Book Review: Babymouse: Lights, Camera, Middle School! by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm

Lights, Camera, Middle School! by Jennifer L. Holm
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
Release Date: July 4, 2017
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Publisher’s Description:

It’s a new kind of book for Babymouse! Fans of Dork Diaries, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and James Patterson’s Middle School books, this is going to be epic. . . .
 
For Babymouse, middle school is like a monster movie. You can never be sure who’s a friend and who’s an enemy, and the halls are filled with mean-girl zombies. Instead of brains, the zombies hunger for stuff—the perfect wedge sandals or the right shade of sparkly lip gloss—and they expect everyone to be just like them.
 
But Babymouse doesn’t want to fit in—she wants to stand out! So she joins the film club to write and direct a sweeping cinematic epic. Will making the film of her dreams turn into a nightmare?

I haven’t read the original Babymouse series but from what I understand, they are purely graphic novels and meant for younger kids. This new Babymouse series follows the Diary of a Wimpy Kid format, with a mix of text and graphics. I found some of the drawings hard to understand – the lines were too think so I couldn’t make out all of the details. However, I was still able to follow the story.

Babymouse joins her middle school’s film club because she wants to make a sweeping epic movie. She may be a little too zealous in her role as director. Will her team stick by her even though she is too demanding and bossy at times?

This was a cute little story with a good message but I don’t think it is at the middle school reading level. Even though it’s set in a middle school, I would classify it as a middle grade book for 3rd and 4th graders and recommend it for them.

(I received a complimentary copy of this book for review.)