Band Nerd

A music student navigates competing school pressures alongside a parent’s addiction in this hard-hitting double graphic novel debut from Clawson Willis and Cormarie. As Lucy Carver, a flautist and avid baker, starts seventh grade at an arts school across town, the strain of demanding academics and fierce competition begin to weigh heavily on her. Emotionally charged scenes show Lucy’s ardent desire to make first chair and internalized fears about not being “good enough” for the new school compounded, at home, by her father’s alcohol reliance and her parents’ intensifying arguments. When her father twice enters rehab, her grades take a nosedive, and a burn from baking sidelines her flute-playing, Lucy feels increasingly desperate to move from second chair to first. Minimally detailed, figure-focused cartooning depicts Lucy’s family and home life. Though a closing reconciliation feels abruptly paced, uplifting moments of friendship and encouragement—especially involving Lucy’s relationships with teachers and peers—offer emotional depth while balancing serious themes and straightforwardly presented difficulties throughout this sincere look at a student pursuing her dreams amid life’s turmoil. Most protagonists present as white. An author’s note concludes. Ages 8–12. Author’s agent: Sara Crowe, Pippin Properties. Illustrator’s agent: Maria Vicente, P.S. Literary. (Apr.)