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Long Distance, a graphic novel by Whitney Gardner, tells the quintessential story of moving away from home and having to face the challenges of making new friends in a new place. But the story does manage to have an unexpected twist that keeps it fresh, I won’t spoil it here so you’ll have to read it to find out.
Vega must move from her hometown of Portland to Seattle for one of her dad’s new job. She leaves her best friend behind and everything she knows. To encourage her to make new friends, her dads sign her up for a summer camp. Of course, Vega is resistant, insisting that she already has a best friend and why should she make a new one? But go to camp she must. To prepare for camp Vega researches online “how to make friends” and comes across a list of tips and each chapter is structured around that list, helping to move the plot along.
The story is set largely at the camp where Vega meets several campers who are also having a hard time making friends. Weird things keep happening at the camp and one of the boys is acting very strangely. The plot thickens at camp and this group of kids who have all had a hard time fitting in must work together as a team to come to a resolution and to make it home safely.
Vega is a very relatable character. Making friends at any age is hard, as demonstrated by Vega’s challenge to one of her dads that he has not made any friends recently either. This can be a heart wrenching and intimidating issue at any age. While Vega is resistant to the idea of branching out, as are most of the characters, when she begins to open up, she finds a truly unique group of friends. She also discovers that being friends over a long distance isn’t impossible, it just requires a little more effort.
The graphics are colorful and interesting, and the dialog is clearly laid out and easy to follow along. This is particularly helpful because one of the kids at camp has a lot to say! The book is sizable in length, over three hundred pages, making it a solid read for upper elementary school and middle schoolers.
Overall this was very well written. There are a few instances where the plot smooths over rather more quickly than an adult reader would find plausible, but this is unlikely to bother most younger readers. This would be a great read for anyone who enjoyed Making Friends or New Kid.
Thank you NetGalley for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
