Sunny Makes Her Case
by Jennifer L. Holm; illus. by Matthew Holm; color by George Williams
Intermediate, Middle School    Graphix/Scholastic    224 pp.
2/24    9781338792454    $24.99
Paper ed.  9781338792447    $12.99

Sunny’s back in her fifth 1970s-set graphic novel (Sunny Side Up, rev. 9/15, and sequels), here starting a debate team at school with her equally-uninterested-in-sports friend Arun. She learns how to consider both sides of an issue, to research using a variety of sources (including her own and others’ lived experiences), and to always add the “secret sauce”: passion. As ever, humor abounds, as when Sunny and Arun, in search of a debate-team adviser, tell a succession of teachers that they’re their first choice. A sweet subplot concerns Sunny’s friend Tony, who keeps trying to ask an oblivious Sunny out on a date but is continually foiled. The visual storytelling is excellent, with a variety of panel sizes, shapes, and placement. Resolved: this latest series entry is a winner.

Pubissue-From the March/April 2024 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.