Publishers Weekly
01/27/2025
Ever since her older sister left to attend a private boarding school, seventh grader Lizzie, who is of Greek and Scottish descent, has felt consumed by anxiety. Running against popular and levelheaded April for class secretary—while navigating worries about crushes and doing well in school—exacerbates these anxious feelings, despite her supportive friends’ attempts to help with the campaign. When her anxiety begins to make her feel physically sick, Lizzie’s parents adopt Australian shepherd Bella to help Lizzie manage her emotions. Lizzie instantly falls in love with Bella’s bubbly personality. And then her mother insists they register Bella as an emotional support dog and have her accompany Lizzie to school. When her friends start using Bella in Lizzie’s campaign media, Lizzie wonders whether Bella is the reason for her sudden popularity. Friendship, siblinghood, and connection (both human and canine) buoy Lizzie as she struggles to advocate for her needs and learns how to manage anxiety surrounding others’ perceptions of her. Papademetriou (the Hearts & Crafts series) employs first-person narration both earnest and heartfelt to effectively anchor readers in Lizzie’s palpable emotions, resulting in a realistic, relatable portrayal of anxiety and middle school angst. Ages 8–12. (Feb.)
Kirkus Reviews
2024-11-23
Seventh grader Lizzie Morris-Artino grapples with anxiety, a crush, running for office, a well-meaning but misguided mother, navigating friendships old and new, and an emotional support dog who’s more popular at school than she is.
Lizzie’s mounting worries and tension, caused by her desire to please everyone around her, manifest in her imagining worst-case scenarios. Physical symptoms, such as stomachaches and panic attacks, begin to interfere with school. Papademetriou infuses the text with humor despite the serious issues she addresses, and ultimately, Lizzie inhabits an environment that’s populated with supportive friends and family. New friend Ant is solidly in her corner, even as she contends with a nasty election cycle against an opponent who’s both popular and petty. The first-person narration contains realistic dialogue, which, along with the use of texting and social media, adds to the authenticity of Lizzie’s perspective; the adults in her life, however, filtered through her perceptions, come across as two-dimensional. The plot is slow to develop, and the obvious conclusion feels tacked on in order to neatly solve the main source of Lizzie’s difficulties. Still, readers will root for Lizzie, and she does have an empowering moment of standing up for herself, but because this scene happened so close to the end of the book, it leaves little time for a thorough resolution. Lizzie is of Greek and Scottish descent.
Despite uneven pacing, offers a satisfying depiction of middle school pressures.(Fiction. 8-12)
