Brave

Berrybrook Middle School #2

by Svetlana Chmakova

In his daydreams, Jensen is the biggest hero that ever was, saving the world and his friends on a daily basis. But his middle school reality is VERY different--math is hard, getting along with friends is hard...Even finding a partner for the class project is a huge problem when you always get picked last. And the pressure's on even more once the school newspaper's dynamic duo, Jenny and Akilah, draw Jensen into the whirlwind of school news, social-experiment projects, and behind-the-scenes club drama. Jensen has always played the middle school game one level at a time, but suddenly, someone's cranked up the difficulty setting. Will those daring daydreams of his finally work in his favor, or will he have to find real solutions to his real-life problems? The charming world of Berrybrook Middle School gets a little bigger in this highly anticipated follow-up to Svetlana Chmakova's award-winning Awkward with a story about a boy who learns his own way of being brave!

Genres: Graphic Novels, Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction, Comics, Young Adult, Friendship, Contemporary

248 pages, Hardcover

First published May 23, 2017

About the author

Svetlana Chmakova (Russian: Светлана Шмакова) (born 1979 in Russia) is a comic creator. She is best known for Dramacon, an original English-language (OEL) manga spanning three volumes and published in North America by Tokyopop. Her other work includes the 2-page The Adventures of CG for CosmoGIRL! magazine and the webcomic Chasing Rainbows for Girlamatic. Though born in Russia, she immigrated to Canada, where she graduated from the Sheridan College Classical Animation program, in 2002. She then began to publish her manga on the Internet, where her works were found by CosmoGirl! magazine.

Reviews

[Jacob Proffitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just as good as Awkward, maybe better. Jenson is so sweet and trying so hard and I love how well Chmakova pulls us into his perspective and why he doesn't even realize he's being bullied, even as he adopts patterns and mechanisms to avoid the pain. Chmakova is a talented artist and storyteller and does such a fantastic job depicting the protohumans of middle school in all their messed-up glory. And I'm really glad she chose a graphical format for theses stories. She says at the end that "expressions are 99.999% of what makes a character". And for these stories, she's exactly right (and she nails her characters every page, every frame).

I'm not one who will seek out her art on the internet or go out of my way to devour her books. But I'll absolutely let myself be dragged through it all by my daughter who is an enthusiastic fan...

[Melody · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is crazy good and crazy important. It made me giggle. It made me tear up because Jensen's journey was so real, and so honest. Chmakova does an excellent job of portraying her characters and I want all of them to have their own books. These are GREAT stories for middle schoolers that never feel like they're talking down to them.

[Darla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fantastic book in the Awkward series. This installment features Jensen Graham, the student with the sunspost obssession. He is struggling to make his way in middle school and gets bullied --mostly about his size. What he does not realize is how much he is being bullied until he is handed a survey by friends on the newspaper staff. After answering so many questions about bullying to the affirmative, he discovers this one: "What culture would YOU want to build? What would be the norm there? Which actions would help build this culture?" That is an epiphany for Jensen and also a catalyst for change at the school. Middle school students will see themselves on these pages and be encouraged to bring about change in their classrooms. Still loving this series!

[Melki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Take the survey:

Do you have someone who will save a seat for you?
Or do you feel isolated/left out?

o yes / o no / o maybe

For Jensen Graham, the answer is a definite maybe.

He does what he can to fit in, but it's hard to find your niche among all the cliques in middle school. And, between his after-school math tutoring, hiding from bullies, art club, the newspaper, and all his daydreaming, Jensen is one busy kid.

On the whole, I liked him, though I got kind of annoyed that he never did his "homework" - reading the books and articles that would have certainly helped in his quest to "fit in." But . . . I also saw a lot of myself in him, and I'm guessing you know someone who will, too.

"It's scary to keep reaching out, to keep extending your hand, after so many would not take it...and sometimes even push it away...but that's what courage is - not never being afraid...but being afraid and doing it anyway."

[Fatma Al Zahraa Yehia · Rating 4 out of 5]

المراجعة باللغة العربية في الجزء الثاني

Bullying became the favorite theme for most preteen or YA books. Having read plenty of graphic novels about that topic, I find that one stands out as one of the most graphic novels that touched my heart.

What first caught my attention was featuring a boy as a main character. As the graphic novels market is mainly dominated by women, we always find girls as the main characters. But here the author-also a woman 😁-chose "Jensen" a 13 years "fat" old boy whose dreamy and peaceful character makes him an easy target for bullies.

I just loved Jensen. I was moved by his innocence which made him unwilling to see the ugly face of the others who bullied or ignored him. I didn't see his denial to be described "a bullying-victim" as a sign of cowardliness, because it takes a great deal of courage and strength to view yourself as responsible for your actions.

I respected how Jensen was trying to ask for help when he needed it, and he wasn't reluctant-as is the case with every teenager-to changing to a better version of himself.

What I didn't totally agree with the "dress code" part of the story. but still, liked how that was ended by showing that students themselves couldn't agree on a unified form for an accepted dress code.

The art style was manga-like (I don't know what is it called 🤔) which made it different from other comics.

شخصية "جِنسن" هى تركيبة إنسانية لا يُمكنك إلا أن تحبها. تلك الفتى الطيب البدين الحالم الذي أخذ وقتاً طويلاً حتى أدرك وجود الشر في العالم من حوله.

كفتى وحيد وليس لديه ما يميزه، يتعرض "جِنسن" للتنمر من "متوحشي" المدرسة، أو التجاهل ممن لا يروا فيه ما يستحق ان يُصَاحب من أجله. وكإنسان شديد الطيبة والمسالمة، لم يكن يدرك أنه يتعرض للمعاملة السيئة قبل أن تُنبهاه زميلتان له بأن ما يحدث له هو تنمر ويجب أن يتصدى له.

ما هو المُختلف في تلك القصة عن باقي القصص المعتادة عن التنمر؟

المختلف هو تجسيد فتى بدين كشخصية رئيسية-شخصية طيبة وليست مؤذية كما يظهر دائما في معظم القصص-في كتاب أطفال. وأيضا طبيعة شخصية الفتى التي تجمع بين البراءة الشديدة والنضج الذي يجعله قادراً على أن يتحمل مسئولية تغيره للأفضل ومواجهته لمشاكله قدر ما تسمح به طاقته.

المختلف هو التدرج في تغيير "جِنسن" للأفضل، وإدراكه بأن الحياة مثل لعبة الأتاري التي يلعبها ويُجسد مشاهد منها في خياله لتتطابق مع ما يمر به من مواجهات مع المتنمرين. فمثل اللعبة، لكل "وَحش" مستوى مواجهة مختلف، وأننا يجب علينا في النهاية أن نظهر ونواجه تلك الوحش بالقوة المتاحة لنا، كما أضطررنا للاختباء منه في مراحل سابقة. وأن في بعض الأحيان تكون تلك الوحوش مجرد "لاعيّبة غلابة" مثلنا.

الرواية متاحة للقراءة المجانية على انترنت أركيف، وحقيقة هى قصة ذات جمال مختلف تستحق القراءة.

[Erica · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is incredibly good.

Because I'm not a fan of Chmakova's Dramacon, Vol. 1 series, I didn't read Awkward but am now on hold for it and am #3 on the holds list. I hope to get my hands on it soon because this one impressed me tremendously.

Here's what I loved most about this book: it feels natural. Maybe not fully realistic - the malicious bullying probably doesn't look quite like real-life bullying and the perfectly diverse crowd is far too beautifully perfect to be real life and everyone is obviously smack-dab middle class - but it's still reasonable, logical, and nothing is hitting the reader over the head so that they comprehend the very obvious important message.
Spoiler: There isn't a very obvious important message. There are a lot of important messages and they're all deftly presented and well-handled.

The audience for this is middle school/junior high kids and while it may be enjoyable to some of the high school crowd, it's the tween crowd who really needs it.

Main character Jensen Graham has a hard time paying attention to what he should be paying attention to (he's great at daydreaming and terrible at real-life follow through) as he navigates daily school life. He copes by viewing school as a video game that will give him the prize of his favorite club at the end of the day if he can just survive until then. He's in art club but does contract work for newspaper club. He's being bullied but doesn't understand that's what's happening because one set of bullies is his art club friends. The other set is actual bullies but he can't really tell that's what they're doing because he doesn't understand social cues. In the background, there are: BFF fights and make-ups (Jenny and Akilah are my faaaaavorites! I love them so much!), supportive teachers, civic action regarding outdated dress codes, and the whole thing is peopled with a perfectly diverse cast.
All these issues - learning difficulties, loneliness, bullying, fighting, social rankings, ridiculous rules that impede education - are handled gracefully and in a way that makes simple sense. It's not dramatic nor overwrought but these things aren't downplayed or subtle, either.

I need more eloquence because I'm having a hard time expressing why this story felt so right to me. I just wish more middle grade offerings felt this powerful.

Give this to your middle-schooler. Make sure your library owns this. Get it to all the kids!

[Melissa McShane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was deeply impressed with Awkward and expected to love Brave as much. It was even better than the first. Featuring Jensen, a very minor character from Awkward, this story about bullying is incredibly powerful because it gets to the heart of what it means to be bullied--and how victims can lie to themselves about even being bullied at all. Jensen is sweet and ordinary, with dreams of becoming an astronaut and a love of drawing, and at first the reader doesn't realize just how alone he is. The gradual realization that he's the victim of several kinds of bullying shows how brilliantly Chmakova has illustrated, in both senses, the life of an ordinary child suffering in unfortunately ordinary ways. The cast of characters is stunning, and I couldn't begin to list the ones who were my favorites. I'm not ashamed to admit I cried. Now I'm dying to know what Chmakova comes up with next for this series.

[meher ! · Rating 5 out of 5]

i related so much to the protagonist here <3
not to be uber personal, but i kinda got (and still do) bullied constantly for being "ObSeSsIvE aNd HyPeR" by everyone at my school. the part that hurt about it the most was that these girls would be considered nice because they were kind to all of my friends (who i don't talk to much now, but still.) i honestly had terrible anxiety which didn't get treated until like two years ago, so i would yell and cry and scream out loud if i found something about one of my fixations.
popular people just defined me as a dumb, unaware, loud, and unfeminine girl and that became everyone's basis of judgment for me. my behaviors which were rooted in anxiety were used as entertainment to them.
however, i've stopped caring, and the reason for this is the same reason jenkins in this book did- because he found real friends who weren't just there for him out of pity.
i was pushed around constantly by my old group but get appreciated a lot in my new group, which is why i'm honestly often confused when people treat me nicely because it's never happened before. the whole world is against me because of rumors but i've learned to be content with myself and be appreciated for who i really am because i finally found people close enough to me to actually get to know me
sorry for the rant, but this book really holds a special place in my heart <3

[Mikayla · Rating 5 out of 5]

TEN MILLION STARS GUYS.
No really, ALL THE STARS!

I cried. Like. Actual-Facts tears.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a pretty good graphic novel about a boy named Jensen who tries to survive middle school and be brave so he can fit in at school and more. Check it out at your local library and wherever books are sold.

[Mir · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this [although/because] it was very optimisitic. It was a realistic depiction of middle school kids, albeit one that assumes most human being are basically good. If you're one of many kids who suffers bullying and tries futiley to improve the situation, it might make you feel worse, like why are your efforts not working? On the other hand, the stuff about changing culture might be encouraging? I don't know. It probably depends on the individual and circumstance.

[steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jensen is the best. Seriously. I loved seeing his drawn on the page, his facial expressions, body language, daydreams. He is really just a character that is so well written, drawn, etc.

I read Awkward last year when I was interviewing for a children's librarian position (I had to recommend a few books and Awkward was one of those recs) and I really liked it. It had a positive message intersected between all the middle school drama and Brave follows the same format. But, I think I liked Brave more? Partly is because I really like Jensen and partly it is because it focused on bullying and man oh man that is such an important topic for this age group. I especially liked that Jensen didn't even realize he was being bullied by some of the people he calls friends because bullies are the mean people you run from in the hallway, not the people you eat lunch with. But once he did realize some of his friends were treating him wrongly, it made him re-think what bullying is/was which in turn makes the reader re-think what a bully is/was. That was such a good lightbulb and character development moment all around.This is a book I think middle schoolers should read just because it touches on some important topics. Especially the "be the change you want to see". Gosh, Jensen is just the best.

I hope Chmakova is not done writing about Berrybrook Middle School. I am NOWHERE near the age demographic for this series but I'd read more of this universe. Actually really anything written by her. She is such a great writer/such illustrator. I love seeing what the background characters are doing in the panels, some of them are quite hysterical.

[laurel [the suspected bibliophile] · Rating 4 out of 5]

Trigger Warning: Bullying, fat shaming

This was such an insightful graphic novel about one boy's experience with bullying, isolation, making friends and just not feeling adequate enough.

I adored Jensen and completely related with all of his struggles—and I loved the way that he coped with everything by turning it into a video game.

One of the things that resonated most strongly was how he rationalized and normalized the world that he lived in. He just...shrugged off or tried to pretend things were cool when he was being bullied by the mean kids, or teased and excluded by his friends because of his differences. While it's a good coping mechanism, rationalizing bad behaviors isn't healthy, and Jensen's wake-up call was so painful to read. I didn't 100% agree with the book's message of reaching out to isolated individuals—particularly bullies, and especially to bullies who had once been your bully—but I can see the sentiment and reasoning behind it. There's a great theme of empathy that runs throughout the story.

Another weighty topic that was dealt with was the inequality of school dress codes, and the history of inequality in general.

On the other hand, aside from some some pretty weighty moments, the book is hilarious and has the same amount of energy that Awkward did—along with some pretty amazing artwork.

I loved that, like Awkward, the underlying message is realizing that it's not just you going through or experiencing something—other people are dealing with anxiety, problems and issues...they just might not be the same that you are. Middle school is its own special level of hell.

I also loved the casual representation in this book. While I don't think I caught any LGBTQ+ rep, there was Muslim rep (two hijabi women!! And one was the gym teacher!), Latinx rep, Black rep, Asian rep and a lot more that showcased America's diversity.

Plus, there was fat rep.

Specifically, fat boy rep—as the main character.

This is so crucial, since it seems like 99% of boys in MG and YA are either buff or slender, and those fat boys that are depicted are the slovenly bullies or the greasy losers.

Anywho, returning back to Jensen and bullying.

If you're reading this and you felt Jensen's story resonated super crazy deeply for some unknown reason, maybe take a look and see if you've been (or are) being bullied and have just rationalized it away.

There are resources that can help.

And you are never alone.

[Jenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great, and even better than Awkward. Fans of Raina Telgemeier's work will definitely enjoy this book that discusses not only bullying, but standing up for yourself and others, and finding a place where you belong. An adorable drawing style with a hero that reminded me of Calvin and Hobbes' sense of wonder and ability to daydream. Just a wonderful book all round that I will definitely tout to my patrons.

[Taylor Ramirez · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a spin off book from Chmakova’s other book Awkward, which I enjoyed. I didn’t really like this book, the art was fun but Jorge and Filipe were the only characters that I really liked. I didn’t like Jenny from the last book and Akilah was meh. The message was too preachy and I didn’t really have that much. It felt like Chmakova was trying to push her own agenda rather than tell a good story like she did in Awkward.

~Spoilers~

Okay, a teacher wouldn’t give the entire class extra homework because one kid didn’t get the right answer.

You’re not allowed to have your cell phone out in middle school. They’d take that phone away so fast, your head would spin. I’m generally against anyone that’s not yet in high school having a smart phone or tablet. I think it’s completely unnecessary, if you want your kid to have a phone that you can contact them fine but they doesn’t mean they need access to the internet and distracting apps.

There’s nothing worse than group projects when you don’t have friends in that class.

I don’t really like Jensen as much as I liked Penelope. He’s kind of annoying and acts too immature for his age. I also really don’t like Jenny, she’s so loud and annoying.

“Dude, did your dog die or something?”—Page 94

Jorge is cool, though.

“Sticks and stones can break my bones but words will never hurt me.”—Page 115

Huh, I thought this motto was dead in this generation.

I wouldn’t let my kid wear a Sailor Moon outfit, have you ever seen their transformation sequences?

“And do you think it’s fair that you should decide the length of her skirt.”—Page 173

School is a job. A school has every right to say what students can and cannot wear. If you have a mainstream job, you’ll be expected to dress professionally and that means no short skirts.

The ending was kind of nice, I don’t like how it got there but it was nice to see Jenson making friends with Foster.

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

A graphic novel aimed at middle school readers, I found this to be a great read. Technically the second book in the Berrybrook Middle School series, but it works really well as a stand alone. I read book 1 when it came out and I don't remember it well, but do remember enjoying it. I wasn't sure I'd like BRAVE because I didn't think I'd identify enough with the main character, a middle school boy. But I found him to be very likable and I was quickly invested in his story. The author has created a rich and diverse world of characters, each visually distinct and with a nicely developed personality. She shows diversity in a natural way, breaks down stereotypes, and does a wonderful job of combining art and dialogue to tell an effective story. The book deals with themes of friendship and bullying in a way that is relatable, avoiding cliche. I'd be interested to see what a young reader thinks of this book, so I picked up a copy for my nephew. Seems this would be a great book for a middle school library, especially for reluctant readers--it might help them get into reading for fun.

[LynnDee (LynnDee's Library) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really felt for Jameson and just wanted to be his friend and give him a hug. This book takes a look at bullying and the variations that bullying can take, from aggressive to passive. A great read for discussing bullying with younger readers, and even adults.

[Alison McKinnon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best graphic novel for tweens that I have read all year!

[Georgia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really loved all of the characters in this book! They had such great personalities!

[Mississippi Library Commission · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you loved Awkward, you're going to adore Brave. (Didn't read Awkward? That's okay; Brave is completely stand alone.) Jensen, a minor character in Awkward is going to save the world: from sunspots, from zombies, from whatever it needs saving from. Can you tell he's a bit of a dreamer? Constantly picked on by bullies and friends alike, Jensen doesn't even realize he needs to stand up for himself until he begins to expand his horizons and try new experiences. As he braves (see what we did there) the wild and unpredictable halls of middle school, Jensen learns to speak out for himself and others and makes some new friends along the way. Highly recommended. Perfect for fans of Raina Telgemeier and Victoria Jamieson.

[Nafiza · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was phenomenal. Highly recommended to everyone.

[Chi · Rating 5 out of 5]

(I read this out of order - oops!)

Guys! GUUUUUUUYS! This was such an amazing book! As someone who stood out for not being one of the "normal" kids, this book is so important!

Jensen is definitely one of those kids who stood out! He was overweight, comfortable in his daydreams, and trying so, SO hard to fit into middle school. Oh, and let's not forget to mention that he was also being bullied.

He was being bullied by people who were out to get him from the very start, as well as those he should've been able to count on as friends. Isolation, name calling, snide asides... it was fortunate for him that he managed to find people that he could count on on being friends (as well as a side of fantastic coincidence at the end) that made alleviating his dilemma all the easier. And although some of the kids in question had their comeuppance by the end of the book, what happened still wasn't right.

At the end of the day though, there were still some amazing messages, that I will make sure that my kids (and my nephew and niece for that matter) will take the time to read.

[Molly · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sweet follow-up to Awkward, focusing on the previous volume's weird "sunspots!!" kid. Valuable lesson about bullying and what it is/can be, a detour through a disagreement over dress codes, and some practical information about how bullying happens and how students and teachers can work to change a school's culture.

[mytaakeonit · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE this book. It's better than Awkward, in my opinion. The main character Jensen warms and breaks your heart all at the same time. While this story drawn in a really cute style, the story is deep. It's about bullying on the surface, but even more than that, it's about how we change the culture of our school or workplace to move beyond bullying. I can't wait for my students to read this book!

[Gracie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book because like it talks about like if your being bullied then stand up for your self!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Darcy Roar · Rating 5 out of 5]

So. Frikin. Cute. Also I maybe cried a little. It's a very realistic and relatable view on bullying that pulls at the heart strings (it's maybe a little preach-y, but not so much that it feels unreadable). I want one million more of these books. One for every character in the school!

[Scott Robins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Authentic characters and powerful messages about bullying and being empathetic to others without being didactic or heavy handed. Chmakova knocked it out of the park with this one.

[Tammy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story has a good moral, but I never felt a connection to the characters. That is probably why it took me forever to read. 14 days for a graphic novel seems like forever!

[Francina Simone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ugh. This was beautiful from the beginning right now to the last line, last image. So moved. Svetlana has a way of moving you gently and then you realize you’ve just been swept off your feet.

[Valisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

And this series just keeps getting better and better! This book tackles bullying and the different forms it can come in. Jensen (our lead character) has his obvious bullies but it’s the ones that he doesn’t realize are bullies that really make this story stand out because those can be the most common and sometimes most impactful since they tend to stay in one’s life the longest. But watching Jensen become aware of this and stand up for himself with the support of friends and strangers really just melts my heart and highlight the fact that no matter how much bad there is there is always so good.
I’m so grateful that a book like this exist and is targeted towards middle grade students.