Skip!: A Graphic Novel by Sarah Burgess (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Skip!: A Graphic Novel by Sarah Burgess Meg Cornell Burgess, Sarah Skip!: A Graphic Novel; written and illus. by Sarah Burgess. Andrews McMeel, 2023 [256p] Trade ed. ISBN 9781524884543 $22.99 Paper ed. ISBN 9781524877378 $14.99 Reviewed from digital galleys R Gr. 4-6 After getting sidelined by the dance team for their truly sad steps, awkward but affable Jay finally finds their place with Double Dutch team Skip, headed by the charismatic Beah. Beah and Jay make for a compelling odd couple; vivacious Beah is passionately focused on her competitive skipping rope dreams with the athletic ability to match, equally a harbor to and a bit overly intense for her friends. Creative Jay, on the other hand, is skilled in poetry and rhyming but dithers anxiously about their lack of direction, both excelling and over-performing in the support of others. Rival teams, a scorned ex-bestie, and an upcoming competitive jump rope competition loop together to provide knots of dramatic tension, but the narrative's highest lifts come from the intense ups and downs in Beah and Jay's developing relationship. As Beah and Jay weave around another with increasing speed, trying to find the right rhythm, the discrete boundaries between self and other inside an intense first best-friendship are hard won and reliably depicted. The stylish art's frenetic linework zigzags across the page like so many jump ropes, animating characters' bodies and facial expressions in a cartoonish and suitably bouncy style. In a series of dynamic panels, for example, Beah silently processes her feelings over a recent argument with Jay while training: she claps her hands, releases her breath to the sky, then flips onto her palms and back again, her expression at first shining with pride and athletic focus—then remembering the fight, her wholebody bows with inner turmoil. Burgess' hand-drawn lettering adds affect to the reader's experience, enthusiastically populating speech bubbles with authentic teen dialogue. This is, appropriately, not one to be skipped. Copyright © 2023 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois