Graphic Novel Review - 'The New Girl' by Cassandra Calin

The one word I would use to describe 'The New Girl', the debut graphic novel by Cassandra Calin, is: Cute.

My good goddesses, 'The New Girl' is one of the cutest, and most relatable, middle grade slice-of-life graphic novels I have ever read.

I love the artwork - it is sort of like Calin's 'I Left the House Today!', but in colour, and much more vibrant, expressive, and diverse in its character designs. And like her anecdotal comics, 'The New Girl' is very relatable and true to life, as well as funny as all get-out.

It's a twelve-year-old immigrant girl's coming-of-age struggles and mishaps, set in France, and it's partly based on the author's own childhood and schooldays. Growing pains for young girls, especially those coming to live in a different country, are real; including the physical kind, as they get their first period. The pains won't stop!

Lia Iordache, our Romanian protagonist, finds it hard to fit in and make new friends. Above all she finds it hard to adjust to an entirely new school system, such as how it grades students, and the various language barriers. It's a change in life that's difficult to keep up with and improve upon. How overwhelming everything is!

There's a lot about school in 'The New Girl' that quite suddenly brought back memories of when I myself was a naïve, shy, creative, insecure, overwhelmed social outcast schoolgirl. Example: like Lia I also wanted to make friends in school, with people who I thought liked me, and we shared commonalities, but it turned out they didn't like me, and they accused me of being clingy. Of following them around when they in fact wanted nothing to do with me. That part hit me hard. Lia's love for a Magical Girl comic series, 'Spell', reminds me so much of my love for 'W.I.T.C.H.' when I was in school, too! We both love Magical Girls and witches! Oh relatable hearts!

I loved being with Lia throughout her journey, spanning from September to Halloween to her birthday to Christmas. Even through her period pains, and heavy flows (no blood is shown, though), for they are realistic. Fantastic props for the information on options for menstrual issues, BTW. She comes to join in an adorable and supportive international female friendship group, has a crush on a boy, becomes a member of her school's magazine committee as an artist, collects loads of different imported sweets and candy bars from all over the globe from a grocery store, and slowly but surely understands more French and English (there's also a bit of Mandarin in here). Hooray for our multilingual, Magical Girl-loving, artist protagonist!

I've got to love too that the girls in this comic have acne. These pubescent, diverse AF girls - Lia, and her new friends Ivana, Sarala, Natalia, Zi Mei, Wan Yin, and Amy - are so real, and they care about each other so much, it's beyond heartwarming. There's a little LBGTQ+ rep that's revealed near the end, to boot.

'The New Girl' has a strong family theme, to go with its friendship, adolescent crush, and fish-out-of-water themes. Lia's parents and grandparents are lovely. It's good to see she has family and friends back in Romania she still keeps in contact with.

To wrap it up like a pretty pink present, 'The New Girl' is a warm welcome of a modern middle school graphic novel for young girls. If you like 'Cross My Heart and Never Lie', or 'Living With Viola', or 'Huda F Are You?', then definitely check it out. It's like visiting refreshing, flourishing, affectionate, blossomy, bosom girl buddies; the love and passion, the details, put into it is infectious and all-encompassing. For a book about change and being in a strange new environment and trying to find where you fit in, it is like coming home. A few characters could have been more developed, and the ending is kind of abrupt (it can't be the end, NO!), and the focus on Lia's boy troubles is prioritised over her female friendships (I don't particularly care for "romances" between twelve-to-thirteen-year-olds). But overall it is so sweet. And CUTE!

Thank you, Cassandra Calin. You are super talented, passionate and driven.

Final Score: 4/5