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Amelia Rules! #1
Amelia Rules! Volume 1: The Whole World's Crazy
Meet Amelia Louise McBride.
She's nine years old, a former New Yorker who's now living in a small town after her parents decided to get divorced, and dealing with everything from being the new kid in school to getting her first kiss. But you know what? She's got her mom and her aunt Tanner (who happens to be an ex-rock star) and her friends Reggie, Rhonda, and Pajamaman, and everything's going to be okay. Except, of course, when it isn't.
In this first book of Amelia's adventures, Amelia and her friends take on bullies (and Santa!), barely survive gym class, and receive a disgustingly detailed explanation of the infamous Sneeze Barf.
176 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2003
26 people are currently reading
2254 people want to read
About the author
Jimmy Gownley
89 books106 followersJimmy Gownley is the author and illustrator of the Amelia Rules! series of graphic novels, as well as the memoir The Dumbest Idea Ever!.
He has been nominated for 13 Eisner awards and 6 Harvey awards. His book Superheroes won the 2006 Cybil Award for best graphic novel for kids 12 and under.
He lives in Pennsylvania.
He has been nominated for 13 Eisner awards and 6 Harvey awards. His book Superheroes won the 2006 Cybil Award for best graphic novel for kids 12 and under.
He lives in Pennsylvania.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 138 reviews
January 28, 2014
At last, a graphic novel about a nine year old girl who is believable and not into pink princessy crap, and yet she still manages to be cute as heck, and downright hilarious. I particularly loved her "Frenemy" relationship with Rhonda...yeah, girls rule the world, yo! Especially when they put aside their differences and totally kick some bullies' butts, while one of them is dressed as a strawberry and the other in a bride's dress. Halloween, you know.
But, honestly, I think what I and my nine year old daughter liked the best was the Sneeze Barf (gross, but classic!) That and rocker chick Tanner, the coolest Rocker-chick aunt ever.
But, honestly, I think what I and my nine year old daughter liked the best was the Sneeze Barf (gross, but classic!) That and rocker chick Tanner, the coolest Rocker-chick aunt ever.
April 15, 2013
Seven year old Sam says "This is amazing."
When asked what he liked about it, he responded, "EVERYTHING!"
Home run!
When asked what he liked about it, he responded, "EVERYTHING!"
Home run!
January 10, 2008
A rather adorable tonal offspring of Charles Schultz' Peanuts. Here, the constantly depressed kid is Amelia, and she has good reason to be. Her parents are divorced, she moved to a new town, and one of her new friends always wears pajamas.
Jimmy Gownley's art is superb. He uses bright, kid-friendly colors, and his loopy cartoonish style is exaggerated in just the right ways.
I did feel like I was a bit too old to be reading this, but it's a pretty entertaining story, and probably good for any 10-year-olds you know.
Jimmy Gownley's art is superb. He uses bright, kid-friendly colors, and his loopy cartoonish style is exaggerated in just the right ways.
I did feel like I was a bit too old to be reading this, but it's a pretty entertaining story, and probably good for any 10-year-olds you know.
July 31, 2017
Amelia Rules!
Amelia is a tough kid and she is going thru a lot, her parents just got divorced, she moved from New York City to a small town in Pennsylvania, and she is trying to navigate a new school. Amelia isn't perfect, she has selfish moments and generous moments. She makes new friends who help her deal with bullies, gym class, and family trips.
I really enjoyed this book. Amelia goes through tough times, and she shows real emotions and feelings. Her character isn't sugar coated or made to seem perfect.
Kids will recognize parts of themselves in this book, and realize that others are going through similar experiences.
Amelia is a tough kid and she is going thru a lot, her parents just got divorced, she moved from New York City to a small town in Pennsylvania, and she is trying to navigate a new school. Amelia isn't perfect, she has selfish moments and generous moments. She makes new friends who help her deal with bullies, gym class, and family trips.
I really enjoyed this book. Amelia goes through tough times, and she shows real emotions and feelings. Her character isn't sugar coated or made to seem perfect.
Kids will recognize parts of themselves in this book, and realize that others are going through similar experiences.
June 16, 2009
Roundabout three years ago I was at an American Library Association conference, trolling the aisles of the convention center for goodies. As always, I kept one eye on the comic aisle, hoping to see something new and different. And there, right smack dab in the center, was this guy. This Jimmy Gownley fella, who not only talked up his self-published graphic novel series Amelia Rules! like it was the second coming of Charles Schultz, but actually handed me the first three books in the series free of charge! No questions asked. I devoured them in the hours before my flight back to New York and found them to be sterling companions. There's a lot going on in this little series, in terms of plot, graphic choices, and innate humor. Now plucked up by big publishing sugardaddy Simon & Schuster, Gownley has a chance to get Amelia into the hands of more than just librarians. And the first book in the series will probably sell itself anyway. Because if there's one thing kids like, it's reading about other kids. Weeeeeird other kids.
Amelia's new to town. Her parents recently split up and so she and her mom have had to move in with Amelia's hip, young, musical Aunt Tanner. Things aren't so bad, really. She's already become friends with Reggie and his buddy Pajamaman. Then there's Rhonda, who Amelia professes to hate and who carries an unrequited torch for Reggie. With her friends by her side Amelia tackles everything from tag to school to zombies to Santa. But at the heart of everything she misses her dad, and a camping trip with him shows that the two have a lot of work ahead of them but they're probably going to be okay. Funny and thoughtful by turns, Amelia's sure to win some fans, and supply some much needed Calvin and Hobbes-type antics to the shelves of homes and libraries everywhere.
One thing Gownley gives you right off the bat? Plenty of content. Don't get me wrong, I love kids' graphic novels like Jellaby and the like, but that's a GN that most kids can devour in less than 20 minutes. The Amelia Rules! books, however, are long, lengthy affairs, chock full of plots, subplots, callbacks, and storylines where the characters learn and grow. The books may look slim, but just open the book randomly to any page and you'll see tons of panels and a plethora of words that somehow remain fulfilling without bogging down the story. Gownley has figured out how to pack in the wordplay and still keep the story moving at a clip. And when you consider that each section begins and ends with Amelia talking directly to the reader, that takes some skill.
Looking at how Gownley organizes each page can be informative. It isn't so much that he changes the point of view and the size of his panels (though he certainly does that too). But the book is apt to go in a million different directions all so that it can advance the story. When Reggie tells weird tales, they'll sometimes become selections where the images are drawn on graph paper. Comic pauses where nothing is said for a full panel are used to good effect. Plus there are a million tiny details you can catch if you reread each section. I'll admit that it took me three or four times of going over this book before I realized that Pajamaman's pajamas tend to show images of what he's thinking or feeling. Much of the art has been created on the computer, but it's impossible to say if it's just the backgrounds and colors or the figures themselves.
It's got an adult sensibility to it, no question. Kids'll dig it, but Tanner's song lyric quotations will definitely sail over their heads. That's okay. Kids don't need to get every reference in a book. Unfortunately, there is one aspect of the series that may not bode well for its future. It's the one element that holds "Amelia Rules!" back and belies the Peanuts comparisons it gets: the use of pop culture. Since this first book originally came out in 2006, the humor has already become dated three years down the road. First there are the mentions of Ann Coulter, P. Diddy, Celine Dion, and the like. Then there are references to things like Cabbage Patch dolls and Raggedy Ann, which no self-respecting child in this day and age recognizes anymore. Consider these bizarre droplets of soon-to-be dated material the only real flaw in an otherwise sterling series.
As a kid, I would have been all over these books. They have exactly what I always wanted in my comics. A regular cast of friends. Slightly fantastical elements that never get too out of hand. Continuing storylines. And I love that Rhonda, the girl who is supposed to be Amelia's archenemy, is able to come off as sympathetic and human multiple times. In fact, Gownley isn't afraid to make his main character dislikable once in a while. It keeps things interesting. The whole series is interesting. I'd change things, sure. But Gownley seems pretty comfortable with this world he has created, and kids will go along for the ride. A book that owes its existence to a lot of comics already out there but that is clearly its own beast in the end. Fun. Pure and simple.
For ages 8-12.
Amelia's new to town. Her parents recently split up and so she and her mom have had to move in with Amelia's hip, young, musical Aunt Tanner. Things aren't so bad, really. She's already become friends with Reggie and his buddy Pajamaman. Then there's Rhonda, who Amelia professes to hate and who carries an unrequited torch for Reggie. With her friends by her side Amelia tackles everything from tag to school to zombies to Santa. But at the heart of everything she misses her dad, and a camping trip with him shows that the two have a lot of work ahead of them but they're probably going to be okay. Funny and thoughtful by turns, Amelia's sure to win some fans, and supply some much needed Calvin and Hobbes-type antics to the shelves of homes and libraries everywhere.
One thing Gownley gives you right off the bat? Plenty of content. Don't get me wrong, I love kids' graphic novels like Jellaby and the like, but that's a GN that most kids can devour in less than 20 minutes. The Amelia Rules! books, however, are long, lengthy affairs, chock full of plots, subplots, callbacks, and storylines where the characters learn and grow. The books may look slim, but just open the book randomly to any page and you'll see tons of panels and a plethora of words that somehow remain fulfilling without bogging down the story. Gownley has figured out how to pack in the wordplay and still keep the story moving at a clip. And when you consider that each section begins and ends with Amelia talking directly to the reader, that takes some skill.
Looking at how Gownley organizes each page can be informative. It isn't so much that he changes the point of view and the size of his panels (though he certainly does that too). But the book is apt to go in a million different directions all so that it can advance the story. When Reggie tells weird tales, they'll sometimes become selections where the images are drawn on graph paper. Comic pauses where nothing is said for a full panel are used to good effect. Plus there are a million tiny details you can catch if you reread each section. I'll admit that it took me three or four times of going over this book before I realized that Pajamaman's pajamas tend to show images of what he's thinking or feeling. Much of the art has been created on the computer, but it's impossible to say if it's just the backgrounds and colors or the figures themselves.
It's got an adult sensibility to it, no question. Kids'll dig it, but Tanner's song lyric quotations will definitely sail over their heads. That's okay. Kids don't need to get every reference in a book. Unfortunately, there is one aspect of the series that may not bode well for its future. It's the one element that holds "Amelia Rules!" back and belies the Peanuts comparisons it gets: the use of pop culture. Since this first book originally came out in 2006, the humor has already become dated three years down the road. First there are the mentions of Ann Coulter, P. Diddy, Celine Dion, and the like. Then there are references to things like Cabbage Patch dolls and Raggedy Ann, which no self-respecting child in this day and age recognizes anymore. Consider these bizarre droplets of soon-to-be dated material the only real flaw in an otherwise sterling series.
As a kid, I would have been all over these books. They have exactly what I always wanted in my comics. A regular cast of friends. Slightly fantastical elements that never get too out of hand. Continuing storylines. And I love that Rhonda, the girl who is supposed to be Amelia's archenemy, is able to come off as sympathetic and human multiple times. In fact, Gownley isn't afraid to make his main character dislikable once in a while. It keeps things interesting. The whole series is interesting. I'd change things, sure. But Gownley seems pretty comfortable with this world he has created, and kids will go along for the ride. A book that owes its existence to a lot of comics already out there but that is clearly its own beast in the end. Fun. Pure and simple.
For ages 8-12.
February 11, 2013
On the story: The story centers around 9 year old Amelia after her parent's divorce. Amelia and her mom relocate and end up living with her Aunt Tanner. Each chapter/segment begins with Amelia speaking to the reader of the graphic novel and giving some background information on either her life, or the story coming up. Amelia shares with her readers stories about her secret crush and the love triangle between her, Rhonda and Reggie. She shares stories about her new school, the club she belongs to where she is a superhero. She shares stories about bullies that her and her friends try to fight off. My favorite story is the Christmas story, where her club/gang of super heroes try to prove Santa is not real. Throughout she relates how she feels about the divorce and her separation from her dad, and we see how she reacts to her mom's outbursts when her mom is on the phone with her dad. The last story provides a little bit of comfort when Amelia gets to go on a camping trip with her father and they have a heart-to-heart. This is definitely a series I want to follow so I can see what happens with Amelia, her friends, and her family.
On the style:
*I really enjoyed how Gownley useds the shirt on Pajamaman to portray emotions, moods, etc. as well as all of the ways he depicted moods and well-being through the speech bubbles. For example, Reggie when feels sick and says he feels sick, the speech bubble is a sickly green. When someone has an icy tone, the speech bubble looks like it has ice dripping off of it. There are even heart-shaped speech balloons. I especially like the storm cloud over Amelia's head when Rhonda shows up at her house.
*Also, any book that mentions Taco Bell multiple times is a winner, in my opinion!
*Loved the note-passing scenes, as well as the small touches like the chocolate moustache at the end, the hearts for eyes, Pajamaman's ever-changing shirt, and the blurred out backgrounds to emphasize distance.
On the style:
*I really enjoyed how Gownley useds the shirt on Pajamaman to portray emotions, moods, etc. as well as all of the ways he depicted moods and well-being through the speech bubbles. For example, Reggie when feels sick and says he feels sick, the speech bubble is a sickly green. When someone has an icy tone, the speech bubble looks like it has ice dripping off of it. There are even heart-shaped speech balloons. I especially like the storm cloud over Amelia's head when Rhonda shows up at her house.
*Also, any book that mentions Taco Bell multiple times is a winner, in my opinion!
*Loved the note-passing scenes, as well as the small touches like the chocolate moustache at the end, the hearts for eyes, Pajamaman's ever-changing shirt, and the blurred out backgrounds to emphasize distance.
May 18, 2017
This was a really fun and quite funny graphic novel. Give to youngsters who want Sisters/Smile but might not be old enough yet.
April 3, 2018
My daughter really wanted me to like this series, but there’s something about the tone/humor that leaves me cold.
February 6, 2025
Cute and funny.
January 11, 2019
REVIEW OF THE ENTIRE SERIES
When I was 6 or 7, my neighbor had a few of these books, and one of the strongest memories of my entire life is sitting on his floor poring over the scene in book 3 or 4 where Trisha drives away with her dad and blinks her flashlight across her yard at Amelia later that night, seemingly sending a message that can't be decoded except as a feeling of the profound loneliness and confusion and deep love of a childhood friendships. I so vividly remember reading that chapter and thinking, "I can almost understand this, and I don't know what it means, but I know how it makes me feel," and wanting to read it again when I was older so less of it would be lost on me.
I never quite forgot it, but I never returned to the series until almost 15 years later and I finally found the time to get them all from the library. The feeling of remembering reading a few out-of-order volumes as a child and desperately wanting to know what happened next, and then finally having all of them stacked in order next to my bed, is probably the most rewarding part of adulthood I've experienced so far.
I've read a lot of comics, and this series stands out as an amazing piece of art. The actual illustration style is fine, but the way the drawings and use of layout carry the story is genius. Everything is conveyed so gracefully and so effectively I found myself wanting to take notes for my own work.
The story itself is remarkable in its mundanity. Successfully telling stories about childhood, meant for a young audience, is incredibly rare—everything is either too dumbed down, or too intense for children. Somehow this book handles topics like, divorce, death, terminal illness, stalking, heartbreak, and immeasurable more that don't fit into any convenient label—all in a way that doesn't flinch from the difficult reality, while still being appropriate for readers the age of the characters. The deep and complex emotions and thoughts of the characters, both children and grown-ups, surpasses a lot of media for adults. The story and its delivery are so special precisely because there IS nothing special about the story—the characters could be any bunch of goofy, complicated, painfully real kids, and that's why it's so perfect. The entire run of the series spans something like two years of in-story time, but in that time, the characters change and grow and learn so much, reading all of it in a few days made me breathless. After finishing the last book, I was sad in the most confusing way—I felt almost heartbroken, but not sad, somehow. I couldn't sleep for remembering myself as a tiny kid sitting on my friend's hardwood floor burying myself in this story, wondering what I'd be like when I was nine, and suddenly lying in my bed as a twenty-year-old feeling simultaneously like so much time had gone by and none at all. I was overwhelmed by how small I felt, by the profound awareness of the bigness of the world and the incomprehensible number of people in it whose lives could, for all intents and purposes, be my own. For a series I didn't finish for almost fifteen years, these books had an unbelievably strong impact on me. For all that it essentially just elevates the stories going on around us everyday, this series is one of the best works of storytelling I've ever encountered, and I can't think of many books I've read even as an adult that make this look like kid stuff.
When I was 6 or 7, my neighbor had a few of these books, and one of the strongest memories of my entire life is sitting on his floor poring over the scene in book 3 or 4 where Trisha drives away with her dad and blinks her flashlight across her yard at Amelia later that night, seemingly sending a message that can't be decoded except as a feeling of the profound loneliness and confusion and deep love of a childhood friendships. I so vividly remember reading that chapter and thinking, "I can almost understand this, and I don't know what it means, but I know how it makes me feel," and wanting to read it again when I was older so less of it would be lost on me.
I never quite forgot it, but I never returned to the series until almost 15 years later and I finally found the time to get them all from the library. The feeling of remembering reading a few out-of-order volumes as a child and desperately wanting to know what happened next, and then finally having all of them stacked in order next to my bed, is probably the most rewarding part of adulthood I've experienced so far.
I've read a lot of comics, and this series stands out as an amazing piece of art. The actual illustration style is fine, but the way the drawings and use of layout carry the story is genius. Everything is conveyed so gracefully and so effectively I found myself wanting to take notes for my own work.
The story itself is remarkable in its mundanity. Successfully telling stories about childhood, meant for a young audience, is incredibly rare—everything is either too dumbed down, or too intense for children. Somehow this book handles topics like, divorce, death, terminal illness, stalking, heartbreak, and immeasurable more that don't fit into any convenient label—all in a way that doesn't flinch from the difficult reality, while still being appropriate for readers the age of the characters. The deep and complex emotions and thoughts of the characters, both children and grown-ups, surpasses a lot of media for adults. The story and its delivery are so special precisely because there IS nothing special about the story—the characters could be any bunch of goofy, complicated, painfully real kids, and that's why it's so perfect. The entire run of the series spans something like two years of in-story time, but in that time, the characters change and grow and learn so much, reading all of it in a few days made me breathless. After finishing the last book, I was sad in the most confusing way—I felt almost heartbroken, but not sad, somehow. I couldn't sleep for remembering myself as a tiny kid sitting on my friend's hardwood floor burying myself in this story, wondering what I'd be like when I was nine, and suddenly lying in my bed as a twenty-year-old feeling simultaneously like so much time had gone by and none at all. I was overwhelmed by how small I felt, by the profound awareness of the bigness of the world and the incomprehensible number of people in it whose lives could, for all intents and purposes, be my own. For a series I didn't finish for almost fifteen years, these books had an unbelievably strong impact on me. For all that it essentially just elevates the stories going on around us everyday, this series is one of the best works of storytelling I've ever encountered, and I can't think of many books I've read even as an adult that make this look like kid stuff.
July 19, 2014
This is the first book in the Amelia Rules! series by Jimmy Gownley. We discovered it at our local library and our girls loved it. They are really into reading graphic novels right now and we all love that it features a strong female main character who has other strong women in her life.
The stories are funny and real. Almost too real, since on pages 13-14, Rhonda trips and falls and then is tagged in the group's game of 'freeze tag.' Our oldest just tripped last week during her recess game of tag, and as soon as she was down, she was tagged 'it.' Unfortunately, the trip resulted in a broken arm, which has nothing to do with the story or this review, but we all had a chuckle about getting tagged when you're down.
The book is broken up into five short stories that are consecutive in time and show how the friends really begin to gel and back each other up. Amelia is the newcomer to the group, but they all welcome her with open arms (except for Rhonda, who is a bit slower to accept Amelia because she feels that Amelia is a threat to her relationship with Reggie.)
Overall, I love the complexities of the emotions and the tough subjects that are handled with both humor and sensitivity. We all really enjoyed reading this book and look forward to reading more of the books in this series.
The stories are funny and real. Almost too real, since on pages 13-14, Rhonda trips and falls and then is tagged in the group's game of 'freeze tag.' Our oldest just tripped last week during her recess game of tag, and as soon as she was down, she was tagged 'it.' Unfortunately, the trip resulted in a broken arm, which has nothing to do with the story or this review, but we all had a chuckle about getting tagged when you're down.
The book is broken up into five short stories that are consecutive in time and show how the friends really begin to gel and back each other up. Amelia is the newcomer to the group, but they all welcome her with open arms (except for Rhonda, who is a bit slower to accept Amelia because she feels that Amelia is a threat to her relationship with Reggie.)
Overall, I love the complexities of the emotions and the tough subjects that are handled with both humor and sensitivity. We all really enjoyed reading this book and look forward to reading more of the books in this series.
June 26, 2009
After reading Rapunzel's Revenge and the graphic novel version of Coraline, my 9 yr old daughter asked me if I knew of any other books "like that". By coincidence I had read about the "Amelia Rules!" series a few days earlier and put them on hold at my local library. The books started coming in a few days later, and we are loving them.
Amelia isn't perfect, and nor does she try to be. She a 9 yr old girl trying to make sense of her parent's divorce, her move with her mother from NYC to middle-of-nowhere Pennsylvania, living with her extremely cool Aunt Tanner, and discovering that the friends she made over the summer are actually the school nerds. But she's also funny and loyal and smart. I think Calvin (and Hobbes) would find Amelia and her friends kindred spirits.
I've said it before- I'm not a huge fan of the graphic novel/comic book style of story telling. However, the drawings in this series are particularly charming and compliment the writing perfectly.
And while we're on the subject, the writing is everything you would want it to be- hilarious and snarky and surprisingly deep. There are four compilations so far in the series, and I can't wait to get to the rest of them!
Amelia isn't perfect, and nor does she try to be. She a 9 yr old girl trying to make sense of her parent's divorce, her move with her mother from NYC to middle-of-nowhere Pennsylvania, living with her extremely cool Aunt Tanner, and discovering that the friends she made over the summer are actually the school nerds. But she's also funny and loyal and smart. I think Calvin (and Hobbes) would find Amelia and her friends kindred spirits.
I've said it before- I'm not a huge fan of the graphic novel/comic book style of story telling. However, the drawings in this series are particularly charming and compliment the writing perfectly.
And while we're on the subject, the writing is everything you would want it to be- hilarious and snarky and surprisingly deep. There are four compilations so far in the series, and I can't wait to get to the rest of them!
July 1, 2016
Interesting, and I definitely see why kids like it. I like the graphic novel format, and the illustrations are bright and engaging. The tone just isn't my style—too Disney Channel. Everyone's got a smart remark, you know? I do like that the girls are just nine-year-old girls, they wear the same kinds of clothes as the boys, they play superheroes with them and go on missions. I don't like that Amelia and Rhonda (the other girl in their group of friends) are enemies for no reason except that Rhonda likes one of the boys in their group and he is oblivious but likes Amelia (just as a friend). The girls are really, shockingly horrible to each other.
April 28, 2015
It's about four kids. The four kids like to spend time with each other through out the year. The story is about their. Amelia goes camping with her Dad and her Dad invites all four of Amelia's friends. The girls sleep in one tent and the boys sleep in the other tent. One boy goes to the girls tent though. They also have Halloween. Rhonda goes as someone's bride but he doesn't dress like a groom. Amelia get's something that PJ Man really wanted so she dressed up like Santa in the middle of the night, goes to his house and puts it under his family's tree.
January 28, 2011
I love how Amelia talks into the camera constantly. I love the crazy illustration style. I love seeing the early history of the gang. I love seeing Rhonda and getting to know her. Such a solid upper elementary comic book series with many many words. Sophisticated and simple and approachable all at once. LOVE.
October 24, 2017
Do yourself a favour and read the Amelia Rules series. No, seriously, you will thank me and thank yourself. It's pure wonderful comic book storytelling at its best with characters you will get to know and love. Nor is it all saccharine, there are hardships and sadness.
July 2, 2019
A great introduction to the AR universe and the characters. Gownley succeeds in creating an “all ages” book that is interesting for literally all ages.
July 18, 2016
It was funny!It was my favorite because I like comics!
November 21, 2017
I LOVE this book! I remember staying up late, reading this book by the bathroom light. So sad that my copy was destroyed! (It was my brother's fault!!!)
November 3, 2019
The entire Amelia stories followed me as I was growing up from the age of ten or eleven to when I was fourteen or fifteen. I absolutely loved these books. They were entertaining but also dealt with some harder issues that life throws at you, and that can be hard to understand when you're young. This is a great book for kids who don't know what they like to read yet. It gives you a good cast of characters, a relatable protagonist and some realistic situations while still providing a much-needed reprieve from the real world.
December 19, 2017
Quirky, sarcastic Amelia,and her friends star in these funny, goofy, sweet stories of growing up as a 4th grader who’s just discovering her world. Divorce, poverty, bullying,and school problems,are just a few of the subjects Amelia and her friends encounter, and learn to navigate. I’m enjoying how graphic novel artists make language and gestures work together to create a whole gamut of well fleshed- out characters we can learn to love.
January 11, 2018
I DNF this graphic novel which is extremely rare for me. What a bunch of garbage. I would never let my own girls read this or suggest that my students read it. I could handle all the rude names the children were calling each other for a while and their constant squabbling but on page 40 when one 9 year old girl calls the other 9 year old girl a tramp... eff that noise. There are so many more graphic novels for kids worth investing time and money in.
July 23, 2017
DNF @ p.16
I don't like the art (why one sideways eyebrow??), the lettering is terrible and I don't know why, and the characters are annoying as all get out. Why would I want to read a book about a bunch of kids just constantly insulting and yelling at each other? And there's a LOT of girl-on-girl hate, which I cannot stand and will not tolerate.
I don't like the art (why one sideways eyebrow??), the lettering is terrible and I don't know why, and the characters are annoying as all get out. Why would I want to read a book about a bunch of kids just constantly insulting and yelling at each other? And there's a LOT of girl-on-girl hate, which I cannot stand and will not tolerate.
February 11, 2019
Meh. I found a later volume on our shelf at work when I was looking for a quick read since I left my current book at home. I put it back and thought I'd track down book one. It wasn't bad, but I didn't care about the characters enough to read more.
August 2, 2021
The first in a series of realistic fiction graphic novels about a 9 year old girl and her friends. They are not always nice to each other and in some ways seem to be both older than 9 and younger than 9. There are some lessons here about compassion and acceptance, even though there is also a lot of snarkiness and meanness. I did not always like the main character, but I did enjoy the stories and would be interested in reading more in the series.
December 23, 2021
Captures the spirit of being nine. The main character is a little mean and rude, but she eventually realizes it and sometimes apologizes. Middle grade readers will recognize themselves and their friends in this book.
January 2, 2024
This hilarious graphic novel is perfect for fans of Calvin and Hobbes and The Peanuts. Amelia McBride is a wise-cracking, trouble-making weirdo with a heart of gold. What you've heard is true: Amelia Rules!
June 8, 2017
Great!
October 15, 2017
Excelente la mezcla de anécdotas de humor con el trasfondo más triste de la protagonista, que está sufriendo por la separación de sus padres.
December 5, 2017
It was a very sweet book about the reality of a certain type of childhood. I loved it!!!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 138 reviews