Sidekick Short Review: The Flip Side (2025) by Jason Walz

cover image of The Flipside by Jason Walz, published by Rocky Pond Books, 2025.

The Basics

Page Length: 304

Grade Reading Level: 7+

Target Audience Age: 12-18+

Goodreads Score: 3.96 out of 5

Buy it HERE

Setting: Contemporary town turned into an upside-down alternate reality called "The Flip Side"

Genre: Young Adult Graphic Novel, Science Fiction, Paranormal

Topics: Death, Grief, Depression, Friendship, Anxiety, Monsters, Healing, Loneliness, Fear, Resilience

Plot: Theo's best friend, Evan, has just died from cancer. The loss is devastating, and Theo can't stop replaying their final conversation in his mind—a disagreement about how their stop-motion movie project was supposed to end. Instead of a meaningful goodbye, their last moments together were spent arguing, leaving Theo with regrets he can't seem to let go of.

As he struggles to cope with Evan's death, Theo finds himself sinking deeper into grief. Hoping to find some sense of closure at the funeral, he instead faces anger and rejection, leaving him feeling more alone than ever. Then, without warning, his world suddenly flips upside down.

He becomes trapped in the Flip Side, a twisted alternate dimension filled with shape-shifting monsters that prey on their victims' fears, negative thoughts, and grief. But Theo isn't the only one stuck there. With the help of a girl named Emma, he learns how to block the monsters from invading his mind—and eventually how to fight back.

As Theo searches for a way home, he must confront the pain he's been trying to avoid. Will he find the courage to face his grief and honor Evan's memory? Will he be able to save Emma from the monsters that haunt her? And will he take the leap of faith needed to return to the real world?

You might like this book if you like:

• Comics and graphic novels

• Drawing characters and monsters/digital art and illustration

• Horror/supernatural movies and shows

• Books like: A Monster Calls, Small Spaces, Nimona, Sheets, Snapdragon, Ghosts

• Shows like: Stranger Things, Locke and Key, Infinity Train, Over the Garden Wall, Gravity Falls

• Movies like: Coraline, Spirited Away, A Monster Calls, Bridge to Terabithia

  
  

Other books written by this author: Last Pick (series), Homesick, A Story for Desmond

Teaching The Flipside in Class

Content

• Language: Some mature language, but not much

• Sex/Romance: There are allusions that the two main characters may have feelings for each other. Also contains some innuendo.

• Violence/Scariness: This book contains lots of death, and grief. There are big discussions about mental health, depression, and suicidal thoughts. There are "grief monsters" who chase and try to consume the main characters. Some minor characters fall victim to them.

• Drinking/Smoking/Drugs: Not really. A sick teenager is on lots of medication. Mention of taking medication to combat mental health issues

Book Talk Read Aloud Section

*What is a book talk? (Watch a how to video here. Read my blog post here)

If you have the physical book, read 1-22. Since its a graphic novel, I would display it up on the board for the whole class to see. If you need a shorter section, read 1-10.

If you don't, read the same pages in the reading sample here.

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Used this book in your classroom? Tell us how in the comments!

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