Mallory in Full Color

by Elisa Stone Leahy

A funny, poignant middle grade novel about a tween who navigates questions of identity and friendship when her anonymous web comic goes viral, from the acclaimed author of Tethered to Other Stars.

Mallory Marsh is an expert at molding into whatever other people want her to be. Her true thoughts and feelings only come out in her sci-fi web comic, which she publishes anonymously as Dr. BotGirl.

But juggling all the versions of herself gets tricky, especially when Mal’s mom signs her up for swim team. Instead of being honest about hating competitive swim, Mal skips out on practice and secretly joins the library’s comic club. There Mal meets Noa, a cute enby kid who is very sure of who they are. As Mal helps Noa plan a drag queen story time, she tries to be the person she thinks Noa wants her to be—by lying about her stage fright.

Then Mal’s web comic goes viral, and kids at school start recognizing the unflattering characters based on Mal’s real-life friends. With negative pushback threatening the drag queen story time and Dr.BotGirl’s identity getting harder to hide, Mallory must reckon with the lies she has told.

If she reveals her full self, will her friends, her parents, and her new crush accept the real Mallory Marsh?

Genres: Middle Grade, LGBT, Fiction, Contemporary, Young Adult, Juvenile, Coming Of Age

Audible Audio

First published November 19, 2024

About the author

Elisa Stone Leahy is a queer, Peruvian American children’s author who lives with her husband and kids in Columbus, Ohio. Her first middle grade book, Tethered to Other Stars, was a finalist for the Cybils Award and the Ohioana Book Award, made the 2024 Cooperative Children’s Book Center Choices list, the Bank Street Best Children’s Books of the Year list, and received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Kirkus Reviews, which called it “beautifully executed.” Her second book, Mallory in Full Color, was a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection, made the NYPL Best Books for Kids list, was named on SLJ’s Best Books of 2024 list, and received starred reviews from The Bulletin for the Center of Children’s Books and School Library Journal, which called it “a must-read.”

Reviews

[Katy O. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one fell a little bit into the “no middle schoolers actually act like this” category but the messages about identity and the queer community are excellent, and I love the part where Mallory calls her mom out on using her as a nanny. We need more books about nonbinary kids, and this is a great addition to that category.

Source: Sora audio via SDLC

[Kelly Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

Elisa’s writing is still incredible and I love it just as much as the last one.

[Rapunzel Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I liked:

I think middle schoolers who are struggling with the same need to people please as Mallory will connect with her and find the ending reassuring. Her introduction to Noa, who is nonbinary, and the backlash over drag queen story hours and other public library events also provided a thoughtful and realistic introduction to gender diversity and homophobic/transphobic attitudes.

Mallory's interactions with her friends also felt very authentic, and I could really relate to the complex feelings surrounding conversations where she felt like she needed to perform and be someone other than herself to be liked, supportive, and a good friend.

What I struggled with:

Despite a strong concept and story elements I typically enjoy—queer self-discovery, developing friendships, standing up against library bans, artsy protagonist—I failed to truly connect with the characters, storyline, and writing voice of MALLORY IN FULL COLOR. Although I understood Mallory’s struggles with expressing herself around different people, it didn’t altogether ring true.

I think this was partially because the aspects of the setup which made me believe that Mallory acting in this way were truly necessary were virtually debunked by the end. For example, the conflict between her friends made me believe some of their friendships would fall apart if Mallory was authentic, and the anger they felt upon discovering Mallory’s comics about them was legit. However, the ease with which all of them accepted Mallory felt almost anticlimactic, making Mallory’s anxiety appear misplaced rather than legitimate. I appreciated the happy ending, but the book’s execution made it feel like a middle-grade friendship version of the infamous miscommunication trope.

In short, although I don’t think MALLORY IN FULL COLOR will become a favorite of most outside of its target audience, I think it’ll both be enjoyed by and helpful for the middle schoolers it’s written for.

3.5 stars, rounded up

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review! All opinions expressed here are my own.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

TLDR: This is it -- this is the one. I am rooting for MALLORY IN FULL COLOR for the 2025 Newbery! (And the Stonewall.)

While some adults will dismiss it as heavy-handed in terms of queer identity and political action, I prefer to think of it as right-sized, giving young people accurate language and prompting thoughtful questions. Everything about this book is PERFECTLY tuned to actual middle grade readers, something I find sadly lacking in many MG novels these days. The characters are not preternaturally mature 12 year olds or mouthpieces for adult worldviews -- rather, even the main character is rife with the internal contradictions, lack of impulse control, poor judgment, and sometimes cranky attitude of a real 7th grader! But that also makes Mallory, alongside her soft heart and rich creativity, beautifully multidimensional, which is ultimately the message of this book. We do and must contain multitudes, and while some people know and understand themselves from a young age (like Noa or Etta), a lot of us take our time to get there.

From a craft standpoint, this book is masterfully paced and plotted. The stakes are high without being insurmountable, the tension builds and the reader laments both Mallory's choices and the external circumstances that drive her to them, and the denouement is that much sweeter as a result. I haven't read anything so satisfying in a long time, where every single detail has a thematic place in the larger structure, without feeling shoehorned in. I mean, the close third person narration that has Mallory Marsh talking about herself in third person? The backpack? The cat? The PIZZA?? I wept, I tell you, not just at how I related to Mallory's story but at how dynamically yet gracefully that story is told.

I could go on and on, but at this point, you should just read the book. I plan to do so again -- hopefully with some students in library class. I can easily see MALLORY ALL ALONG grabbing the attention of even the most "I'm not into books" kids. It's the perfect windows/mirrors/sliding glass doors mentor text, and I can already hear them shrieking "NOOOOOO! KEEP GOING!" when class comes to an end just as we get to a juicy cliffhanger. And I'll be right there with them!!

[Raaven💖 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really really enjoyed this book. While I’m not an expert in middle schoolers and how they may act, I thought there were a lot of powerful lessons here. Mallory is someone I see a bit of myself in. She’s unsure of herself and wants everyone to like her. Even if she has to exaggerate the truth or lie, she makes sure she avoids conflict and is seen in a positive light. But that erases who you are. Mallory isn’t sure who she is. Seeing her come to terms with her sexuality and her own likes and dislikes who was heartwarming. I was getting a bit of Demi vibes from here? But it was great seeing her be honest with others. Also, I love the anime/fandom discussions. As a nerdy adult who was a nerdy kid, I would have loved this type of book. I appreciated all the queer rep as well. There’s a library that does drag storylines? I wish! And the school SGA that was allowed to decorate? That sounds amazing! Noa seemed like such a cool kid that I would have loved to be friends with. I’m not even that sure of myself and I’m 30. But this book was full of great lessons learned and I found myself smiling or cheering when Mallory stood up for herself. This book is full of heart and queer middle grade books fill me with happiness!

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a lovely book about finding yourself. Mallory likes to make everyone happy and is a little someone different for each of her friends. But slowly her people-pleasing ways are catching up to her and as her web comic becomes increasingly popular will she allow her friends to see her true self? This one hit kind of close to home as I fight my own people-pleasing ways, but I was really happy to see Mallory for who she really was. (7 hours)

[Leonard Kim · Rating 1 out of 5]

Rather than say negative things, I will just posit that this book itself has something of Mallory’s personality. I personally did not find her a sympathetic character, and so this was not a book for me. I did appreciate that Korean phrases were used appropriately.

[Star]

I don't know if it was me, or the book, but DNF @ 25%

[Jessica Calaway · Rating 4 out of 5]

Coming Soon

[Elyssa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mallory is, in short, a people pleaser. Her favorite pizza topping? It’s whatever you’re having! You need space to store your things? Take her locker. Someone who always has snacks in her bag? Mal’s your girl! She won’t hesitate to agree with her friends, no matter what. But when her secret web comic goes viral, will all her true feelings be revealed?

This is a pretty solid middle-grade read on identity. Mallory spends the pages questioning her own choices, yet making some pretty bold moves. There is also this beautiful inclusion of the library and library workers. A welcoming place full of people who are just as welcoming. I really enjoyed the library storyline. And fighting for your community! So good and relevant.

I had a hard time liking Mal and had to remind myself that she was only 12. Because some of the decisions she made were infuriating. Her lack of honesty when people were begging for it was off-putting. I think that it helped in the end when she WAS able to communicate. It showed her growth and showed how much she appreciated the people in her life. But then, I ask, why was she so sure people would get upset when the things she refused to share were either neutral or good. Then I remember she was under a lot of pressure and very anxious. It’s an endless cycle of reminding myself of her ridiculous decision making and the why of it all.

I do think it is so well done in the exploration of both self identity when it comes to hobbbies, likes/dislikes, and even things like sexuality and gender. Wonder, beautiful.

For fans of Answers in the Pages, Too Bright to See.

[Hal Schrieve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, so: the really great integration of comics pages that Mal is drawing? That is awesome to me. I have seen it tried before in novels about comics and it rarely works, but I do think it works here. I like the range of things Mal juggles in this story: a parent's divorce, hiding her hit webcomic from her mom, not loving swim team, wanting to be in comics club, figuring out if she is queer, defending/participating in DQSH at a library in Columbus, her friend trying to champion a shelter for homeless adults being opened in a gym and getting shut down by school admin.

I think that there's a few things that let me down, eg handling the arc where she's drawn versions of her friends into her webcomic and (somewhat unrealistically) the webcomic surfaces and circulates around the school and it's obvious who is who, even though the webcomic is pretty deep sci fi. I think it would make sense for this to come up after her comic wins the competition and she tells her mom about it.

Anyway, I think it's very readable, not too long, and acknowledges a lot of very immediate issues for kids in a way that makes sense to me, from regular adolescent identity formation stuff to library book ban stuff. It is on some level what I think of a "name a bunch of realistic common problems" type of book. That said, it is more successful than many late MG realistic fic books in talking about the experience of being a middle schooler who is superficially safe and happy but is learning about the world and dealing with the adults around her.

One quibble: are middle schoolers all really still into Doctor Who? Are comics kids still focused on Naruto? These references feel just a tad dated, though I know DW got revamped and is more queer friendly and fun these days.

[Lacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this advanced copy!

The story is about Mallory who is struggling with who she TRULY is. Like any student of the middle grades, she is not sure where she fits in. She writes and illustrates a web comic where she uses her friends (and their character traits) and characters in the series. Along the way, Mallory meets Noa, who identifies as they/them. Her friendship with Noa allows Mallory to start thinking about who she really is. After a giant blowout with her mom and her friends, Mallory knows it is time to start being honest with everyone, but mostly herself.

Mallory in Full Color is a powerful piece of middle grade literature. It comes out in November and should sit on everyone's TBR. I absolutely love the way that most of the characters are portrayed in this book...as true allies. It was refreshing for my social justice loving heart to read a book where people were open and inclusive and just loved each other for who they are. There was even a part in this story about colors having no gender, which is something I talk to my girls about all the time. It's not just color...it's sports, it's books (there are not boy and girl books...book are for everyone!), it's movies, it's so many things. This book is perfect for any middle grader who is struggling with identity or just fitting in. It's perfect for any middle graders who is an activist and loves to take a stand. It's perfect for any middle grade parent who is looking for connection with their kiddo. I applaud the author and I am so eager to push this book on everyone!

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Disclosure: Elisa is a personal friend and I was consulted for this book.

In Mallory in Full Color we return to the students of Leopold Preparatory Academy to tackle another current social issue, this time gender and queer expression. Elisa has a remarkable ability to convey the way that these complex social issues land with pre-teens, and how they might react to them while still navigating the challenges of growing up and discovering who they are. Just as she did in Tethered to Other Stars, we see how the students react in different ways to the social issues of immigration and LGBTQIA+ identity, trying to find a path forward while also trying to figure out how to relate to each other, their families, and themselves. The book sends positive, hopeful messages to any pre-teen who might be working through the same things as the students, and shows them that they too will find a way to the other side. (And of course, how the library can help them with whatever they're working through!) I'm looking forward to seeing how the LPA students tackle another social issue.

Thanks to NetGalley for an eArc, and thanks to Elisa for seeing the fight that's not on the streets.

[Ddnreads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mallory in Full Color is a coming of age story of a tween. Mallory is the eldest daughter of divorced parents in an Asian American household. She fits perfectly into a perfect daughter and a perfect friend category. She always wants to please everyone and she did with consequences of losing herself. But Mallory is more than what people saw through her easy-going and perfect daughter with perfect score facade. She created an on going online comics that goes viral. This is where her passion lays. To draw and color and make art and write. But no one knows it was her. When one thing leads to another, we saw how Mallory life turned upside down. How will she manage the current? Give this book a go if this is such a your cup of tea.

This is a complete queer friendly coming of age for middle grade readers. I really love the characters portrayal. She felt real and very specific, and sure relatable in a lot of household. This for everyone who loves to bottle up their feelings. For those burdened from being the eldest daughter. The people pleaser. It told a story of a family, friendship and queer community. I personally enjoy this a lot.

Thanks so much for the publisher and Netgalley for the arc in exchange of honest review.

[bing :3 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mallory in Full Color is a wonderful read, the characters are developed well and I really enjoyed how it showed every little stressor building up onto Mallory. Speaking of Mallory, this book expands on the character Mallory from Tethered to Other Stars and makes the little world created so much more vibrant. The prose itself is great for the reading level, and is, I’d say, a good intro to the politics surrounding queerness. While the politics are a bit heavy handed, it’s difficult for them to not be in a middle grade novel.
While some may say this book falls under the trope of “no middle-schooler would do this”, we live in a world where kids are increasingly able to learn through the internet, I know that happened to many (though that can backfire, as we often see in teen boys who advocate for Trump).
As for my gripes, I think I prefer the first book in this duology, and some of the drama was a bit contrived, or inconsistent (like were they mad because of their portrayal in the webcomic or Mallory lying or both?). But overall I enjoyed this book and highly recommend it!

[PhantasticReads · Rating 5 out of 5]

It can be frustrating to read a book where the character lies and digs herself deeper into trouble. Logically, we know everything is going to spiral out of control and come to a head, often in real life and always in fiction. If Mal were a secondary character she’d be written off as fake, if not vilified. Seeing her perspective, the fear and anxiety that makes her mold herself into each situation, not only makes her feel like a real person but also serves to show how anxiety can lead to unfortunate decisions.

Kudos to the author for not only showing how anxiety can lead to bad decisions that cause a situation to snowball out of control, but also for doing so in such a way that builds tension and leaves the reader on the edge of their seat waiting for the other shoe to drop, instead of rolling their eyes.

Trigger warnings for parentification, but also know that I would die for Grandma Marsh.

[Kyra Carmack · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a lovely book about finding your own identity and very much stresses on the importance of knowing that you cannot always make everyone happy. Mallory is the kind of character that embodies a different role around each of her friends. She masks to make everyone happy, but ends up neglecting her own happiness. There was a lot of anxiety on Mallory's part throughout this book as she was worried about upsetting her friends, having people find out about her webcomic, and trying to play the perfect daughter/sister for her family, but I truly could see Mallory as a overanxious teen trying to fit in while pleasing everyone. She was relatable. Overall, I think that a lot of tweens and teens trying to find their own identities will be able to relate to Mallory.

I also would love to read her webcomic. I think the idea sounded like a lot of fun and I wished there was more of it in this book instead of only one page per chapter!

[Christine]

Conflicted feelings on this one. On the one hand, Mallory's characterization was extremely well done. I found this book difficult to read since I identified a lot with Mallory. I was, in some ways, Mallory when I was younger. It was painful to read how she would remake herself into whatever she thought other people wanted to see. I did almost DNF multiple times since I found this book so challenging to read.

If you are an enneagram 9 (or want to better understand 9s) read this book! This is basically what it's like to be a young 9.

The conflict comes to how the author chose to interweave drag queen story hour. I felt like it was heavy handed and didactic.

But, other than that, I liked the book.

Content Notes:

Swearing/profanity: None

Sex/sexual references: None

Religious elements: None that I remember

LGBTQIA+ rep: Yes. Mallory is trying to figure out her sexual identity. There is non-binary character and a drag queen.

[Ashley White · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Libro.fm and HarperAudio for access to this book.

As an older daughter who tried to mold herself into who she thought would make others happiest, this book hit me like a brick. "Mallory in Full Color" is funny, insightful and a beautiful story about becoming confident in who you are.
Even as an adult, I related to Mal in so many ways. The way Elisa Stone Leahy conveys Mal's desire to please others and the simmering frustration that she ignores is poignant. I loved the interweaving of Dr.BotGirl's comics. I appreciate the way Leahy writes about Mal's sexuality and explains LGBTQIA terms in comprehendible (and not condescending) ways.
This book is a great read that will pull at your emotions, have you rooting for the robots and evaluate how you're showing up as yourself.

[Jamie Henry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mallory (12), or Mal, is more likely to do whatever else wants to do, eat, like, than she does her own except for when it comes to webcomic, Metal-Plated Heart, she lied about her age - 13 - to publish to the site. The characters are based on the people she goes to school with. In another act of rebellion, instead of going to swim class like her parents want, she goes to the library comic club to learn more about making comics and get more influence she doesn't know. She still helps her mom with babysitting the twin boys as she works hared and her parents are separated. At the comic club, she meets nonbinary Noa and starts to question what she herself might be. Protestors are perparing to storm the library over a drag queen storytime, and Mallory does what she can to help keep the show. Mal is an interesting character, driven by her art, learning more about herself, and finally standing up for herself even if it causes tension with her family. Interspersed through the narrative are bits from the webcomic that give more of an indight into Mallory. An interesting book that embraces comics, art, and queer identity, but it fell a little short for me.

[Alma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Seventh grader Mallory is a chameleon, changing to please everyone to be who they want her to be. The only thing she kept for herself was her love for drawing webcomics. Trying to keep her life separated into sections to please everyone was starting to wear her down. She didn’t know what she wanted until she met pretty, nonbinary Noa who knew exactly who she was and what she wanted to be. Read more about tween angst on my blog, where I received an Adobe Editions version of this book to honestly review: https://shouldireaditornot.wordpress....

[Sarah Bennett · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think middle schoolers will enjoy this and I think it is important to have more books like this. It could help a lot of kids understand themselves and others. As a queer swimmer who wrote fanfic (a little different than the comics but still similar) in middle school, I hoped to connect more with Mal and the rest of the characters but I just never felt super tied to them. It was worth the read but I wish it was a graphic novel rather than a novel with some graphic elements. I think that would have made me feel more invested due to the story being told. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

[Seras23 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the way this book unfolded. I loved the character development, and while I initially thought first half Mallory was a bit extreme, I remembered that my daughter struggled with exactly the same thing, trying to be who she thought her friends wanted her to be rather than who she was, when she was that age. I do think that is something that it is easy to fall into as a tween, and I thought the author handled that very well. I was nearly in tears by the end, and I think it is overall a pretty powerful book.

[Amy B · Rating 5 out of 5]

I say 4.5 stars for this book. It’s needed and I’m happy it is about intently being yourself and finding your identity. The .5 is because it gave me anxiety. 😅 Mallory reminded me of myself in being a people pleasure just wanting everyone to be happy and not making any waves. I still find myself doing that and it’s hard habit to break. But it’s lovely that Mallory was able to find out and have support when she made mistakes and found more of herself. I say it’s a lovely book and important for many to read to be empathic and empowered.

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would like to thank HarperCollins Children's Books, Quill Tree Books and NetGalley for a free eARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.

This middle-grade novel is one I believe can be recommended universally. The themes it explores hold broad appeal, as most of us have experienced a phase in life where we questioned our identity or prioritized being liked and "agreeable" over staying true to ourselves. The inclusion of brief excerpts from the comic the protagonist was creating, seamlessly woven into the narrative and reinforcing the central themes, was truly ingenious.

[MeganRuth - Alohamora Open a Book · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars for beautiful writing and a story w depth. Mallory is a people pleaser, and molds herself to what people “expect” from her. Her true self comes out in her webcomics, which yes you saw it coming, causes conflict.

This is a coming of age story, standing up for what you want, and friends and family accepting you for who you are.

This is an upper middle grade read perfect for the middle school aged reader.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was sweet! I felt like teen me - ok and sometimes adult me - has a lot in common with Mal in that I can let other people take advantage of me at times in an effort to be nice/liked/keep the peace. I’m glad she started working on that in the end.

Also, the drag Queen story hour at the library plot also hit close to home.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

EARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
Mallory has a love of comics and art, but she posts her work online with a different name so her friends and family don’t know this. This story has a friend and family issues that Mallory must work through that middle grade readers will relate to, and the comic panels included add to the story.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid middle grade book. I love that characters from her first book continue in the second. I identified a lot with Mallory in that she is a chameleon around her friends just to make everyone happy. I can relate to that level of people pleasing. :)
The story incorporated a lot of issues but in a real way.
Sadly the audiobook narrator wasn't great. But not a deal breaker.

[Elliot · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book a lot, but didn't really like how the characters were twelve. It felt like they were too young for being in a relationship. Other than that I loved the concept and the story was great. The ending was a little weird, because all of her friends just forgive her all of a sudden, and I was hoping for a more emotional scene. Overall good though.