Allergic is the story of a little girl’s quest to find the perfect pet. The only problem is she’s allergic to all the pets she’d like to adopt. This graphic novel has heartwarming moments and loving pictures of family and friend relationships. The art style is simple, yet it enhances the story by conveying the author’s meaning expressively. Young readers will enjoy the pictures, especially funny situations added in the background, which serve to place the story in the context of real life in a family where others besides the main character also have lives. However, this book doesn’t have much else that will make it appealing to children. The book focusses heavily on the main character’s angst about not having a pet, the family relationships she wants, the friends she wants, and therefore turns what the cover seems to promise is a lighthearted and fun book into a story that drags. This book does provide a look into how anyone, and particularly a child, can overcome their disappointments and that perseverance sometimes leads to an even better outcome than the disappointed dreamer is looking for. These are good lessons, and the book might be a good one, particularly for young readers struggling with things like disappointment or who specifically are having trouble dealing with allergies that prevent them from doing what they would like. However, overall, I don’t think the average middle grade reader would enjoy it.

Review of an Advanced Reading Copy provided by the Publisher

Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language:  None

Violence/Gore:  A character finds a pet dead of natural causes.

Sex/Nudity:  None

Mature Subject Matter:

Death (pet, this is a brief scene that fills only a couple of panels of pictures); physical disability (severe allergies).

Alcohol / Drug Use:

None