Review by Ian Keogh

As well as being the series title, PAWS is the name of the dog walking business founded by Gabby, Mindy and Priya in Gabby Gets it Together. While introducing all three girls very effectively, almost every scene was Gabby’s viewpoint or thoughts. For this sequel Michele Assarasakorn switches to Mindy’s point of view, although not exclusively.

Mindy lives with her mother in an apartment block where pets aren’t allowed, and Assarasakorn implies that there’s not a lot of spare money in the household while also heading deeper into Mindy’s Korean heritage and family traditions. This is to the extent of two pages showing how gamja bokkeum is made. If you think fried potatoes are tasty, this variation is worth trying. With artist Nathan Fairburn being so good at conveying feeling, Assarasakorn can spend time showing Mindy and her mother Sunny just hanging out, a scene that culminates with them meeting Michael, who becomes her mother’s new boyfriend.

The cover shows newcomer Hazel, who’s also keen to join PAWS, and combined with her mother now no longer exclusively spending spare time with her, Mindy’s feelings of being squeezed out and isolated are the theme throughout. Fairburn draws a great grumpy Mindy, which may compensate for there being far fewer of his cute dog illustrations than last time, while Assarasakorn writes Mindy extremely well. There’s an understanding of why she feels neglected on all counts, yet her behaviour is unkind and unpleasant, hurting those around her to the point of alienating them. There are graphic novels aimed at adults dealing with similar themes that don’t handle the issues as well as this, especially a ten page conversation between Mindy and her mother when things come to a head.

Will it reach the point where her friends are so sick of Mindy’s behaviour that they’ll no longer want to see her? It’s testament to Assaraskorn’s skill that there’s very little way of knowing for younger readers. Perhaps the smarter will think to check the cover of the next volume, Priya Puts Herself First and notice Mindy is missing. What can it mean?

There may be some disappointment about Mindy Makes Some Space featuring fewer dogs, but as a story about friendship and life kicking in surprises this is first rate.