridged into weird fantasy, bur I think middle grade female readers will really enjoy the story f they don’t mind a fantastical ending.

When I was in the middle grade range, I wish I'd had this book. Greta is a very important book and talks about this situation with a Kafska-esque style and twist which I love for readers in this age range.

Greta was a good book, though I was not the intended audience. I wanted a more concrete ending, with something 'resolved', but that's not how life works, and I believe that's the point of the book.

I was intrigued by the cover of this book, that is the main factor that caused me to read it. I am a fan of middle grade books for light and relaxing reading between nonfiction or more difficult reads. I was a bit hesitant of how the author would handle the sexual assault scenes but it was not triggering or upsetting. However, I didn't like that Greta never told an adult or anyone what happened to her and she wasn't able to overcome her feelings of being wrong or feeling gross in her own body. The way that the aftermath of the situation was handled was a little bit confusing to me and maybe not the best way to explain it to children because Greta turned into someone different and only then was she able to feel comfortable in her skin again. I think a better ending to this book would be if Greta talked to her parents and having some consequences for Derek. This would show young girls that speaking up is the right thing to do.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing this book for review in exchange for an honest review!

This was one of those ARCs that I was thrilled to learn would be on shelves at my library come release date. The story has made the topics of consent and sexual assault more digestible for middle grade readers. Not only that, it shares the really real challenges of being someone in middle school and growing into that new phase of adolescence.

Such a cute book for kids, it is good for learning about transformation. It was written beautifully and it will be great for kids.