Crush (Berrybrook Middle School Book 3) Kindle & comiXology

This is the third book in the "Berrybrook Middle School" series, after "Awkward" and "Brave". I wasn't familiar with those books, but looked at some of their reviews and blurbs before reading "Crush". The reviews are wildly favorable, (there are hundreds just on the Amazon site), and the fans are pretty intense. "Awkward" has over 19,000 ratings and almost 1,500 reviews on Goodreads, and I'm not sure I've ever seen a book with that many ratings that averaged over four stars. So, I was intrigued by this chance to read "Crush", even though a middle school story about crushes and dating didn't seem to promise all that much. Well, now I've read it and now I get it. This book was an unalloyed delight.So, what distinguishes this book? Well, first and foremost, the book is, from page to page and even from panel to panel, consistently authentic. There is not a single odd tone or false note, even though there are at least a dozen different developed characters and at least a half dozen running themes and sub-plots. None of it is phony or exaggerated or overcooked. Each kid feels real and the situations and their resolutions are realistic and relatable. Usually you expect at least one or two threads to wander off into the fictional underbrush, but everything here is tight and crisp and under control.On top of that the characters are remarkably appealing. Big, sweet, quiet Jorge is the central heroic character and he carries the story and all of its spinoffs with ease. The female leads are strong and independent and stand up quite well on their own. Everyone else feels real, (teachers feel like the teachers I remember), and even passing and cameo characters are convincing. It was a stroke of genius to have not mean girls, but mean boys, as the villains and showing us frat boy peer pressure is a refreshing and instructive change of pace.The book has a subtle generosity and good humor that is reflected in the artwork, storytelling, the characters and the dialogue. While there is drama and conflict, there is a fundamental sense of decency and fairness underlying all of the action. I'm all for realistic middle grade fiction, but sometimes a lighter touch is effective. You know that old line to the effect that tragedy begins well but ends badly and comedy begins with a complication but ends well? This is a comedy.In this vein, it seems to me that the only unrealistic aspect of the book is, in a way, another of its strengths. Everything turns out just right, with each character ending up exactly where he or she deserves to be and with or without exactly what he or she deserves. Would that the world worked that way, but for a middle grade social novel I have no objection to happy, or at least deserved, endings. The other thing going on is that I had to keep reminding myself that these were middleschoolers. Everyone is way too consistently aware, insightful and articulate for that to be the case, but again, having young characters who are wiser than expected is not something I'd complain about.The upshot is that this was often amusing, frequently touching, and consistently appealing. An excellent find.(Please note that I received a free advance will-self-destruct-in-x-days Adobe Digital copy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)