The first in a new series featuring 12 year old Birdie, who is a likeable and hugely relatable narrator, this genuinely funny and accessible story explores complex emotional issues with sensitivity.

Birdie is a natural overthinker and is about to become part of a blended family and this change alongside friendship issues causes her increased worry. With her best friend Chloe she adopts ‘the happy list’ to try to cope with anxiety in a positive way. Each day the two girls consult their list of suggested methods ranging from living in the moment to finding three things to be grateful for to drinking more water and cold swimming to increase endorphins. Some of these are harder to carry out successfully than others. The family relationships feel authentic with the loving but exasperated banter between Birdie and her older brother being one good example. The complexities of navigating friendship at this age, with the difficulties magnified by the ‘cool girls’ in the class, are portrayed extremely well and reminded me of my own school days. The concerns over appearance are dealt with kindly and a wise balance to the online perfection young girls now have to deal with today.

The chatty writing style and the humorous illustrations will appeal to lovers of the Wimpy Kid and Dork Diaries series and The Overthinkers Club will no doubt be a popular read for pleasure. However I think that the many positive messages about mental health and self-acceptance are hugely encouraging for readers in this warm and enjoyable story and this adds to the books importance for librarians, teachers and parents. Published by Usborne Books on 12th March and highly recommended. Thank you to the publisher and Jessica Feichtlbauer for my review copy.

If you are looking for books on a similar topic I would recommend Advice From a 12-Year-Old Nobody, by Helen Rutter illustrated by Julia Christians. For children who may like to learn more about how their brain works and discover advice for how to deal with their emotions you may like to try All Brains Are Wonderful by Scott Evans