Brave (Berrybrook Middle School, 2) Paperback – Illustrated, May 23, 2017

I was surprised at the cartoon format for a school book. My grandson read it in one evening and agreed it was a good topic, relevant to school life.

I am a former middle/high school librarian. If it were up to me, I would make sure every middle school library in the country would have a copy of this book. This graphic novel is THE single best thing I've read about bullying. Ever. The bullied kid (Jensen) is a little overweight...which is mentioned a few times...and spends a lot of time fantasizing about becoming an astronaut (even though he's failing math). He's an ordinary kid who tries to hard to belong. Kids sniff out that neediness and then it's open season. I was that kid. The technology has changed (you can now be bullied and insulted through a variety of technology instead of just having notes left in your locker and desk)but the emotions are the same. The mean kids are the same. The panic of having nowhere to sit at lunch is the same. Jensen triumphs not because he loses weight, or becomes an athlete or a brilliant student. He finds his own place in the Middle School Jungle, through maturity of thought, while staying his own dreamy self. Incidentally...I love that Jensen's world is truly multicultural. The author assumes the reader will recognize this as the norm in a lot of American schools.

After reading awkward, I saw this book and instantly decided to buy it. No regrets. The book's message is really important and bullying is a very serious issue. I actually cried a bitwhile reading the part where Jensen cried. (The scene above was one of those "depression" references that you can't have to much of in a children's book.The art style was amazing, as always, so you don't have to worry about that. I think the expressions are SUPER cute and funny.The ending of the book was a pretty good (kinda) plot twist. IF theres a third book (I hope so) i'd like to see more of Foster as a "nice" character.In conclusion, I loved this book and hope to see more from the author!

It was an ok book the plot was great and main characters changed throughout the story but I would’ve liked certain characters to change or be explored more.

Great book for teens.

I honestly wanted to give jensen a hug throughout the whole book, he reminds me of a boy in my class who has hardly any friends and gets bullied quite a bit. But anywaysss, I LOVED THIS ONEEE!

Good book

Stumbled upon the first volume of this series at a thrift store of all things, looked through it and wanted more happy to enjoy this series.