Absolutely Everything by Damian Alexander is a heartfelt and resonant graphic novel that captures the inner world of a sixth grader grappling with ADHD, shifting friendships, and the pressure of growing up. Through Marcella’s candid voice and expressive illustrations, readers are immersed in the quiet chaos of feeling overwhelmed—and the strength it takes to keep going.

The story balances humor and vulnerability, making Marcella’s experience both deeply personal and widely relatable. The inclusion of a warm, supportive LGBTQ+ family adds meaningful representation that feels organic and affirming. Insightful, empathetic, and visually engaging, this is a powerful addition to any middle-grade collection.

Thank you to Damian Alexander and Lerner Publishing Group for the eARC!

At first glance, Absolutely Everything seemed like another middle-grade graphic novel about friendship shifts and growing pains. But as I kept reading, I began to feel something deeper building underneath the surface. The writing is quietly powerful—never overly dramatic, but grounded in the kind of emotional truth that slowly sneaks up on you.

What hit hardest was Marcella’s internal confusion. That sense of not knowing why things feel off, why it’s suddenly hard to focus or keep up while the rest of the world just seems to be moving on—those moments are handled with striking honesty. I could feel the tension, the overwhelm, the self-doubt creeping in.

The art is vibrant and expressive—especially during moments of emotional overwhelm—and adds texture to Marcella’s world. I absolutely loved how the author intentionally left some panels without dialogue, allowing the silence to carry the emotional weight. Those quiet moments — a look, a pause, a lingering scene — were some of the loudest in impact.

Highly recommended!

I received an electronic ARC from Lerner Publishing Group through NetGalley.
Alexander captures how it feels to start middle school and not be able to keep up. Readers see Marcella struggle with assignments and schedules and friends. Though it's painful at times, readers will connect with her and the other characters as they navigate sixth grade. I appreciate how involved her parents were and that they sought help when one of her teachers called them. However, I also felt they were so caught up in their own lives and the move that they missed some obvious ways she was in trouble. The author treated the ADHD diagnosis in a matter of fact manner and the counselor offered coping skills and methods to figure out planning for the school day. We even see one of her friendships heal. I love the ending where she figures out what makes her happy and brings her peace. A definite must for school libraries.

A new MG graphic novel by Damian Alexander.
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Marcella has been struggling lately. Sixth grade seems to be harder for her than everyone else. She’s always late, forgets her homework, doesn’t hear her name when it’s called in class, and seems to always be distracted. Add her bestie having new friends of her own and her parents wanting to move apartments—it’s all too much for Marcella!
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I was such a huge fan of Alexander’s graphic memoir Other Boys and nominated it for the Maverick GN reading list for Texas so when I saw he had a new #book coming out, I snapped it up! I can’t wait to get this into my middle school library because I see this with so many of my incoming sixth graders and even my seventh graders who have added sports and other extra curriculars into their life. Very relatable! This title releases September 9!

CW: ADHD

3.5 ⭐️

This book perfectly encapsulates ADHD in a way people rarely understand. It does a great job of showing the confusing life of a sixth grader. It's fast-paced and genuinely a very good read. I also love the art style!

Marcella is not enjoying middle school. Why is sixth grade so different and hard? Why are her friends suddenly talking about boys and think dolls are lame? On top of that, classes are different everyday, she has a bunch of different teachers, and she can't remember what each says about homework and quizzes. Her dads are very supportive, but they are at a loss on how to help. Why does Marcella feel so left out?
Absolutely Everything is a great example of how overwhelming the world can be for people with ADHD.

A good middle grade graphic novel about a young girl dealing with trouble concentrating and organizing. Is it because it's 6th grade or is it something more? A believable, realistic story about a girl with ADHD.

Absolutely Everything was such an amazing read. The art really added to the story but it was the story that captured me the most. I loved how this story examined the struggles that middle school age students can go through at that age. I think that the struggles and anxiety that the main character goes through are so realistic and as I mentioned are only heightened by the art.

The topic of this book is one that I have not come across much in my experience ordering and reading graphic novels for the juvenile section at my library. The topic and message is covered well and I feel as though the author explained the feelings one goes through with ADHD in an excellent and succinct fashion. However the art style of the book felt very amateur and at times kind of bad. I typically try and not judge based on the art alone however the art being the way it was often took me out of the plot and was visually unappealing.
But based on the story alone this was excellent!

I had the chance to read this book through NetGallery and I really enjoyed it however once again the style is not for me and I find myself struggling to want to order this book for my patrons when we have other options.

I really enjoyed this book. Very interesting topic and I love how her family and friends help Marcella enjoy life as she goes. Interesting topic to learn about. I love how her family and friends help her enjoy life as she goes.

While reading this I couldn’t help but think about my daughter and granddaughter, who is in 7th grade. They both deal with ADHD and anxiety. I could related to this character in a personal level. I enjoyed the graphic novel approach to this book as kids aren’t likely to pick up a book such as this, just to read it. I also appreciated that the character was female as ADHD does affect more boys than girls. It is a validation to girls that they to can experience different types of emotions and feelings of being overwhelmed with everything, whether it be a simple task or hard. The characters were likable and I also found the illustrations fun.
From the beginning page of the schedule to the end, I was engaged in her struggles.
As an aside, my granddaughter was just tested and come to find out schedules such as that, overwhelm her to the point of paralysis. She doesn’t know where to begin with work that is busy on paper.

What a complex yet accessible and relatable look at the transition into sixth grade! While the story itself isn't centered around ADHD, it drastically affects all of the ways the main character navigates the many new changes in her life. At that age, even the smallest of changes feels dramatic and overwhelming. With her studies increasing in difficulty, her friend group's priorities shifting, and new routines being forced upon her, Marcella feels like she's getting left behind whilst everyone else is growing up. I loved her arc of growing into her own person and accepting help once she finally admitted that she needed it. The art style was a bit inconsistent, but usually the expressions were on point.

i actually think this book is so adorable!! honestly it reminds me a lot of when i was growing up in elementary/middle school, LOVE the nostalgia!!! it’s so sweet and i love the representation of characters and ADHD, since it can be so different in many different people and this will help break the stigma!! LOVED THIS ADORABLE BOOK!!!

This character has an incredible narrative voice that is sure to pull kids in straight away. Almost immediately the book shares an incredible visual depiction of anxiety and overwhelm that is unbelievably relatable as someone who has struggled before. Kids having a difficult time with the transition out of elementary school or being overworked in general are sure to see themselves in this main character, and find solace in that representation.

3.75
I had the chance to read this book through my NetGallery shelf and I really enjoyed it! I imagine it would be a great read for a child trying to learn more about their own struggles or get perspective on what their peers might be facing. The art was well done and the story had a sweet ending.

Marcella just started 6th grade, and already, things are going south. The bus? Homework? A move? Friends growing apart? It's all too much! She finds that she has trouble keeping track of everything that goes on despite her best efforts, and she doesn't know why. Is something just wrong with her?

This comic is a sweet coming of age story of a girl with undiagnosed ADHD. As someone who didn't get diagnosed until adulthood, I found a lot of the content relatable. My favorite part was a quote from Marcella where, in reaction to other's thinking, she finally had a handle on things, she thought, "Sure. I'm on track. But I feel like a train is coming towards me." This line hit me like, well, a train. It described exactly how I often felt as a child.

The comic's art quality varied throughout. In the beginning, I felt like the characters were stiff with repetitive expressions that left me wondering if their face was frozen that way. People's heads felt shoved into panels where just showing the item being discussed would have been more effective. However, by the end, these problems no longer show up. The comic was loose and flowed easily from one panel to the next. The characters felt more lifelike and dynamic.

I didn’t love the illustration style. The story was fine but it felt like so many other graphic novels out there.

I really liked this graphic novel. I think it depicted the struggles of having ADHD in middle school very well and I think that Marcella is a character that many middle schoolers will relate to. I also think that telling this story in a graphic novel makes it accessible to kids who might have difficulty paying attention to a longer book.

Marcella has a nice life; a cozy apartment in a building where her friends Jen Chu, Nigel McNamara, and Jonah Williams live, two dads who love and support her, and a love of writing. As 6th grade starts, however, things are getting difficult. She can never remember to catch her bus at 6:45 a.m., often getting distracted by things in her room. She struggles to pay attention to class, and is embarrassed when her teachers call her out after they have asked her to participate several times. Her best friend Jen is starting to think that boys are cute, and caring about what she wears to school, instead of thinking about the books that she and Marcella liked to role play when they were younger. On top of everything else, her dads are moving the family to the apartment across the hallway because it is bigger and has better sunlight and a balcony. When a teacher she likes assigns a 500 word personal essay on any topic, Marcella can't think of a thing to write about, even though she has enjoyed making journal entries, and her teacher has been complementary about her writing. Jen is increasingly involved in ballet, and even though her friends and parents try to help her with the writing assignment, Marcella always gets distracted by something else, doesn't do the work, and gets even more stressed. She even misses Jen's ballet recital because she is trying to get work done on the project. Eventually, Ms. Kimani calls home and tells Marcella's dads what she is seeing in school. Marcella admits that she is struggling, and is lucky enough to get an appointment with a therapist, who helps her.
Strengths: Even though middle school classwork and homework isn't that hard, students have struggled in recent years, so Marcella's experiences in this graphic novel will resonate with many readers. It was good to see that her fathers supported her, and immediately got her into counseling when a teacher brought her struggles to their attention. It's good to see portrayals of students living in apartments, and Marcella's building sounds like a great place to be. Alexander's artwork is brightly colored and similar to other artists like Telgemeier, Galligan, and Fajardo, but is different enough to be unique. The cover is very appealing and shows the mood of the book right away.
Weaknesses: Young readers who have had to move to other states or countries will have little sympathy for Marcella's move across the hallway. It would have been informative to see Marcella prior to middle school, because her prevailing mood is so miserable.
What I really think: An author's note states that Marcella is based on characters that Alexander has drawn over a number of years, and that her story is based on his own struggles with ADHD. He didn't see stories that reflected his experience when he was growing up. Now, every other middle grade book is about a character with anxiety, so this would be a good choice for readers who enjoyed Libenson's Invisible Emmie, Scrivan's Nat Enough, or Vivat's Frazzled. Most of the characters like Marcella are female, so it would have been nice to see another book with a male character with these struggles, like Todd's Timid. Alexander's Other Boys is another look at his difficult middle school years.

This will be an automatic purchase for my library. The art style, the plot, the character development. It is perfect for my library. I am so thankful I was able to get an advanced copy of this. Thank you!