Release Date: July 2, 2024
Pizza Face by Rex Ogle and Dave Vazela is a coming-of-age graphic novel about being ready to grow up. The main character, Rex, has a great friend group at school. But when he hears some of the girls from his lunch table talking about how he has a high-pitched girl’s voice. The next day, he wakes up with a giant pimple right in the middle of his face. Immediately, his life starts spiraling into questions of what will other people say? and do they think I’m a freak? He starts to notice that his body is changing more rapidly than ever, and he wants to just grow up already! Rex must navigate the changes he experiences while also becoming more aware of his family’s less-than-amazing financial situation. All the while, Rex deals with changing friend dynamics and fights, including the new boy who thinks he’s the coolest guy in the grade for having 4 girlfriends at once. Ogle and Vazela do an amazing job intertwining themes of growing up with those of friendship and financial status. They also show the support of Rex’s Abuela, who helps him get things like acne cream and deodorant that his mother is unwilling to spend her limited paycheck on. One especially powerful theme that the authors work into the book is that one shouldn’t compare themselves to others, and that comparison only makes you feel worse about yourself.
Rex Ogle and Dave Vazela have co-written another book together, called Four Eyes. Pizza Face is the sequel to Four Eyes, but can also be read as a stand-alone book. Both books document the struggles that a middle schooler can go through in terms of bullying and peer relationships. Both stories are based on the life of Rex Ogle, the author of the book. Critics praise Four Eyes for creating a realistic depiction of the struggles middle school students face.
Pizza Face would be a good graphic novel for anyone interested in a coming-of-age or growing up story. If you enjoy graphic novels about these topics, this would be a good read. If you liked Pizza Face or Four Eyes, check out some of Rex Ogle’s other books, like Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy, Free Lunch, and Northranger.
