Serendipity

by Gabbie Benda

Serendipity is the luckiest kid in the world. But what happens when the luckiest kid in the world becomes extraordinarily unlucky, in this debut graphic novel.

Serendipity is your classic overachiever. She's class president, lead in the school play, and star of the basketball team. She’s also incredibly lucky, like, wins everything all the time lucky, even random radio raffles.

Which is how she finds herself with free tickets to the town carnival where an accident curses her with bad luck FOREVER.

And just like that Serendipity’s luck really does seem to run out. Missed shots, fumbled lines, and a slip in the polls. Can it get any worse? Oh yes it can. Permanent bad hair days.

Serendipity becomes convinced the curse is real. She’s definitely not disorganized or spread too thin. Nope, it’s all the curse. And she'll have to find a way to reverse it soon.

Hilariously charming and illustrated in sugar pink hues, this graphic novel is a treat for kids who love middle school dramas and adorable, if impulsive characters. It's a perfect story for overstressed overachievers looking for a warm reminder that stepping back doesn’t mean stepping down. In fact, sharing the spotlight with good friends is perhaps the luckiest thing of all.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Childrens

224 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication February 10, 2026

About the author

Gabbie earned a degree in Communication Arts from VCUarts in 2020, with a focus on children’s illustration and comics. She loves to bring funny, upbeat stories to life with her quirky yet approachable illustrations. After over a decade as a camp counselor and art teacher, Gabbie is well versed in the art of making kids of all ages smile.

Gabbie is currently working on her debut middle grade graphic novel SERENDIPITY, to be published by Holiday House in spring 2026.

Reviews

[Steff Fox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gabbie Benda’s Serendipity is the definitely one of those graphic novels featuring characters I personally think we should be seeing more of. Adolescence and figuring out the ups and downs of learning who you are, how to be kind, and how to navigate the difficulties of life are always important topics for kids to see themselves in within the pages of a story. And Serendipity is one that manages to capture so many of these essential truths.

Following a main character who, via exceptional luck, has always experienced success and, for lack of a better phrase, has always found life in general just exceptionally easy, Serendipity opens readers up to the emotions of the moment all of that success and ease suddenly seems to evaporate. As one of those sort of children, myself, I can’t help feeling that a book like this is immeasurably impactful. Children, growing up—especially those who do not experience it often—all need an opportunity to both experience failure and understand that the world and their lives will be okay when it occurs. All children need to have the moment in which they are able to step back and celebrate the successes of their peers.

You’d be forgiven if, upon first read, you kind of feel rather meh about the main character. This is a journey in humility, after all, the sort of story where the main character has to learn to reckon with the truth that she won’t always succeed at everything at every time as well as the fact that we all need to cheer on the successes of our friends as well, even when those successes are juxtaposed with our failures.

This, after all, is the story of growing up and learning to think of the world outside of yourself.

Given that this is a growing experience that everyone, at some point, must go through—or at lest, we all should go through it—I find Benda’s graphic novel to be the sort that just about every young kid should read as they get into middle school. Do I find it to be the most entertaining of reads? Nah. But it’s definitely an important one.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Ms. Yingling · Rating 3 out of 5]

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Serendipity is very lucky, and very active in her school. She's the captain of the girls' basketball team, President of her class, and the lead in the school play. When she wins a radio contest (yet again!), she takes her best friend Basil to the carnival with her. There, she wins a giant stuffed narwhal, but it proves her undoing when the toy crashes into a fortune telling machine, and is cursed by it after it is knocked over. Things start going wrong everywhere, starting with a bad hair day. Panicked, Serendipity tries to undo the curse by visiting another student, Evelina, who runs a business out of the janitor's closet, but the counter spell doesn't seem to work. Basil opines that maybe Serendipity is just too busy, and if she slowed down, she would be able to concentrate and wouldn't have as many problems, but Serendipity believes in the curse. She can't remember her lines, blows plays, and is challenged for class officer by someone who promises classmates free cookies every day. After assessing other things in her life that might be contributing to her bad luck, Serendipity tries to get rid of her black cat, Tuna, but ends up breaking a mirror! Eventually, she goes back to the fortune teller, and realizes that the curse isn't real. She starts to improve her life, nominates her vice president for president, and scales back her activities so she can do a better job.
Strengths: It's always fun to read about tweens who are involved in activities, and it's not uncommon for actual tweens to get overwhelmed from time to time. Serendipity has a hard time on the basketball court playing like a good team mate and not hogging the ball, she wants to have a big role in the play but slows down production by not knowing her lines, and is conflicted about holding office. She does have a good friend in Basil, who tries to help her balance her life, and has other people involved in her activities who also try to help her. Interestingly, there is very little about Serendipity's home life; we see her cat, but I'm not sure we saw parents. Readers who like graphic novels will find the artwork appealing.
Weaknesses: I'm still not sure whether Serendipity was really cursed, or whether she just thought she was. It's kind of like the situation in Pastis' Timmy Failure; is the polar bear real or imaginary? Young Readers won't think too hard about this.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who can't get enough of graphic problem novels like Scrivener's Nat Enough or Vivat's Frazzled.

[Sophy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A girl who seems to have all the luck in the world—and to whom everything comes easily—suddenly finds herself facing the worst few days of her life. But through those challenges, she learns some important lessons and makes things right with her best friend.

This story does a great job of showing that even when things don’t go your way, you can still grow and become a better person. The lessons are meaningful, and the art is bright, colorful, and full of energy, making it a joy to read and look at.