Kayla Miller, and Jeffrey Canino (text), and Kristina Luu (illustrator), Besties Work it Out, Walker Books, February 2023, 216 pp, RRP $17.99 (pbk), ISBN 978 1760657130
Besties Work it Out is set in the same world as Miller’s successful Click! graphic novel series but shifts focus from Olive to best friends, Beth and Chanda.
The pair are in Grade 6 and navigating the push-me-pull-you stage of being treated like kids one moment and mini-adults the next. Beth wants to save money to buy her Mum a fancy birthday present and so the pair go about getting a job. They’re employed by the glamourous, Ms Langford, to look after her pampered pooch while she goes on holiday. The friends spar over their responsibilities – Chanda thinks it’s okay to try on Ms Langford’s clothes and invite others over in her absence. But Beth is uncertain. Then things go pear-shaped when they accidentally break Ms Langford’s fancy lamp. It’s certainly valuable social and emotional learning in this age bracket to read about kids falling out, apologising, and reconciling.
Miller has a track record for writing with humour and heart about this age-group and this new series again gloriously encompasses the high emotions, peer pressures and parental expectations that go with this territory.
Fans of Miller’s previous books and of Raina Telgemeier will enjoy this new offering.
Reviewed by Heather Gallagher
