The Berrybrook Middle School series is a fun series. The cast Svetlana Chmakova created is diverse and deals with classic middle school subjects (such as growing up, boyfriend/girlfriends, best friends, lost friendships, and more) with modern twists. It is realistic, but in goofy way to help keep the serious subjects from going to “deep. These graphic novels are great for the preteen to young teen (10 to 14 the best ages) reading audience.
This time in Enemies (the fifth book) we have Felicity and her friends learning about success and failure, and how both can be fun if you did your best. Also, it shows how trying is a good start. It is also about communication, not letting things hide inside, sibling rivalry, and what does it mean to really be an enemy, and what does it meant to be a real friend, and more. It is a great look at what is means to be a kid today.
Overall, this series (minus the first as I have not read it) have been strong reads, but not ones I am OMG BEST EVER kind of books. But I do highly recommend them. The art is what really captures me, as I have read several books about the trials and tribulations of middle school. The art is simple but is detailed to move the story along. The color is used to highlight the images and the scene itself. Background can be important but does not necessarily distract from what is going on, in fact, the backdrop could even be “unhighlighted” to have you focus centered on the event/thing happening at the time.
You do not have to read the books in order, and Enemies is very much a standalone story, but if you want to, the order is Awkward, then Brave, Diary and finally Crush.
