Very Bad at Math: A Graphic Novel

A Very Graphic Novel #1

by Hope Larson

Hijinks, unexpected friendships, and math take center stage in this contemporary middle grade graphic novel perfect for fans of Raina Telgemeier and Kayla Miller from New York Times bestselling and Eisner Award–winning author Hope Larson.

Verity “Very” Nelson can do it all.

She’s student body president, debate club whiz, and first chair clarinetist. You could say she’s pretty much the best at everything…Well, almost everything. Everything except math.

And it’s not like she doesn’t try. Math just doesn’t make sense in her brain. But it better start soon, or else she can kiss her presidency—and her campaign promises—goodbye. Soon Verity finds herself enrolled in a remedial math class where, despite her best efforts, failure persists. All seems lost until a teacher helps her discover the Verity has dyscalculia, a learning disability that causes her to mix up numbers.

Armed with a new perspective, can Verity pass math, keep her presidency, and make good on her word to the student body she loves so much? Or will her presidency—and perfect reputation—all come crashing down?

Genres: Graphic Novels, Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction, Comics, Disability, Childrens, Fiction

240 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 21, 2025

About the author

Hope Larson is an American illustrator and comics artist. Hope Larson is the author of Salamander Dream, Gray Horses, Chiggers, and Mercury. She won a 2007 Eisner Award. She lives in Los Angeles, California.

Reviews

[Bookishrealm · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not sure what I was expecting going into this one, but I was pleasantly surprised on how Hope Larson handled both the character development and the plot in this one. It beautifully weaves in conversations related to dyscalculia. This isn't something that I see very often in middle grade novels, so I'm excited to see it represented more in publishing. Larson also tackles topics related to friendship, community support, and the complexities of being an over achiever. Very Bad at Math was thoughtful, fun, and engaging.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

For 17 years I was the librarian at a school for different learners. This book was accurate, in my opinion, on how many students can present as bright students but are struggling in one area and they can't figure out why.

I would have liked to see more about how Verity was coping, what strategies worked for her, which ones didn't, and so on. Verity was embarrassed about her learning differences, and she could have shown others in similar situations how it is okay to learn differently. Even just a few examples could be so helpful for others. I hope readers will see themselves in Verity and seek out help to find out what they need to succeed in school and life.

This a must-have book for all libraries. Show your readers they are not alone.

[Julia]

The way my self esteem would've skyrocketed if I read this in eighth grade

[Kristi Hovington · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was cataloging a stack of new books today and brought this home with me to read, and it is a delight. A perfect book featuring a high achieving neurodiverse 14 year old who learns to embrace her uniqueness with the help of an incredible cast of characters. One of my fav graphic novels of the year.

[D.T. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Refreshing! Friendship drama that gets resolved quickly, teachers who actually care, and quirky humor every step of the way.

I’m loving the increased awareness of dyscalculia. A few years ago, I had never heard of it, but I’m glad some kid will feel seen with this.

Loved the artwork too!

and a class president named Bree :) that just made my day

[RaspberryRoses · Rating 4 out of 5]

very fun - a bit heavy handed with it's messaging at time, but also i am reading middle grade fiction, so it can come with the territory. yeah sure the 13 year old can have a parasocial relationship with a staffer at her favorite representatives office. good for her.

really nice to see dyscalculia represented in this way - it didn't feel stereotypical and felt very authentic.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

We just got this in at the library, and the plot and characters are gold!!!! Feeding my graphic novel obsession monster!!!

[Christy · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent middle grade graphic novel that deals with friendships and introduces readers to dyscalculia. I also love how civically-minded Verity is at such a young age!

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I don’t think I have dyscalculia, this book would have been very encouraging to me in elementary/middle school years. I think it will be to other kids who struggle with math too!

[Elizabeth C · Rating 4 out of 5]

This middle grades graphic novel was just published in January 2025, so it has not yet been nominated for any awards. However, Hope Larson is an-Eisner Award winner and she is a New York Times bestselling author. This story follows Verity, called Very by her friends, as she struggles to maintain a passing grade in math. She needs to do this in order to keep her position as class president, something she's done three years in a row and is passionate about doing well. While Very is not great at math, she is hard-working, excels in other subjects like English and social studies, is athletic, and community-minded. Because she is failing math and has to start passing the class, she is enrolled in a math pod with one other student and is taught by the school's student teacher. At first Very is embarrassed about being in this class, calls herself stupid, and lies to her friends and family about what she's doing during her lunch period. Eventually she realizes that no matter how hard she studies she still struggles with math and her math pod teacher comes to understand that Very has dyscalcula, a disability similar to dyslexia, but related to numbers rather than letters. Very gets the services she needs and is able to do better in math. While she resigned from being class president - in protest to the broken school system and its policies - she was still able to repair her relationships with her friends and with herself.

I read this book as a hard copy and highly recommend doing so since it is a graphic novel. The characters and scenes were drawn in fun and interesting ways and the expressions on Verity's face while going through her math drama were detailed and engaging. The characters' development was a bit simplistic, but I suppose that's in part because it's a middle grades novel and the author was focusing on Very's struggle with dyscalcula. It also seems that this will be a series, so I can only assume that readers will get to know Very and her friends more as new volumes are released.

This book would be great to use as a book club book for students grades 4-6. Some of the themes students can explore is fitting in vs belonging, self-identity, healthy friendships, asking for help, compassion and empathy, and exploring disabilities. Another important theme is high achieving / overachieving. Sometimes it's great that students have a high capacity to do a lot, but just because someone can do a lot doesn't mean that they must. Also, sometimes "trying harder" isn't what a problem needs - we need help, or a break, or maybe a different problem to solve. These are lessons that I think would be great to share with perfectionist and over-functioning students, as well as students who have disabilities.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great middle grade graphic novel about a tween girl who is passionate about civic responsibility, runs for class president but is also ashamed when she learns she has dyscalculia. I loved how heartfelt and relatable this book was, not to mention inspiring for youth who might not realize they can make a difference and that being different isn't a bad thing. Recommended for fans of books like Figure it out Henri Weldon.

[Danielle · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's funny that I read this back-to-back with Mixed-Up, which deals with dyslexia, while this deals with dyscalculia. I did like Mixed-Up more and felt like so many of the characters here were just incredibly shitty to each other over and over again. The way they act is addressed, but it just wasn't for me.

[Emvee ⚔ Woman Lover · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dyscalculia is a disability I didn't even know about until I met someone who had it.
I'm so glad kids today get to have these stories available for them!

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Verity is good at everything. She excels in all her classes. She has been class president every year she has been in middle school. She is super popular, and everyone loves when she knows who they are. She wants to be in politics when she grows up.


And then, she finds she is failing math. She is sent to take tutoring classes, and tries to hide that from everyone, because she can’t stand the fact that she could be failing at anything.


I thought I wasn’t going to like this. I thought that reading a story about a girl who was all that was going to be boring, but she was actually just charismatic, not mean, although she sometimes was thoughtless, not realizing that something she thought was funny, wasn’t.


This is a great book for those out there that have math anxiety, or something even more befuddling. Every step in this story things are explained, and we get a good look at how not learning math can mess you up. And having Dyscalculia, which is like dyslexia for numbers, can make it so you can never get the problems right.


Highly recommended. This was never preachy. And the funny bits were funny. And the bullying was quite understandable and dealt with.


Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review. This book is coming out the 22nth of January 2025.

[rachel x]

mg contemporary graphic novel with dyscalculia rep!

[Shanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this one! I love any book with good disability representation—especially invisible disabilities! Verity “Very” Nelson is the class president. She can pretty much do it all. She’s good at English, social studies and music. She has a great vice president who happens to be her friend. So what happens when she finds out she is failing math? Yikes! School rules state that Very must bring up her grade in order to participate in student council. She starts taking a class with another student during study hall. But will the class help her? Especially when she finds out she has dyscalculia, a learning disability that makes her mix up numbers? Very worries that the school and her friends won’t accept her for being different.

This book is for everyone who has ever felt different in life, but especially for kids with learning disabilities! Feeling seen is one of the best gifts you can give a kid (or adult) and, though I don’t have this disability, I do deal with other invisible ones, and I know the importance of having a character to look up to. Verity Nelson is that character! Invisible disabilities matter. Thanks to Hope Larson for writing such dynamic characters and for your portrayal of one person’s life with an LD. This book will help a lot of kids!

Mia’s 2nd Year of Books: Days 13 and 15

[TheNextGenLibrarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first in a new MG graphic novel series.
➗
Who’s the most popular girl in school? Verity “Very” Nelson. She’s kind, talented, funny and the best at everything…except math. After Verity runs and wins class president, she finds out that she might get kicked out because she’s failing math. Even working with a tutor has Very still failing, no matter how much she works and studies. Her obsession with passing math is bleeding into other areas of her life such as her friendships, fundraising for the class trip she promised and her other subjects and clubs. When Very finds out she has dyscalculia, it helps explain so much about how she kept trying only to fail every quiz. Armed with this new information Very tries to keep her presidency and pass math.
✖️
This was a homerun book for me. I can’t wait to follow Very’s adventures in this series. She’s such a good person at heart—something I love to see represented in #books our tweens and teens are reading. The representation on this title reminds me of Mixed-Up by Kami Garcia, but this features a math disability and I’ve never read a novel about that topic before. Fans of Kayla Miller and Gale Galligan will eat this one up too!

CW: learning disability, spying, cyberbullying

[Julia Pika · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really liked learning about Dyscalculia.

The art was solid, but the worldbuilding was a bit odd--you'd think the book would be a straightforward "girl works hard in math class" thing but it was overly complicated...there was even an AI robot that could make pizza? A bit far-fetched.

I also felt bad for the lady the protagonist kept calling EVERY day. This woman worked at a politician's office and for some reason the protagonist used this phone call as a way to talk about her teen drama all day. Seemed like a waste of time and the protagonist needs a therapist more than anything!

The core of the story was good and the character development was good.

[Katie Reilley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Verity (Very) is the best at almost everything at her school. Student body president, debate club whiz, and first chair clarinetist. When the one thing she’s not good at (math) threatens her student body presidency and her campaign promises, Very is enrolled in a remedial math class. Despite her best efforts, all seems lost, and she continues to fail until a teacher helps her discover that she has dyscalculia.

I think middle grade students will like the book, but I wish there had been some back matter on dyscalculia for readers.

[Mel Harris · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was probably one of the worst books I’ve EVER read. Sure, it’s out of my age range but I just wanted a fun easy read.
First of all, none of the characters had ANY personality. The only personality shown in the book between ANY characters were: Hate, spite, poser, petty, and unreasonable.
NO character development.
NO character personality.
NON satisfying ending.
NO HUMOR.
This book, if you could even call it that. Only annoyed me. EVERY character was UNPLEASANT.
The ONLY good character is B-G.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this and feel like its a great story for the intended audience...but even as an adult I think there are great takeaways about friendship, learning its OK to ask for help and accept help, and working to fix the things that are broken in the system.

[Marisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars for including dyscalculia, mixing of numbers, the learning disability.
3 stars for heavy handiness of topics, some characters behaviors, and lack of nuance.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this book up because I was also Very Bad at Math at the same age as the characters in this graphic novel, although not to the same extent. I loved the conflict between striving to remain the best at everything and struggling with maths and how it impacted on life. There is a lesson here in learning that it's okay to be vulnerable and that you don't have to be perfect at everything. A great graphic novel.

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love everything about this book except for the title. Very is an awesome character and there is so much more that is interesting about her other than the fact that she is not a strong math student due to her dyscalculia. Not everything has to be a pun, people! I'm rating on the contents, not the title, however, so four stars ahead.

[norah melden (death by tbr) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hope Larsons newest graphic novel is veEeEEery nice!
/;

[Katrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super cute and empowering. Great middle grade story about friendship, failure, and learning to work with a learning disability.

[David Schwan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Verity is 8th grade class president and successful at everything she does except math. A wonderful book about overcoming a learning disability! Nice graphics.

[Phoebe Stones]

A cool book that features a character with dyscalculia (!!) but only very loosely references it. Would’ve been better if it had gone into more detail.

[Fatma · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent 3.5. I think a lot of middle grade readers would like this. The character development of one of the side characters- the podcaster- is amazing. His role in being the “bug” in Verity (aka Very)’s political campaign from rise and fall is excellent. Her story is good but her friendships seem so simple and when she learns about her learning disability in math- it seems like Hope Larson rushes the story to the finish line. This may be book one in the series and it would be interesting to see where the story goes.

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Verity, who goes by Very, is 8th grade president. She is good at everything, except she is close to failing math. She takes an extra math class with Lucile and the student teacher, and finds out she has discalculia. She does several screw ups and resigns as class president after she order the wrong shirts for a fundraiser. And to complicate things more, Nate, a podcaster, is lurking around and revealing personal information.
I wish the book gave examples of the tricks Very uses to keep track of numbers.