Review by Frank Plowright

Mia is at an age where everything seems to be changing. Her best friend Addy seems more concerned about hanging out with the popular crew, but better news is the friend she made at science camp is moving to her town. She’ll be able to hang with him, and better still, they’ll surely ace the school science project. Except he also invites two of the weird kids in the class to join them.

Between them writer Beth Fantaskey and artist Oneill Jones guide Mia through a whole range of emotions based on the idea that life never really goes the way it’s planned out. Mia is likeable, and young readers will sympathise with her, but the more astute among them will quickly realise Wires Crossed takes a long time to diverge from a predictable path. It’s a strange flaw as the message provided is to be yourself.

As Mia navigates her school year the art goes a long way to keeping the interest up. It’s simple cartooning, but with great dobs of personality applied to everyone, and it’s also there in the locations. While the streets, houses and classrooms seem plain, there’s actually plenty of thoughtful background detail. It is, however, an antiseptic world.

It’s only in the final third that there’s a slight departure from the predictable path. Everything is told from Mia’s viewpoint, and by then matters have progressed to conform with expectation, although Mia’s grandmother proves a wild card. The fears and misunderstandings suggested by the title carry on until the final few pages when everything is clarified. The cheery art carries Wires Crossed a long way, but never to the point where it’s able to compete with the best of the genre.