Mindy Makes Some Space

Everything is going smoothly for Mindy. She gets along really well with her single-parent mother – they are more like friends than daughter and parent. They do many things together and enjoy each other’s company. Plus, after a bit of a rough patch, the PAWS dog walking business is thriving, and the three friends, Mindy, Gabby and Priya, are closer than ever. Then suddenly, things begin to change in Mindy’s world. Her mother has suddenly developed a new relationship with a man named Michael. She spends more and more time with him and talks about him a lot, and Mindy feels left out. On top of that, a new girl, Hazel, comes to school, and it looks to Mindy like Hazel is trying to steal Gabby and Priya from her and worm her way into their dog walking business as well. Mindy becomes hostile, uncooperative, angry, and miserable to everyone around her. Can anything be done to save the friendships, business and relationships?

Mindy Makes Some Space is another wonderful graphic novel for middle school readers, especially girls. The story is sweet and heartwarming, and there are many life lessons learned along the way. It’s lovely that the characters are diverse and come from very different backgrounds and cultures. I love that, within the pages of the story, there is a step-by-step recipe for Gamja Bukkeum, a Korean stir-fried potato dish. Any interested reader can easily make this dish by following the simple instructions and work alongside Mindy as she makes it. What a clever way to include cultural dishes in a story! I’m sure some readers will be eager to make and eat this side dish.

As well, this sequel to Gabby Gets It Together introduces a new character, Hazel, who uses a wheelchair. This adds even more diversity to the story and gives readers a glimpse of life in a wheelchair when Hazel can’t go up the stairs of many houses in order to go trick or treating. It is also noted that Hazel might have trouble walking some of the dogs from her wheelchair. These are real world problems that people in wheelchairs face every day, and they are presented in honest ways in the story. The characters need to problem solve to come up with realistic solutions, and they do just that.

The illustrations in the story are incredible! The colours are light and lovely when things are happy and good in the story. They get darker and change mood as the story does. The illustrations of the characters and their reactions to events are detailed and wonderful to view. All in all, this is a great story and a wonderful addition to graphic novels for middle school students.