Cici's Journal: Lost and Found

July 1, 2021

Gr 4-7-Chamblain picks up the story of aspiring writer Cici, who was introduced in Cici's Journal: The Adventures of a Writer-in-Training. Each chapter contains a quiet and thoughtful story wrapped around a mystery; as each mystery is solved, the characters grow a little more. Cici, her friends, and her mother untangle the story of a young bookbinder's missing memories and a riddle hidden in an old mansion. Children need not have read the first installment to enjoy this one, but those who have will appreciate how much Cici evolves. In this volume, Cici has learned to be a better friend and daughter, and she finds that working with others rather than hiding the truth from them will help her solve mysteries and also lessen some of her anxiety. The format, a mix of journal and scrapbook, combined with Neyret's ethereal and luminous artwork, will draw in even the most reluctant readers. Cici and her family are white. VERDICT The tales of this intrepid middle schooler will inspire readers who love graphic novels, mysteries, heartfelt stories, and characters who pull at the heartstrings.-Andrea Lipinski, New York P.L., New York City

Copyright 2021 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2021
A 12-year-old aspiring writer seeks answers in this graphic mystery from France. In this sequel to Cici's Journal (2021), readers become reacquainted with a slightly older but still winsome and intrepid Cici. Now in middle school, Cici lives in a small village with her single mother. Cici wants to be a writer when she grows up, and her journal becomes not only integral to that pursuit, but also a vehicle for opening communication with her mother following a painful rift. While the mysteries Cici encounters--a highly personal scavenger hunt, a mansion with a hidden secret--are powerful page-turners, this book is really about history, trauma, reconciliation, and the deeply interconnected lives of the people in Cici's orbit. Readers see Cici's inquisitiveness grow, driving her to take on bigger and more mature subjects, including lost love, parental death, traumatic memory loss, hidden pain, and boundaries. The self-conscious whimsy of the text and luminous beauty of the art contrast with some of the heavier topics. The series' signature style continues to be a triumph, as the book-within-a-book feature is much expanded in this volume to include diagrams, asides from Cici, doodles, notes, and even recipes. Cici and most other characters are White; one of her closest friends comes from a Black family that has a recurring presence in the story. Movingly shows how human life contains more mysteries than any hidden room or secret code. (Graphic mystery. 10-13)

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