Natalie's story continues in this third installment of Maria Scrivan's Nat Enough series. It's time for summer camp! A time for any tween/teen that is filled with both excitement for new measures of independence, and cringe-worthy experiences brought on by both the natural environment and social pressures. This book delivers all of that with heartfelt realism. I enjoyed it, as I did the first two books. My absolutely favorite thing about this book though, was the inclusion of an amputee character - Kaia, who Scrivan uses to help Natalie overcome her fears of swimming in the camp's lake, and to reassure another character about her appearances. Because how people see you "has nothing to do with who you are." "I can be afraid," she says, "but it doesn't have to stop me."
While diversity and inclusion has improved in youth literature in the last few years, we still have plenty of room to grow in that area, and I would love to see a character like Kaia as the main character of a book - especially a graphic novel, where the visual format can make such a strong and clear impact on the reader.
Scrivan's illustration style is clear, and bold, which appeals to so many middle grade graphic novel readers who are fans of The Baby-Sitters Club, Raina Telgemeier, Victoria Jamieson, Svetlana Chmakova, Kayla Miller, Lucy Knisley, Vera Brosgol, etc.. I look forward to book 4!