{Synopsis} – Sixth grade was SO much easier for Danielle. All her friends were in the same room and she knew what to expect from her life. But now that she’s in seventh grade, she’s in a new middle school, her friends are in different classes and forming new cliques, and she is completely lost.
When Danielle inherits a magical sketchbook from her eccentric great aunt Elma, she draws Madison, an ideal best friend that springs to life right off the page! But even when you create a best friend, it’s not easy navigating the ups and downs of relationships, and before long Danielle and Madison are not exactly seeing eye-to-eye.
To make matters worse, Danielle has drawn the head of her favorite (and totally misunderstood) cartoon villain, Prince Neptune. He’s also come to life and is giving her terrible advice about how to make people like her. When she rejects him and he goes on a rampage during a school pep rally, Danielle and Madison have to set aside their differences to stop him!
{My thoughts} – We meet Danielle when her family is going through her great Aunts belongings. They are fighting over who gets what and who can take care of what it is that they get. Her great Aunt didn’t put a lot of thought into how terrible many of her family members are when it comes to possessions.
She ends up finding her great Aunt’s scrapbooks and actually manages to keep a couple of them. When she gets back home she draws in one and brings to life Prince Neptune. This is when she learns that the sketchbook has magical properties. She is your average 7th grader just trying to find her way in a world of chaos. She wants to make friends and be popular but she is one of the least popular people in her school.
She eventually draws and creates the perfect best friend and they do things together and make things work out, but then Madison learns she has freewill and she ditches Danielle for awhile. They do eventually come back together, but it isn’t until things get really rocky for Danielle and her other classmates because of the stunts that Prince Neptune pulls.
This is a well written graphic novel and I really enjoyed reading through it as well as looking at the images within it’s pages. I enjoyed the storyline, because it helps to show children that it’s okay to not be one of the popular crowd, that you can make friends and blossom. Even if it’s done in some unconventional ways.
I admit I’d read the second book in this series first, but it didn’t really skew my perception. It worked out alright and I look forward to more books in this series coming out in the future! They are worth the read and have good moral lessons within their pages. I am sure many children can relate to the characters within the books.
Final Conclusion: 5 Star Rating.
