Thank you @NetGalley and @MacmillanChildren'sPublishingGroup for the ARC. This is the third book in the Bounce Back series and have enjoyed reading them all. Nala is into Kawaii fashion, think anime characters, and she is able to go to a summer course for fashion design. She is excited but also filled with anxiety about if she should be there, is she good enough. Lucky she has great friends and a squirrel named Timothy. A must for school libraries.

E ARC provided by Netgalley

Nala is a HUGE fan of everything kawaii and Harajuku fashion, even buying fabric for an outfit from Tokyo. When she finds out that there is a summer fashion camp near her home in New York City, her mother manages to secure the last open spot for her. Julia, one of her friends’ sisters, is going to be working there, and famous designers will be instructors. When the camp starts, she meets Izzy, Luke, Riley, Kris, Rose, and Kat, who all have different favorite styles. The director, Clair, is the owner of a fashion boutique. While Nala is excited about the fashion show at the end of the program, she doesn’t feel confident in her skills at all, and worries that everyone else is so much better than she is. She does befriend the shy Rose, who is also obsessed with Harajuku style. She’s impressed with Riley’s 1970s style fashions and Kris’ streetwear, and intimidated by Kat’s elaborate, wedding gown style clothing. When Kat accuses her of copying from her, Nala’s insecurity grows, but luckily she is visited by a guardian spirit in the form of Timothy, a squirrel. Her friends Lilico and Emma also had these animals, so Nala hopes this will help. Timothy tries, but his designs aren’t great, and he is much more interested in snacking. Nala doesn’t want to ask for help, even when an upcycling project she attempts proves to be too challenging for her, and she even skips a day of camp. In the end, she manages to get some help, and is okay with the fact that she only has two designs in the fashion show instead of the three that others do, because she knows that she has learned a lot.
Strengths: It’s probably a good thing that Harajuku fashion was not known in the midwest in the 70s, because it is highly likely that I would have attempted to make my own jumper with a cat face on it. While I haven’t seen many of my students embrace this style, I have had a couple. It’s always good to see tweens exploring their passions and learning new skills, so seeing a variety of different sewists at the camp was interesting. There’s plenty of drama, and Nala’s insecurities showcase the current zeitgeist when it comes to mental health. Misako’s illustrations are brightly colored and very kawaii; Timothy is especially cute.
Weaknesses: The number of times that “kawaii” and “Harajuku” are mentioned was excessive. The author also employs the over-the-top starry eyes as well as teary ones as Nala bounces between her extreme love of fashion and the depths of despair over her imagined lack of skills.
What I really think: This is a good graphic novel for readers who like books that focus on a variety of characters, like Libenson’s Invisible Emmy, or that explore different forms of anxiety, like Scrivan’s Nat Enough. Fashion books (like Taylor’s great Sew Zoe) tend not to circulate in my library, so I may pass on purchase.

super good! a little confusing at times, but it had great flow and i enjoyed it a lot.
the outfits were cute and the plot was fun. i really liked the guardian animal, but would have liked more backstory into him. why is he picked on? how much? as he tried to be a guardian animal before? that kind of thing. but great overall

thanks to netgalley and the publisher for letting me read it in advance!

This is 'kawaii' novel with beautifully done illustrations and many mini - lessons. All in all, it was an enjoyable read.

E-arc provided via NetGalley for an honest review.
Read the first book in the Bounce Back series awhile ago and was pleased to see the 3rd installment. Nala is obsessed with Harajuku and kawaii fashion and joins a summer camp with like minded kids. She also finds her own spirit guide in a squirrel.
Main critique was the over over use of “Harajuku” and “kawaii” in the first third of the book as N.A. explained her fashion and design style to the audience, other campers, to the world. But good messages included throughout the book. Cute fun read!