Stepping Stones

For meeee I didn't like this as much as I like Knisley's comic memoirs–although it is based on her own childhood, it's fictionalized, and...I dunno, to me, I missed the sense of immediacy I get from some of her other books. It's interesting to me that here on GoodReads I see this listed as Book #1, when from the book itself I didn't have a sense that this was meant to be a series. But I'm glad actually because I struggled a bit with the ending here–on one hand I understand not wanting to have a story where everything's all wrapped up in loose ends, but the way this ended really had me feeling like “wow I hope Jen's mom leaves this shitty boyfriend who's such a dick to his pseudo-stepdaughter!” But then in Knisley's author's note she talks about how much she came to love the man who that character was based on so...IDK I guess there is room for that fictional relationship to grow!

Anyway, the thorny (step-ish)-sister relationships, the thick sense of misunderstood tween life, and the cute art all make this perf for the many many readers looking for more Raina Telgemeier readalikes.