Graphic Novel Review: Allergic by Megan Wagner Lloyd and Michelle Mee Nutter

Posted on May 18, 2021 at 6:49 am by Gene Ambaum

Allergic by Megan Wagner Lloyd and Michelle Mee Nutter. Scholastic Graphix, 2021. 9781338568905. 240pp.

Maggie is about to get a dog for her tenth birthday, but then she has a severe allergic reaction. She goes to the doctor and finds out she’s allergic to anything with fur or feathers. She comes up with a list of alternate pet possibilities (none of those work out), and then, because of her, the class pet at her new school has to go. She worries everyone is going to hate her, but makes a new friend, Claire, a sixth grader who just moved in next door. (Everything is great between them until Claire gets a dog, and then it isn’t… at least for a while.) Adding to the mix Maggie’s two younger twin brothers, a new baby sibling that’s about to arrive, and the secret pet Maggies decides to keep in her room for a while, makes for a realistic, light-hearted story about friendship and family.

This graphic novel deserves the comparisons I’ve seen to Telgemeier’s books and all the praise it’s getting. But the testing scene took me right back to my allergy doctor’s office and all the itchy welts I had to endure during my testing. Maggie’s allergy doctor gives her a clear explanation of her condition, which I wish I’d had back in the day.