Fearless by Kenny Porter | Book Review

SYNOPSIS

Fearless is a touching graphic novel about growing up, accepting change, and finding a way to be happy when you miss your best friend.

Kara hoped to spend the summer re-enacting episodes of her favorite TV show, Shinpi Rider, with her best friend Alice. But when Alice moves to a new home two towns over, everything changes. Alice mysteriously stops answering Kara’s phone calls and letters.

In order to reignite their friendship, Kara hatches a brave plan to bike over to Alice’s new school all on her own. After all, “A rider never leaves a friend behind!” Kara’s bravery on the journey proves how strong she is but when Kara finally finds Alice, her bravado fades: Alice has found new friends and has left Kara behind. Can Kara be fearless when she feels so alone?

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REVIEW

I received an advanced copy of Fearless by Kenny Porter through Edelweiss.

Fearless is a quick and easy read that I definitely think many kids will enjoy! I know either of my kids would be drawn to it at a Scholastic book fair. The art style in this is very fun and I really enjoyed the frames of the Shinpi Riders show throughout the story. I definitely had mixed feelings while reading this though.

On the positive side, I definitely think kids will relate to this in the sense of growing up and growing apart from friends. Every kid grows up at a different pace and every kid is different. I think Fearless did a good job of showing this and also the journey kids must take to find common ground with others. I also think it had a good portrayal of the ups and down in a friendship.

On the negative side, as a parent, I had some major issues with Kara’s actions. She made some dangerous choices and there wasn’t anything done about it once her parents found her.

I gave Fearless a 3/5 star rating. I think kids will enjoy it, but I definitely have a few issues with parts of the storyline.

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