The luckiest girl in town must reverse a "curse" that has her messing up all her extracurriculars--and her best friendship--in Serendipity, a delightfully uplifting and funny middle-grade graphic novel by author/illustrator Gabbie Benda (A Family of Readers).
Serendipity, a peachy-skinned middle schooler, does it all. This month, she has the big theater production, a championship basketball game, and the student government debate (she's confident she'll be re-elected president). After winning free tickets to the carnival (lucky seventh caller!), she accidentally breaks a fortune teller machine, which then proclaims, "Bad luck will infect your soul. Eternally." Now, Serendipity is getting Bs, forgetting her lines, and tripping on the basketball court. Determined not to let anyone down, she tries everything to regain her luck (even meeting the school mystic in the janitor's closet). Her best friend, Basil, suggests Serendipity simply has too much on her plate, but being lucky is Serendipity's thing and she refuses to disappoint anyone.
Serendipity is charming in its buoyant realism. The pressure Serendipity feels to be perfect is exacerbated by some ("Just remember, Serendipity, that we're all counting on you!") and balanced by others ("Sometimes... an assist is just as good as making the basket yourself"). Benda also highlights the experience of Serendipity's friends, ultimately depicting the importance of cooperating with and uplifting others. A pink-centric palette brightens the visual tone, thick broken outlines create a sense of movement, and a feeling of constant activity is developed by text and characters breaking out of their panels. Expressive characters (Basil's deadpan deliveries, Serendipity's dramatics) and applause-worthy visual comedy bring wholehearted humor to an absolute gem of a debut. --Samantha Zaboski, freelance editor and reviewer