A seventh grader begins a nature journal as a way to connect with her dead mother and ground herself after a cross-country move in Winging It, a warmhearted and tender graphic novel from Allergic duo Megan Wagner Lloyd and Michelle Mee Nutter.
Newly relocated multi-racial Luna is isolated in her Virginia home until a younger neighbor asks Luna to help her be a detective. Inspired by one of the only things she knows about her dead mother (that "she loved nature" and kept journals), Luna suggests they become "nature detectives" and start their own nature journal. Looking closely at the natural world unlocks a love of plants and animals in air conditioning-loving Luna, and soon she sets a goal to see the Luna moth for which she is named. As the months pass and the chaos of the real world--storms, injuries, and pure luck--interferes with her plans, Luna's determination doesn't flag but she fears she may not get her wish.
Lloyd and Nutter create a heartfelt exploration of nature and familial connection in Winging It. The narrative realistically and charmingly blends modern technology with a fondness for a material style of exploration: Luna has the freedom to wander without supervision but also uses her phone to take pictures she prints and adds to the journal. A jewel-toned palette allows Nutter to create an entertaining cartoon world with strong linework and exaggerated facial expressions while allowing for elegant, detailed depictions of plants and animals in close-ups of Luna's nature journal.
Winging It will likely set the hearts of young nature-loving readers and readers who love a slice-of-life graphic novel aflutter. --Nicole Brinkley, bookseller and writer