Amelia is nine years old and her parents have recently divorced,
so she, her older sister, and her mother have moved into a new
house. This comic is about how Amelia starts to adjust to her
new life. She has no trouble making friends — she is a bit of
a tomboy and likes hanging out with boys mostly, and of course
she is not interested in romance. Most of the comic is about what
Amelia and her friends do — playing games, getting into trouble.
But the tension between her mom and dad occasionally rears its
ugly head, and it makes her anxious.

The comic has glossy pages, and the artwork is interesting enough
to keep your attention. The basic framework is three-by-three
— it gets denser and more varied towards the end. It looks like
it’s done by hand, and then some computer effects are added, although,
given the advanced state of technology these days, it would not
be surprising to learn that the whole thing was done on a computer.
The point is that the comic still has a human touch and even a
slightly home-made feel.

There are several episodes in the one comic, and there are enough
jokes about gross bodily functions to entertain real children.
Of course, the real test is whether children would like it, and
I haven’t asked their opinions. Certainly not all children are
going to like it, but I’d guess that quite a few might. I thought
it was fun and even a little informative — there’s no heavy psychologizing
here, but it does say a little about what it is like to be a child
in a divorced family.

© 2001 Christian Perring

See a sample of this comic book.

This comic book is published by Renaissance Press: E-mail the publisher for purchase information.

This review first appeared online Sept 1, 2001

Categories: Fiction

Tags: Divorce, Child and Adolescent Development