Dear Jackie

by Jessixa Bagley, Aaron Bagley (Illustrator)

Overview

A middle schooler’s plan to fit in with her new friends by writing herself a fake love letter backfires spectacularly in this funny and all-too-relatable graphic novel perfect for fans of Raina Telgemeier and the Berrybrook Middle School series.

Jackie and Milo have been best friends since they were born. Whether they’re reading comic books in their tree house hideout, playing video games, or spying on their neighbors using walkie talkies and code names, it’s always been the two of them versus the world. But in middle school, things are changing. Milo joins the soccer team and starts hanging out with a new crew. Jackie gets taken under the wing of Adelle, who wants to give her a total makeover and find her a crush. Suddenly, it seems like there are certain acceptable ways to be a girl or a boy, and Jackie starts to feel like everything about her is wrong.

In an effort to get Adelle and her new friends off her back, Jackie sends herself an anonymous love letter. But her plan backfires, and soon Jackie’s secret admirer is all anybody at school can talk about. Now she’s wondering: Dear Jackie, how are you going to get out of this?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781534496576
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers
Publication date:	09/09/2025
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.80(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Jessixa Bagley is a children’s book author-illustrator with a background in fine art and comics. She has had work featured in publications such as New American Paintings, Highlights Magazine, The Stranger, and Illustoria Magazine. She’s also the author of the middle grade graphic novels Duel and Dear Jackie (illustrated by Aaron Bagley) and the author-illustrator of the middle grade graphic novel series Jazzy the Witch. Jessixa is a two-time Washington State Book Award recipient; first in 2016 for her debut picture book, Boats for Papa, and again in 2024 for her graphic novel, Duel. Jessixa also received a 2018 Ezra Jack Keats Honor Award for picture book Laundry Day. Many of her books are Junior Library Guild Selections. In her work, she’s drawn to animals and emotional themes often inspired by her own experiences. Jessixa also teaches and speaks about writing and illustration. She often illustrates for other writers and artistically collaborates with her husband, Aaron Bagley. Jessixa lives in Seattle with her husband and son.

Aaron Bagley is an illustrator, painter, and comics artist. He loves to draw from observation, life experiences, and his dreams and has filled more than 225 sketchbooks with his drawings. Over the years he’s illustrated for numerous organizations including 826 Seattle as well as being featured in publications like The Virginia Quarterly Review, The Stranger, The Seattle Review of Books, and many more. He’s a frequent contributor to the Illustoria Magazine for both writing and illustration. Aaron also collaborates with his wife, Jessixa. Together, they’ve created picture book Vincent Comes Home and middle grade graphic novels Duel and Dear Jackie. Aaron received a 2024 Washington State Book Award for illustrating Duel. He lives in Seattle with his wife and son.

Editorial Reviews

"Smart, sweet, and sophisticated, Dear Jackie is a fresh, fearless take on the most meaningful and cringiest parts of the middle school experience. You’ll swoon, squeal and cheer in that order.

Tegan Quin (Tegan and Sara)

Hilariously relatable and compelling. I wish I could have read this book in middle school.

Sharee Miller

"A funny, heartfelt look at growing up and pushing back against narrow expectations."

Kirkus Reviews

2025-05-30
Middle school pulls best friends in different directions in this latest collaboration from husband-wife duo the Bagleys.

Jackie and Milo have always been inseparable, spying on neighbors (and their dogs) and hiding from the world in their HQ. But as they enter sixth grade, middle school hits fast. The two begin to drift apart, with Milo joining the soccer team and making friends with the “dude brahs,” while Jackie is thrown together with Adelle, her mom’s friend’s daughter, who’s into fashion and makeup. As her classmates obsess over who likes whom, Jackie, who prefers video games and comics and appreciates a comfy hoodie, starts to feel like she’s doing girlhood all wrong. Her parents—loving but stuck in old-school ideas of femininity—aren’t much help. Jackie turns to Jabari, her college-age gender-nonconforming sibling, for advice on how they came to accept themself. Jackie also tries to alleviate the pressure from peers by typing herself a fake love letter on Jabari’s old typewriter—but her scheme causes more problems than it solves. With lively, expressive art and the creative use of typewritten narration boxes to reflect Jackie’s unspoken thoughts, this graphic novel captures the cringey, confusing mess of early adolescence. A diverse cast of side characters brings depth to a story that champions self-acceptance and individuality. Jackie and her family appear Black, and Milo presents East Asian.

A funny, heartfelt look at growing up and pushing back against narrow expectations. (author’s note, illustrator’s note)(Graphic fiction. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews