Thai American Christine lives in a small, predominantly white Texas town, where her parents run a Chinese restaurant. Christine’s start-of-seventh-grade anxieties about finding her place and fitting in aren’t necessarily eased when her best friend, Iranian American Megan, suggests they try out for the cheerleading squad. Christine’s excited at the prospect of becoming a cheerleader, but tryouts will culminate in a performance in front of the entire school, with the final decision coming down to a vote by the student body. One of the many pleasures of this spirited, often funny graphic novel is that it smartly avoids tropes, instead offering complexity and nuance and balance. The cheerleaders aren’t mean girls; the candidates are generally supportive of one another; and when Megan partners with someone other than Christina for the tryouts, it isn’t the beginning of the end of their friendship. The talk Christina and Megan eventually have is deep and genuine, revealing Christina’s hurt but also Megan’s hope that partnering with white girls would give them each a better chance of making it. Christina is making new friends and trying new things outside of cheerleading, too, as well as asking questions about who she is (what does it mean to be both Buddhist and Presbyterian—is that even possible?). So many thoughts and feelings flow through this story, all of them genuine. As for the tryouts: The tension is real as the story builds to its climax. This fictionalized account is inspired by author Soontornvat’s seventh grade year.   (Ages 8-12)