The book has a subtle generosity and good humor that is reflected in the artwork, storytelling, the characters and the dialogue. It was a stroke of genius to have not mean girls, but mean boys, as the villains and showing us frat boy peer pressure is a refreshing and instructive change of pace. Everyone else feels real, (teachers feel like the teachers I remember), and even passing and cameo characters are convincing. The female leads are strong and independent and stand up quite well on their own. Big, sweet, quiet Jorge is the central heroic character and he carries the story and all of its spinoffs with ease. On top of that the characters are remarkably appealing. Usually you expect at least one or two threads to wander off into the fictional underbrush, but everything here is tight and crisp and under control. Each kid feels real and the situations and their resolutions are realistic and relatable. None of it is phony or exaggerated or overcooked. There is not a single odd tone or false note, even though there are at least a dozen different developed characters and at least a half dozen running themes and sub-plots.

So, what distinguishes this book? Well, first and foremost, the book is, from page to page and even from panel to panel, consistently authentic. So, I was intrigued by this chance to read 'Crush', even though a middle school story about crushes and dating didn't seem to promise all that much. 'Awkward' has over 19,000 ratings and almost 1,500 reviews on Goodreads, and I'm not sure I've ever seen a book with that many ratings that averaged over four stars. The reviews are wildly favorable, (there are hundreds just on the Amazon site), and the fans are pretty intense. I wasn't familiar with those books, but looked at some of their reviews and blurbs before reading 'Crush'. This is the third book in the 'Berrybrook Middle School' series, after 'Awkward' and 'Brave'.

Awkward by chmakova svetlana