Allergic by Megan Wagner Lloyd

All Maggie wants is a pet, but finds out that she’s severely allergic to anything with fur. With two little brothers and a baby on the way, Maggie is afraid she’ll always feel like the odd man out. Can she find a pet that will work for her?

Ages: 8-12

This graphic novel plays out what would be so many children’s “worst nightmare”: being allergic to pets. Maggie feels like an outsider in her family, but we come to learn it’s because she feels like her parents have each other (and are distracted with the baby coming) and her brothers have each other. This is a pretty lighthearted read, and when Maggie makes a bad choice we usually see the repercussions from that. It definitely doesn’t condone the behaviors listed below, as we see how Maggie suffers because of them and tries to make them right. It’s a pretty “pro-children” book as although Maggie isn’t excited about the new baby or having two brothers, but her friend who is an only child points out how fun they are and how lucky she is to have siblings.

While much of the book is cute, my major concern was the overall tone. Generally, Maggie comes off as pretty sassy, although she usually sees her error. There is one weird scene at the end where Maggie holds her new sister and envisions she is holding a puppy to make herself more comfortable with the baby. While I’m not going to be shouting off the roof tops that anyone should read this, I did let my 10-year-old read it and she enjoyed it. This gets a solid “meh” from me.

Language:

There is one use of “omigosh.”

Maggie calls her brothers annoying.

Maggie calls her brother a traitor for telling a secret.

Questionable Behaviors:

Maggie purchases a mouse and keeps it in her room, all without the knowledge of her parents.

Maggie’s brothers jokingly ask her if she’s crabby because she’s started puberty.

Other things to note:

Maggie’s mom does doing yoga through the first couple pages.

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