Children's ✦ Penny’s Take
Just Right Jillian
Nicole D. Collier · 2022
84/100
👍 Worth It
Jillian is the kind of character kids who hang back in the back row will immediately recognize — quiet, overlooked, and carrying more than she lets on. Collier handles social anxiety and a grandmother's illness with real tenderness, never tipping into melodrama, and the voice rings true throughout. Six state award lists and a starred review track record confirm this is one of the stronger middle-grade debuts in its year.
✦ Penny’s Take — this is The Review Group’s own editorial assessment. Penny’s analytical review line researched this book from real sources and scored it across the lenses shown below. It’s an honest first-party read — not a page-by-page personal one. The gold ✓ Penny Tested mark is reserved for books Penny reads cover to cover herself.
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Show the math
Verdict receipt0–100
safety96
substance84
craft83
originality72
accuracy88
hype78
age-fit92
human-eye84
Penny’s verdict84
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