NEEDLE & THREAD

Two young artists seize a chance to showcase their talents in the hopes of pursuing their dreams.

High school senior Noah sews and dreams of designing costumes. Already notorious among peers for making his own clothes and costumes for parties, Noah wants to go to art school and perfect his craft, but his parents are opposed. Despite their objections, Noah applies to his dream school along with their approved, traditional universities. One day he bumps into Azarie, a classmate who is the popular lead cheerleader. She secretly nurtures a love of comic books and aspires to be an actress, to the dismay of her strict, status-conscious parents and friends. Azarie ends up proposing that the two of them collaborate to create a cosplay costume she can wear in a contest, thus showing others who they truly are. While working together, they find a wider community of artists, and a friendship grows—but so does others’ animosity toward their bond. The storyline offers a sweet, albeit familiar, narrative. The protagonists’ main conflict—the disapproval of their parents—reads as a not-very-subtle plot device that would have benefited from more development. However, the illustrations bring life to the graphic novel, particularly when it comes to the characters’ sartorial creativity, demonstrating the range of Noah’s talent. Noah is Black; Azarie is White, and background characters are ethnically diverse.

A charming effort with a positive message about being true to oneself.