Besties, Find Their Groove

Sixth-graders Beth and Chanda want to look special for their first middle-school dance. It’s a fund-raiser for the Theatre Department, and the girl who thought up the theme for the fun-raiser tells Beth and Chanda, The idea is that everyone comes dressed up all fancy in their favorite color. A sign advertising the dance says it’s the “True Colors Fun-Raiser Dance,” with Dress to Express in a bubble on the bottom. When Beth realizes none of her dresses fit anymore, her older sister, Lisa, who says she’s never worn a dress in her life, drives Beth and Chanda to the mall.

Dress shopping doesn’t go well for Beth. Later, Beth admits to Lisa that “lately…everything’s been telling” her she should feel bad about her size. Lisa replies, amongst other things, that “The only thing that needs to change is a society that would convince the world’s cutest 12-year-old to feel bad about herself for even a second….If you love yourself, you’re off to a good start.” Chanda solves Beth’s dress problem by suggesting Beth’s mom may have a dress from her youth that will work. Clothes aren’t a big problem for slim and fashionable Chanda, but she believes she must have a date for the dance if she’s to be perfect like her older sister.

All the boys Chanda asks to go with her say ‘no’, and, when a boy asks Beth to be his date, Chanda has a melt-down. That’s when her sister points out that her own priorities had been mixed up, and the boys who accompanied her to dances weren’t as important as her girlfriends. At the Fun-Raiser, a big sign tacked to the wall says, “SHOW YOUR TRUE COLORS.” A boy whose company Chanda has been enjoying for a few minutes asks if she’d like to have the first slow dance with him. Then, Ava, a cheerleader Chanda likes, asks her for the same dance. Chanda chooses to dance with Ava when the boy who’d asked her says, “I was mostly bluffing with the offer anyway…Crowds…slow dancing…Not really my strengths.”

Slow dancing together, Chanda tells Ava, “You look great, by the way.” Ava replies, “Thanks! And you look…WOW! But I wouldn’t expect anything else from you.” When Chanda looks away with a little smile, Ava asks, “Why so quiet? Is something wrong?” Chanda replies, “No…I’m just enjoying a perfect moment.” Both Chanda and Beth have a fun-filled time at the dance.

Besties, Find Their Groove is the second in this colourful, vibrant, fast-moving graphic novel series starring Beth and Chanda. Like the first in the series, Besties, Work It Out (www.cmreviews.ca/node/2802), Besties, Find Their Groove feels agenda driven. While the plot is not entirely predictable and all of the creators’ messages are worthy, this reader felt as though she was being hit over the head with one of the main ones (body image), while another (gender identity) was presented so subtly that it felt almost like subterfuge – which may be the case, since – while the illustrator is Canadian – the writers and publisher are American, and possibly this issue is more contentious south of the border.