A very easy read graphic novel. I enjoyed this because when I first read this, I didn't know that the little girl had any problems but then as I read more of the book, her problem was her brother. Her brother had made some bad choices and that really effected her. She got sent to her grandpa's retirement home and spent the summer there. She also made a friend who got her into comics. All in all this book was good and a quick, easy read.

Sunny Side Up by Jennifer L. Holm and illustrated by Matthew Holm is a graphic novel with a very interesting story to it. The entire book takes you back and forth between the past and present. The further you get into the novel, you realize the real reason Sunny is spending her summer bored has to do with family issues back at home. Sunny carries around guilt for hiding her brother's poor habits from her parents while acting as if she does not know about her grandfather's poor habits.

Sunny finds a young friend in a retirement home filled with old people and they bond over comic books and superheroes. They search for cats and missing elderly people. The illustrations change from dark colors when her brother Dale is experiencing substance issues to bright colors when Sunny is having fun with her friend Buzz.

Sunny starts the summer off rocky, but ends it with a new friend, a realization that her brother's issues are not her fault, and a grandfather who no longer smokes. This would be a great book for 4th graders as it contains some more mature content to understand.

Really well done.

Sunny's dreams of the beach and the boardwalk for summer are changed when she has to go spend her vacation in her grandfather's 55+ community in Florida. Flashbacks show just what happened to cause the change, while the toll of keeping secrets is discussed. The fact that it takes place in the 1970's is a fun element, with enough retro and nostalgia to get kids giggling but without being too distracting.

For fans of Rania Telgemeier, El Deafo, and the Holms.

Great story that deals honestly with the challenges of family members with substance abuse issues. And a love for comics, and being the only kid visiting a retirement condo association in Florida. I know Raina's readers will love this one.

The dates and change of setting confused me, but I understood it by the end. I like the message, and I like the fact they left her brother’s issues unknown, really. It could have been a multitude of things, and that’s why it’s good for kids, I believe. I’ll probably be getting this one for our class.

An obvious choice for fans of Raina Telgemeier's graphic novels.

Deals with some heavy topics (substance abuse in families), but does so in a tactful way that should not be overwhelming for kids. Includes author's note in back encouraging kids to not be afraid to share this information and seek help.

I especially liked Sunny's growing interest in comic books, and the full-page spreads describing the various superheroes she reads about. Very cute.

3.5 stars. A good story whose mysteries unravel gradually through a series of flashbacks. Sunny, aged 10, is packed off to spend the summer with her grandpa in Florida, which should be fun--it's near Disneyland!--except it turns out Grandpa lives in a retirement community. Full of old people. Whose idea of fun is a trip to the post office. She eventually finds another kid, and they have fun adventures dodging the golf-course alligator and earning comic-book money catching lost cats; but the reason for Sunny's solo vacation gnaws at her--something to do with her teen brother, who at first was her fun brother, until he changed...and Sunny blames herself for something that happened last month.
This is both an everyday summer-adventure story and a touching story about the impact of one family member's substance abuse on the rest of the family, especially on younger kids who can't fully understand what's going on or how it's not their fault. Substance abuse is alluded to but never glamorized (Sunny occasionally glimpses Dale furtively smoking or carrying alcohol, no graphic 'using', and always with the backdrop of Sunny's anxiety sensing something is not right). Sunny's eventual opening up and coming to terms with what happened, with help from her comic books and her grandpa, is poignant and touching, leading to a hopeful ending.
Recommended for middle-school aged readers who like realistic stories.