Terri Libenson, Surprisingly Sarah (Emmie & Friends #7), HarperCollins Publishers, June 2023, 352 pp., RRP $17.99 (pbk), ISBN 9780063139213
This is the seventh book in the Emmie and Friends series of graphic novels written and illustrated by once very shy Terri Libenson. Set in an America middle school, the novel is told in alternate chapters by Sarah and Leo, who have been best friends since they were little.
This year, though, Leo’s dads have sent him to a different school, which he desperately wants to leave, so he can be with Sarah and her new friends. But there’s even more trouble when Sarah admits to Leo that she has a crush on Leo’s friend, Ben, and he has no idea how to tell her Ben isn’t interested.
Full of the embarrassments and foibles of being a middle schooler, Terri perfectly gets into the minds of her characters as they navigate school, family and friends, and even though it can be a little rocky, life does have a way of making much more sense with family and friends by your side.
Reviewed by Deborah Abela 
