Following the overwhelming success of AWKWARD and BRAVE, Svetlana Chmakova's award winning Berrybrook Middle School series continues with its next installment - CRUSH!
Jorge seems to have it all together. He's big enough that nobody really messes with him, but he's also a genuinely sweet guy with a solid, reliable group of friends. The only time he ever really feels off his game is when he crosses paths with a certain girl... But when the group dynamic among the boys starts to shift, will Jorge be able to balance what his friends expect of him versus what he actually wants?

Jorge, who is big for his age uses his size to patrol the halls acting as an unofficial "Sheriff" keeping the peace between kids and helping to stop the bullying that he sees going on. Life as he knows it, hanging with his two best friends, playing baseball, and going to school is not complicated. Until it starts to get complicated. Jorge finds himself unable to talk and confused when he is around Jazmine, a girl from the drama club. He is also fighting peer pressure from some of the other boys in the Sports Club, and one of his best friends is slowly pulling away to hang out with a group of football players whom Jorge doesn't like. When something big happens that blames him for a social media bullying that affects his friends and everyone at school is blaming him, will he be able to stand up to the truth of "I didn't do that", and clear his name? Or will his friends pull away from him believing what they think has happened while ignoring his past actions against bullying?

I thought this was another solid graphic novel about life in middle school by Svetlana Chmakova. It touches on friendships, changes in friendship dynamics, bullying, peer pressure, body autonomy, and the early crushes/love that occur as children grow into teenagers and start dating. I thought the story was written in a very believable way, and brought back some of the feelings I experienced as a preteen who wasn't super interested in boys while my girlfriends were becoming boy crazy. I very much recommend this book and the Berrybrook Middle School series to younger readers.

Left in the Little Free Library.