The Real Riley Mayes

By: Rachel Elliot

In this debut graphic novel from Rachel Elliott, fifth grade gets a lot more complicated for aspiring comics artist Riley Mayes, with lots of friend drama and a growing realization that she like likes girls.

Fifth grade is just not Riley’s vibe.

Everyone else is squaded up—except Riley. Her best friend moved away. All she wants to do is draw, and her grades show it.

One thing that makes her happy is her favorite comedian, Joy Powers. Riley loves to watch her old shows and has memorized her best jokes. So when the class is assigned to write letters to people they admire, of course Riley’s picking Joy Powers!

Things start to look up when a classmate, Cate, offers to help Riley with the letter, and a new kid, Aaron, actually seems to get her weird sense of humor. But when mean girl Whitney spreads a rumor about her, things begin to click into place for Riley. Her curiosity about Aaron’s two dads and her celebrity crush on Joy Powers suddenly make more sense.

Full of humor and heart, this is a story about friendship, identity, and embracing all the parts of yourself that make you special.