Author: Dan Santat
Illustrator: Dan Santat
© Date: 2023
Publisher: First Second
Pages: 309
Chapters: Yes
Illustrations: Yes, graphic novel
Publisher Recommended Age: 10-14 years
Bonus Activities at End of Book: Not really, but there is an author’s note to help a modern day kid understand his trip and lack of technology along with information and photos from his real life trip
Summary from Book: Dan is used to feeling invisible.
After being bullied in middle school, Dan has low expectations about everything, including the class trip to Europe with the same girls who love to make fun of him.
But during his travels, a series of firsts begin to change him—first Fanta, first fondue, and maybe even…first girlfriend?
Funny, heartfelt, and embarrassingly true, this graphic novel memoir is based on Caldecott Medal Winner Dan Santat’s most awkward middle school memories.
Note: This review is done from memory. I originally read this a short bit ago.
Page Pig Thoughts: This one was a sweet story of finding yourself. I loved following the adventures of kind-hearted Dan as he adventured around Europe and found confidence in himself. True to the time era of the story, the kids are minimally supervised as they travel around. Dan makes a few mistakes on his trip, like mistakenly blowing his food budget on a bread basket, but his willingness to try things means that he discovers new joys. He found a love for Fanta, and a passion for a particular girl. While the details of the story were changed slightly to make a readable story, this story highlights a time in life that may be awkward but still have room for some amazing bits.
While I loved this one, Page Pup was not enamored with it. Page Pup rated it a “meh.” I wasn’t sure how a younger person would feel about the story, but I thought that kids exploring to their hearts’ content would still be enjoyable. Apparently not. Maybe this one relates better to a kid of approximately the same age as the main character.
Maybe use caution with a younger or sensitive reader, skim the Items of Interest below. The scene of Dan escaping punk rockers could be a little scary. Maybe a teenager trying new things, like smoking, may not be good for a younger age reader.
Family Unit: Dan lives with his mother and father, but is on a trip with a few other kids from his school along with a few others his age.
Conflict/Social Issues:
- Dan has not traveled much, so he is not sure that he wants to travel around Europe with girls that usually give him a bad time.
- Dan is constantly challenged by bad memories of things that have happened in his life and needing to decide if he should try something again.
- Dan is a teenager, so he is concerned about the opinion of his peers.
Positive Items:
- Dan is able to stay true to his kind heart.
- Dan is able to find a sense of adventure and willingness to try to new things.
- Dan is able to enjoy his time with Amy while it lasts.
Items of Interest:
- The start of the book has a blip about Dan’s mom having lupus, so she was usually exhausted. Dan helped her with errands. They didn’t travel much because she was hospitalized a few times.
- Middle school was hard for Dan, he survived by being invisible.
- At a school assembly, a teacher makes Dan recite his competition speech. He is incredibly embarrassed and nearly wets himself, and yes, the other kids make fun of him.
- Dan’s friends convince him to go to a party at someone’s house where the parents are out of town. As they are arriving, kids are fleeing the scene of the party because the cops arrived.
- Dan is pushed to kiss a girl for the first time. He accidentally kisses her on the ear. Yes, the other kids make fun of him.
- A girl on the trip sleep walks and Dan helps her back to her room.
- Dan tries beer in Germany 3 months before he is legally old enough. He finds the taste gross.
- A drunken man stumbles out of the beer house to vomit in the street, the splatter happens to get all over Dan.
- Two french girls are smoking. One is smoking because it is cool, the other smokes because her parents and sisters smoke and she is now addicted.
- Dan tries smoking and finds it gross.
- After walking Amy home after a discotheque, Dan gets lost in Salzburg. He winds up stealing a bicycle and evading a group of punk rock dudes before finding his way back to where he was staying.
- Dan and Amy have a crush on each other for basically the whole trip. Near the end, Dan realizes that it is just a fleeting thing because they are about to go to their own homes across the country from each other. He tells Amy that maybe they shouldn’t spend much time together, Amy is heartbroken. Then Dan realizes that he is lucky that he found something so amazing and he should enjoy it while it lasts.
- Dan sneaks into Wimbledon with Amy. After a rain delay they happen to be sitting in seats that someone didn’t return to.
- Dan and Amy hold hands and chat freely most of the book, but they do kiss at Wimbledon. Then they kiss again when they are saying goodbye.