“…Need to flip the top and bottom numbers.”

From Tori Sharp’s Just Pretend.

Tori has a wild sense of imagination and she often plays fun made-up games with her best friend, Taylor. The fantastical worlds in the stories she creates often help her to overcome the less fun areas of her life including her mom’s overprotectiveness, her dad‘s new apartment, and not being in the same class with Taylor this year. When Tori creates a student-to-student mailbox system at school that becomes quickly popular just before the teachers ban it, Tori is disappointed and begins looking for new ways to communicate with her friends. She and Taylor soon decide to write a story together, writing portions on their own and trading the notebook at lunch each day. Despite the steady stream of disappointments and arguments at home, Tori thrives through the fantasy story she’s writing on her own. However, as the school year carries on, Tori finds herself facing more difficulties at home and a painful distancing from Taylor and her friends. As both Tori and Taylor struggle with the challenges associated with growing up, Tori begins to realize that she needs to fight for what she needs in her life, just like the strong characters she creates do.

This graphic novel memoir is endearing when combined with the engaging artwork, but it can also present painful situations at times. Sharp’s retelling of her childhood struggle to stay connected with her family and friends will speak to readers that have experienced similar pain. While some situations are uncomfortable to watch unfold, the encouragement to follow one’s dreams that Just Pretend provides will stay with readers long after the story ends.