A New York Times BestsellerA USA Today BestsellerA Publishers Weekly BestsellerAn Indie BestsellerA School Library Journal Best Book of 2024A Doug Wright Award Nominee for Best Kids' Book★ "An enchanting, adorable, immersive story... Calin masterfully weaves variation throughout the panels to show full experiences with incredible details in scenery, facial expressions, and color that flow easily. The book is engrossing and spectacular, and Calin perfectly portrays the awe, excitement, awkwardness, and confusion of middle school... A must-purchase for any and all tweens and teens who are ravenous for lighthearted, absorbing, and authentic coming-of-age realistic graphic fiction." -- School Library Journal, starred review★ "Calin crafts an empathetic tale of belonging in this graphic novel debut... Vibrant and accessible visually appealing art infuses a comedic and feel-good vibe that deftly juxtaposes emotional and thought-provoking plot beats surrounding immigration and period education. Softly rendered, cherubic-faced characters with varying skin tones populate this dynamic examination of a girl in transition." -- Publishers Weekly, starred review"The popularity of middle-grade coming-of-age graphic novels is indisputable and The New Girl will be a welcome addition... This will fly off the shelves." -- School Library Journal"Creative panel work adds depth to the eye-catching visual narrative, which features trendy fashions and uses tropes reminiscent of manga... The middle-school friendship drama rings true, with flawed, endearing characters." -- The Horn Book Magazine "Calin's illustrations flow effectively and provide humor; her text bubbles also creatively visualize, through color coding for different languages and scribbles to represent French words Lia can't understand, the process of acquiring a new language... Fans of Raina Telgemeier, Victoria Jamieson, and Svetlana Chmakova will rejoice. Funny, awkward, and exuberant." -- Kirkus ReviewsPraise for The New Girl: First Crush:A Harvey Award NomineeA New York Times BestsellerA USA Today BestsellerA Publishers Weekly BestsellerAn Indie BestsellerA Barnes & Noble Best Kids' Book of 2026 (So Far)★ “The story offers a smorgasbord of emotions… Crushing hard and messing up are part of growing up, and middle grade readers will find a lot to relate to in this compulsively readable sequel." -- School Library Journal, starred review"This lively sequel... gently explores being true to oneself while feeling the strong pull of first romantic love. Honesty in friendships is another strong theme... Calin's vibrant, emotive illustrations add humor and depth to the dialogue, and cleverly color-coded speech bubbles indicate different languages. Insightful, quirky, and hopeful." -- Kirkus Reviews"In this charming graphic novel sequel to The New Girl, Calin's distinct digital art style shines once more with jewel tones, bold lines, and highly emotive expressions to match the personalities of Lia and the ensemble cast. Lia is well-rounded and reads believably as a middle school girl gaining experience and maturity but only through many missteps. The book maintains a sense of realism for readers when not all of these conflicts resolve quite the way Lia wants them to, but there is nonetheless a comforting reassurance in the ways she navigates healing strained friendships following the dramatic turns of the plot. The result is a strong second entry in a valuable series for growing tween girls who enjoy the graphic novel adaptations of Sweet Valley Twins and The Baby-sitters Club." -- The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books