Steph isn’t good at math or science but she loves her Catholic middle school art class. With high school next year, it’s expected that Steph will attend one of the private schools (Ma won’t let her go to public schools) but art teacher Ms. Santiago plants the seed of attending LaGuardia, an arts school that is public. Steph would love to go there but preparing her portfolio means lying to Ma. Steph lives in dread of crossing her very strict mother. There’s an authentic sense and portrayal of private school life in the Bronx, the kids who live there, the storefronts, the street scenes, the drama of middle school friendships. The strictness of the immigrant mom will resonate with readers in similar family structures. ( )

Young second generation girl who wants to be an artist, but her mother wants her to focus on school and definitely doesn't want her to go to public school. A series of fibs set's Steph up for some problems as she goes behind her mother's back to apply to art school

Semi-auto-biographical. Good choice if looking for a different title -- fans of graphic novels about friends and coming or age. I don't remember seeing an explanation of why it's called Boogie Down. Didn't know this is a nickname for the Bronx (birthplace of hip-hop). ( )

Very cute with some middle-school friend drama. Heavily inspired by the author's life. The story focuses on the point where a person, young Steph in this case, decides whether to pursue art or keep it as a hobby and add on top of that immigrant parent's expectations. ( )

I almost liked this middle school graphic novel about an 8th grader who tries to go around her mother to get into the public high school with the cool art program, but it was so slow and predictable that I started to get bored and then allowed myself to get distracted by the way the artist draws big toothy mouths (like the one on the cover) and slowly grew to hate those stylized choppers, especially when there are just three of them, like people don't have four front teeth, and like bottom teeth don't exist! ( )

Doodles from the Boogie Down by Stephanie Rodriguez is a sweet middle grade graphic novel inspired by the life of the author. Steph is ready to do anything to realize her dream of entering LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, even lying to her mom and teacher, which causes a few problems. Doodles from the Boogie Down is a story about finding your true passion, and discovering that art can be found in the most unexpected places. I loved the 90s atmosphere of this graphic novel ! The art is really fun and the heroine is sweet and touching ! ( )