Squished - Megan Wagner Lloyd - ★★.¾

AUTHOR: Megan Wagner Lloyd

GENRE: Middle-grade Graphic Novel.

PUBLICATION DATE: March 7, 2023

RATING: 2.75 stars.

A middle-grade graphic novel about a young girl in a large family.

Enjoyed:

🎨 Eleven-year-old Avery's portrayal. Loving and helpful despite her frustrations.

🎨 The younger siblings. Really adorable, but I'm glad they aren't in my house. 😅

🎨 The realistic depiction of the struggles and joys of being one of many kids in a large family. I am sure kids from large families will relate to Avery’s dilemmas.

🎨 The fact that both parents are shown taking care of the kids.

🎨 The art. Cute enough for a middle-grade book. (Though I must say, the depiction of a house with seven kids was utterly unrealistic. It was impossibly neat and clean!)

Wanted more of:

🖌 Avery’s artistic endeavours. Though she is passionate about art, we barely get to see her work.

🖌 A focus on the financial constraints of such a large family. The parents are never shown struggling anytime, whether for money or for energy or for time. It's too smooth a portrayal of such a situation.

🖌 The family’s cultural details. We learn that they are Korean Americans only in the author's parting note, which is too late.

Not a fan of:

👶🏻 The fact that one family has seven kids. I know this isn't technically the book's fault because it mentions the topic clearly in the blurb and on the cover. But I'm somewhat judgemental about families with too many children, so it was tough for me to overcome that hurdle and read this book without judgement. I know many people prefer large families and are proud of having five-plus kids, but honestly, I wish everyone these days thought more about the planet and limited the number of children they produce. Those olden days with large broods don't make sense anymore in this world of limited resources and maximum destruction.

👶🏻 Avery's parents, who seem totally ignorant of her issues and treat her like a free babysitter while their eldest boy barely had any responsibility. Their attitude was a bit annoying.

👶🏻 The blow-hot-blow-cold relationship Avery has with her older brother Theo.

👶🏻 The plot, which is somewhat surface-level. It doesn't go deep into anything except Avery's issues, but still introduces too many unrelated & unnecessary subtopics, several of which stay unresolved even after the end. This was a major negative.

Overall, I think my own bias against excessively large families got in the way of my enjoyment. Why did I pick this up then? I genuinely don't know. Maybe I liked the title and cover art and wanted a greater understanding of the topic. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Recommended to middle-graders who might be a part of a large family themselves and want to feel understood.