Book Report: Millie of the Manor

At First Glance: This cover has my attention 👀

The Gist: Clue meets The Baby-Sitters Club in this heartwarming middle grade graphic novel

My Thoughts: Those comps made this an immediate read and I thoroughly enjoyed my time spent with Amy/Millie and her time spent at a murder mystery themed birthday party as she works her way through her social anxiety. Her confidence shines by the end and I think younger readers will enjoy the adventure as well as the relatability.

My Question for Karina: What’s a book or comic you adored growing up that still lives rent-free in your imagination?

Thank you Harper Collins Children’s Books!

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*Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's Books for early copy for review*

This graphic novel is perfect for Children struggling with social anxiety. As someone who went deals with anxiety myself I related so much to Amy. The art worked really well to tell the story as well.

This is a great graphic novel with a target age of 3rd-5th grade readers. I love how the "Cardboard Kingdom" style of their imagination takes over and makes the mystery feel more suspenseful, while still pulling back so more sensitive readers will still enjoy the case.

this was such a cute graphic novel that i enjoyed reading about a girl who thought she wasn't going to fit in with the other kids but then they have like a nancy drewish murder mystery party and she gets to be a scientist and play as her character in the house. there was a killer on the loose it was really cute. I like how whatever she thought about herself wasn't true. This graphic novel was so cute and thank you to netgalley and harpercollins for approving me for the read!

Amy is a bright and curious girl who is making efforts to manage her social anxiety. When she's invited to a murder mystery themed birthday party she is excited but nervous to attend. It turns out to be just what she needs. The story is sweet and the visuals do an excellent job guiding the reader through Amy's private thoughts, the real world, and the spooky manor where she and her friends solve a murder mystery in character

Millie suffers from pretty severe social anxiety and prefers reading mystery novels to interacting with her classmates. When she is invited to a murder mystery party, it's the perfect opportunity for Millie to face some of her fears by interacting as a character rather than herself.

My students are always clammoring for a murder mystery (I lovingly blame The Swifts), and, while this isn't exactly the real thing, I can see it having a solid amount of appeal to students. Readers can follow along with Millie and her friends as they solve the "murder."

With appealing illustrations and a great premise, this is a must-buy for my library.

I adored this book! Amy’s social anxiety is conveyed in a way that is so palpable, and I found myself so emotionally invested in her. I loved the murder mystery birthday party component and the way the artwork shifted between the imagined mystery and the actual party (and I could relate so much to Amy who, at first, was so much more comfortable being her character Millie rather than herself).

This was such a unique form of storytelling, and it hits so many emotional notes. I’ll absolutely be adding it to my classroom. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

This one wasn't for me. The art is pleasing but I found it hard to connect with the story or, perhaps more specifically, the main character Amy. Her social anxiety is extreme, far too extreme for me to connect with, and because there's so little interior monologue its hard to develop empathy the character. Two dimensional social anxiety reads too much like a kid who can't get over themself, at least to me in this instance. I certainly would try other works by this author and illustrator, but I'd be unlikely to attempt a second volume about Amy.

Millie of the Manor is such a fun read! The main character, Amy, is a middle schooler starting her therapy journey for her struggles with social anxiety. This book makes it very easy to understand social anxiety, and I think I would have understood myself better had I had something like this to read as a kid.
The art is vibrant and fun, with a great switch between the real world and the imagined world of the kids when they're playing their murder mystery game. The mystery itself was fun, and would easily keep a kid guessing and interested in reading.
Though it's a short read, this graphic novel had a lot to say and a lot of heart. I think many kids can relate to Amy, and hopefully see that they don't have to hide their anxiety from true friends.
Despite the themes and premise, this was a cozy and fun read that I think plenty of kids would enjoy.

This one made me so grateful that middle grade graphic novels like this exist — especially for kids like mine who love a good mystery and need to see themselves in the pages.

Millie of the Manor is Clue meets The Baby-Sitters Club, wrapped in heart and humor. Amy’s anxiety is portrayed with so much honesty and care, and the whole murder-mystery party setup is fun, clever, and just chaotic enough to keep kids (and moms!) hooked.

Watching Amy step into the role of “Millie” and find new confidence was honestly moving. It’s the kind of book I would’ve devoured as a kid, and now I love seeing my daughter fall for it too.

A must-read for graphic novel lovers.

♡ THIS BOOK WAS MYSTERIOUSLY WHOLESOME ♡

✩°｡⋆ Thank you to HarperCollins Children's Books ~ HarperAlley for providing the ARC of this book for an honest review via NetGalley! ⋆｡°✩

♡ MY REVIEW:

The positives:
They were not lying when they said this book had <i>Clue</i> meets <i>The Baby-Sitters Club</i> vibes because the story definitely had, at its core, a cozy mystery mixed with feel-good characters.
I enjoyed the character of Amy and how she was dealing with her social anxiety. Amy attending Reagan's murder-mystery birthday party effectively introduced new characters and conveyed a message to young readers that despite social barriers, you can still participate and have fun! The narrative was my real takeaway from this book, and I think the story did a great job of driving home a clear message!

Another thing I loved about the book was the art style! The text and font were easy to read, and the colors worked well to create an inviting atmosphere for the reader.


The negatives:
None.

☆ Overall, I'd give this book a 3/5! ☆

A young girl who has social anxiety is somehow invited to a Murder Mystery party. While she should be excited to go, she’s very nervous. While she decides to go, so has made the decision to slip inside her new characters mind, Millie, while they go around trying to find the murderer. Mille of the Manor is a quick and beautifully illustrated graphic novel, perfect for children and young adults.

Millie of the Manor is a colorful children’s graphic novel that tells the story of Amy, a girl living with social anxiety. Amy takes a leap and attends a classmate’s murder mystery birthday party. Using the tools she learned from therapy, Amy plays her character, Millie Morgan, perfectly. However, when anxiety creeps in Amy learns she can trust her new friends and do hard things. I absolutely loved this story and the therapy and social anxiety representation (a million bonus points because no one makes fun of Amy for her anxiety!) 5 ⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read Millie in the Manor!

I thought this was a great graphic novel. Amy loves reading mystery books but when she's invited to a classmate's murder mystery themed birthday party she is apprehensive. Her anxiety has been getting in the way of her interacting with others. Her assigned role for the murder mystery is Millie Morgan and she starts to have a fun time solving the mystery. The writing on how Amy was feeling with anxiety was done very well. I like that the thought bubbles even had a different font so we know it's what she's thinking and how anxiety feels for her. The art style of the graphic novel is really cute. I think kids and adults will be able to relate to Amy's anxiety. I remember second guessing myself in school with thoughts like Amy's and felt the dialogue was realistic. The murder mystery birthday party was fun to read! Certain sections reminded me of the movie Clue when they're trying to solve the murder. This was a good book and can see it as a great conversation starter for children about anxiety.

This was an absolutely wonderfully written graphic novel depicting social anxiety in a very real way. I loved how it also delved into how it manifests, the symptoms, but also the underlying thoughts of why and what happens in real time and the real world effects. I loved this adorable little murder mystery story and it was absolutely an amazing read. I think this would be an amazing first read for anyone of any age thinking about how to cope with social anxiety, honestly, despite that it’s overall written aimed towards a younger audience. The art style was lovely and I adored the way the story illustrators artfully used color to help emphasize and express the story better. Highly recommended graphic novel to keep around in a day an age of such a social and world-wide connected modern era.

Solid 4 stars. This book is listed as middle grade but I’d say it would be ideal for about third grade. As a teacher, this would serve a a nice way to open a conversation with students about anxiety. I really
Iike the colorful and clear layout of the art. The social interaction between characters is on point. The way the artist portrays panic attack helped me understand it. A positive and hopeful outlook with nice insights into managing anxious feelings.

Millie of the Manor is an incredibly creative graphic novel for kids, exploring anxiety and sharing some genuinely helpful tools to cope. Our story first kicks off with our main character using books as a form of escapism. She heavily relies on maintaining avoidant tendencies to handle her extreme fear of socializing. She is drowning in shame over every minor action, which is relatable to so many kids her age and seriously crippling to experience firsthand. Stuck in a feedback loop of self-doubt, her risk vs. reward internal radar is all thrown off. Millie is withdrawn and withholding what she loves from herself without even realizing. She’s operating off of pure fear.

At this point Millie’s mom, as well as her therapist, come in with some really solid advice. Her mom shares the important reframing of, “but what if it turns out so much fun?” re going to a party that Millie is terrified of. So many kids don’t even let themselves consider this option and truly need to hear it said explicitly before the idea would even cross their mind. Similarly, her therapist encourages her to join in and speak up to expand her comfort zone and decrease anxiety.

This tale unravels to be a celebration of the power of imagination. Millie’s journey into the outside world allows us to step into an unbelievably cute game of make-believe. Our main character discovers the freeing nature of stepping into another character, embodying somebody brave, and ends up redirecting her “what if” thoughts from those of fear based outcomes, to “what if we were all of these characters in this murder mystery?! How COOL”. She found protection in being someone else.

The illustrator did a phenomenal job of fading in and out between our make-believe scenery and the real life living room that the kids are playing in. The world is filled with rich colors, and vibrant expressions, alternating between warm and cool tones when the characters are in real life versus their imagined scenario. The setting transforms from a standard living room to a manor. In the end, our character overcomes her anxiety and feels safe and seen by others after knowing that seeing and accepting her symptoms was an option.

This graphic novel will surely serve as an incredible mirror for young kids with anxiety, and maybe be the first insight that some have into certain tips that it shares. It will also be such a fun empathy building vessel for those who haven’t encountered something like this before. A must have for any collection.

This was really cute, it did a really good job of showcasing whats its like to have social anxiety when you're young. I loved the way the panels changed when they were immersed in the game vs when they were not.

Fun and relatable graphic novel about social anxiety. I loved the murder mystery party with the concept of role playing to draw Amy out of herself. Very cute quick read. My only “complaint “ was not being able to see the age of the parents. They looked just like the kids.

In this middle grade graphic novel, Amy is a young tween/teen who experiences crippling anxiety and panic attacks. Even though she goes to therapy, she still struggles to use her learned strategies to make connections with peers. The art style is colorful and engaging, and the graphic novel format truly enhances the story.

As someone with anxiety myself, I absolutely loved seeing anxiety represented in Amy. Her internal monologue is so accurate for how it feels to have anxiety. I loved how Amy's anxiety was visually represented: when she started spiraling, everything except Amy becomes black and white, showing how isolated and separated from others she feels in that moment. I also noticed that the frame around Amy gets smaller and smaller with more and more white gutter showing, illustrating how Amy feels trapped by her anxiety.

Amy is invited to a murder mystery party by a stranger - she is concerned about going, but u
chooses to go anyway because she loves to read mystery books. She realizes that her assigned character would be more confident than her, and she is able to use her character to speak with her peers throughout the party, as long as they stay in character. However, when the outside world creeps in, like when Reagan's dogs show up in one of the party rooms, Amy remembers her anxiety and starts to panic. I love how she is ultimately able to work through her anxiety, and she's even able to share about her anxiety with her new friends at the party. She first thinks they must be judging her, but they are so empathetic and kind to her.

Overall, this book is a beautiful and well-written representation of anxiety. Any kid dealing with anxiety would appreciate seeing themselves in this book.