Tuva (white) starts seventh grade assuming nothing has changed with her two best friends, Bao (Vietnamese) and Linnea (white)—until Linnea announces that she has a boyfriend. Bao is first annoyed and then angry when it becomes clear that Linnea has new priorities. Tuva, meanwhile, feels torn: She doesn’t want to give up the childlike games they’ve always played, but she’s intrigued by the idea of romance. The problem is she can’t think of a single boy she likes. Then she meets new student Mariam (brown-skinned) and develops a crush. Bao has no problem with Tuva liking a girl, but a big problem with Tuva being yet another friend obsessed with love. Tuva hopes a birthday sleepover at Linnea’s will be a chance for the three friends to make amends, but Bao ends up outing Tuva to the group in a moment of hurt. This spirited graphic novel examines the sometimes-challenging transition between childhood and adolescence among a group of best friends. With hand-lettered text and light-hearted illustrations ranging from full-page to panel to spot images, the fresh, diary-style storytelling includes the wonderful, often droll relationship between Tuva and her single-parent dad. While explicit acknowledgment that outing someone is never okay would have been welcome, it is implied in a story that concludes with a terrific author’s note discussing the inspiration of her childhood friendships, and what she’s learned from seeing her book translated into different languages. (Ages 9-13)