Let me first spell out the entire title:

FRAZZLED: ORDINARY MISHAPS AND INEVITABLE CATASTROPHES.

Try saying that three times fast… Okay, I couldn’t either.

Abbie Wu is back in her second story about life in middle school. I reviewed and loved the first FRAZZLED book last year. Both are done in graphic novel splendor. Sure to please reluctant readers and any middle school age student looking for a quick, fun read.

The images are well done and often hilarious. I found myself going back and looking at many of them again after completing the book.

There are locker mishaps, uncertain friendships, and a very creative invention. You also meet an irritating cat who might sound like a cat you’ve known or owned. Leave it up to Abbie to finally make sense of her problems, giving real life kids in the same frantic time of middle school  just a little bit of hope.

My hope is to see more from ABBIE Wu in future editions.

PUBLICATION DATE: 2017   PAGE COUNT: 224

FULL PLOT (From HARPER COLLINS)

Things are looking up for Abbie Wu: this year she’ll run for class president and get a brand-new shiny locker. Until—she doesn’t…

In her second tumultuous misadventure, Abbie Wu tackles more unbelievably unfair and calamitous middle school days. From facing locker thieves and battling diabolical cats to having absolutely no idea what to build for her science project, Abbie Wu is still in perpetual crisis.

From author and professional doodler Booki Vivat, this second story follows Abbie Wu, your favorite hilariously neurotic middle school girl, as she tries to come up with solutions to what seems to be a series of inevitable catastrophes.

Akin to Smile by Raina Telgemeier, Frazzled: Ordinary Mishaps and Inevitable Catastrophes is heavily illustrated, embarrassingly honest, and sure to appeal to anyone hoping to figuring out how to survive the ordinary mishaps of middle school.

FIVE THINGS TO LIKE ABOUT: FRAZZLED #2

1. This would be a great series to give to those kids who avoid any kind of reading. They’ll for sure be begging for more.
2. Abbie learns a great lesson about friendship. It helps her see friends in a new way and even helps mend the divide between her and the obnoxious cat.
3. There’s even more fun doodles in this second book. I’m still smiling.
4. Abbie Wu is far from perfect. She can be irritating at times, endearing, happy, grumpy, or fill in almost any other emotion. Yep, spot on middle grade!
5. Nothing too heavy and a good gateway to more challenging reading.

FAVORITE LINES: 

We were so busy trying to get through classes and figure out what was going on that sometimes it felt like there wasn’t enough room in our brains to think about anything else!

All ABOUT AUTHOR, BOOKI VIVAT:  

Booki Vivat has been doodling somewhat seriously since 2011 and not-so-seriously since childhood. She grew up in Southern California and graduated from the University of California, San Diego. She currently works in publishing and lives in Brooklyn, New York. You can follow her on Instagram at @bookibookibooki and on Twitter at @thebookiv.