Awkward

Overview

Svetlana Chmakova's graphic novel follows Peppi Torres through the treacherous first days at a new school, where she operates by two simple survival rules: stay off the radar of unkind classmates, and find a group of people who share her interests. Both rules collapse almost immediately. A collision in the hallway with a shy classmate named Jaime brands her, in the eyes of the school's gossip mill, as the girlfriend of "the nerder," and her panicked response — shoving him and fleeing — leaves her carrying a guilt she can't quite shake.

Seeking cover, Peppi throws herself into the art club, finding the camaraderie she'd hoped for. But the relief is short-lived: Jaime turns out to belong to the school's science club, a group locked in long-running rivalry with the artists. As the conflict between the two clubs escalates, Peppi is forced to reconcile her embarrassment, her loyalty to her new friends, and her nagging sense that she owes Jaime better.

Told through Chmakova's expressive black-and-white illustrations, the story moves briskly between comedy and quieter moments of self-doubt, capturing the particular chaos of middle school social life.

Navigating Belonging and Self-Image

Beneath its comic surface, the book is preoccupied with the instinct to categorize — clubs, cliques, "us" and "them" — and the way middle schoolers use those categories as armor against a social world that feels unpredictable and high-stakes. Peppi's rules for surviving school are really rules for avoiding vulnerability, and the plot systematically dismantles them, showing how her attempts to protect herself end up causing the very harm she feared.

The art-versus-science club rivalry functions as a stand-in for the broader tribalism kids navigate at that age, where identity gets bound up in group membership. Chmakova is less interested in resolving that rivalry neatly than in showing Peppi learn to see Jaime as a person rather than a symbol of her own embarrassment. The book sits within a broader wave of middle-grade graphic novels that use humor and accessible art to address social anxiety, guilt, and the work of making amends — themes that have made it a frequently recommended title for classroom and library shelves aimed at readers transitioning out of elementary school.

Why Awkward Has Been Challenged

Objections to the book have generally centered on its treatment of school social dynamics and conflict, including a physical altercation between characters, rather than on explicit content. Critics have sometimes grouped it with broader concerns about graphic novels and comics-format books in school libraries, questioning whether the format and reading level match the maturity of the material or the intended audience. The book has been challenged or restricted in 1 state and 1 school district tracked in this catalog, reflecting the more localized and isolated nature of the objections it has drawn compared to more heavily challenged titles.