On Reread: 3.5 stars. I like this graphic novel series but not nearly as much the 2nd time around. This one is about Emmie's best friend, Brianna the brain, as well as a girl named Izzy. Izzy loves to act and is working on the school talent show. Brianna is known for her brain but her mom wants her to be more in to drama. Similarly to the last book, we find out the connection between the characters at the very end, however in this one I felt the dual storylines were distracting. They were too similar and I just didn't like it nearly as well.
Probably more like a 4.5 stars but I really loved this graphic novel too! It's a companion to Invisible Emmie and follows her best friend, Brianna, as well as a girl named Izzy. Brianna is known as "the brain". She is super smart and quiet and prefers studying over putting herself out there. However, one day her mom (the drama teacher) says there is an emergency and someone has gotten sick or dropped out of an upcoming play that's going to be done in the talent show-- would she step in and do it!? She is terrified, but she says okay. It's a scene with a boy named Dev, and with his help she gets through it. Their friendship is really sweet and fun to watch develop.
Izzy is the middle of 3 sisters. She has a really hard time focusing and does not do very well in school. She likes drama and theater, but the rest of school is a struggle. She gets in trouble for her grades and her mom says she can't participate in the play (at the talent show) but then she sneaks out and goes anyway. Her mom catches her, but her sisters stand up for her and so she's allowed to participate (and then be grounded afterwards). In the end, the big twist (like Katie being an imaginary drawing of Emmie's in the first one) is that Izzy is Brianna's mom! I should've seen it coming- Mom's a drama teacher, Izzy is only good at drama- but I was still surprised. Again I love the way that the author captures the feel of middle school and has very realistic characters. My only complaint with this one is that I felt that Izzy was a little weak. I had to pick this book up and down a lot and sometimes I'd struggle to remember exactly what Izzy's story line was supposed to be and what her character was like. I wish there was a little more to her or her story, but it was still good anyway. I'd definitely recommend and can't wait for the next one to come out!