Chiggers

by Hope Larson, Hope Larson (Illustrator)

Overview

Abby is back at the same old camp she goes to every summer — except for the fact that this summer, nothing is the same. Her friend Rose is a cabin assistant, her friend Beth is pierced, and now the only person who doesn't seem too cool for Abby is Shasta, the new girl. Shasta, who was struck by lightning, whose Internet boyfriend is a senior in high school, and who is totally annoying to everyone but Abby....

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781416935872
Publisher:	Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	06/17/2008
Pages:	176
Sales rank:	1,152,341
Product dimensions:	5.80(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	10 - 14 Years

About the Author

Hope Larson is the author of Who Is AC? and the author-illustrator of Mercury, Chiggers, Gray Horses, and Salamander Dream, which Publishers Weekly named one of 2005's best comics. She won a 2007 Eisner Award, the highest honor for a comic artist. She lives with her husband in Los Angeles. You can visit her at HopeLarson.com.

Hope Larson is the author of Who Is AC? and the author-illustrator of Mercury, Chiggers, Gray Horses, and Salamander Dream, which Publishers Weekly named one of 2005's best comics. She won a 2007 Eisner Award, the highest honor for a comic artist. She lives with her husband in Los Angeles. You can visit her at HopeLarson.com.

Editorial Reviews

"Chiggers is a fresh, honest, and sweetly touching story drawn by a master artist. Kudos!" — Jennifer L. Holm, Newbery Honor Award-winning author of Penny from Heaven and Our Only May Amelia, and co-creator of Babymouse

"Hope Larson shows off the deft storytelling and inventive layouts that made her a web-comics sensation." — Gene Yang, Michael L. Printz Award-winning creator of American Born Chinese

From the Publisher

Gr 5-8 -Abby is back for another summer at camp. Her friend, Rose, three years older and now a cabin assistant, cannot spend much time with her so she seeks out new friends. Deni, a city girl who produces a constant stream of conversation about boys, soon comes down with a case of chiggers, and no one is sorry to see her leave. Shasta, a raven-haired girl, replaces her. She was late to arrive, she says, due to being struck by lightning. As is common, the cabinmates cannot all get along, and the others turn against Abby for befriending Shasta. Throw in summer crushes and particle-board camp food, and reading Chiggers provides a ticket to summer fun. Larson delicately handles both the usual middle-school angst and the additional pressures that come with being somewhat different. The style is more Craig Thompson (Goodbye, Chunky Rice [Pantheon, 2006]) than Shojo Beat , and the content is perfect for upper elementary and middle school students.-Sarah Krygier, Solano County Library, Fairfield, CA

School Library Journal

Eisner Award winner Larson effectively mixes magical realism with the timeless rituals of summer camp in this pitch-perfect graphic novel for ‘tweens. After arriving at camp, bookish Abby finds herself torn between her familiar bunkmates and the intriguing new girl Shasta, who has an older boyfriend and claims to have been struck by lightning. Amid the rounds of swimming and hiking, Abby learns to stand up for her new friend when other girls judge her unfairly. Tensions rise when both girls find themselves attracted to the same boy (a sweetly nerdy Dungeon Master named Teal), but after Abby saves Shasta from a mysterious will-o'-the-wisp that results in a second near-lightning strike, they part amicably and Abby gets the guy. The clean black-and-white panels are detailed without being busy, and the addition of a supernatural element symbolic of the physical and emotional upheaval of adolescence deepens an otherwise typical camp story. Extensive how-to sections on rainy-day card games and friendship bracelets are an added bonus. A delightful addition to any duffle (or library). (Graphic novel. 10-14)

Kirkus Reviews