A triumphant queer coming-of-age story that will make your heart ache and soar.
A 17-year-old struggles to navigate friendship and finding herself while navigating a toxic relationship.
Biracial (East Asian and white) high schooler Freddy is in love with white Laura Dean. She can’t help it—Laura oozes cool. But while Freddy’s friends are always supportive of her, they can’t understand why she stays with Laura. Laura cheats on Freddy, gaslights and emotionally manipulates her, and fetishizes her. After Laura breaks up with her for a third time, Freddy writes to an advice columnist and, at the recommendation of her best friend Doodle, (reluctantly) sees a psychic who advises her that in order to break out of the cycle of her “non-monogamous swing-your-partner wormhole,” Freddy needs to do the breaking up herself. As she struggles to fall out of love and figure out how to “break up with someone who’s broken up with me,” Freddy slowly begins to be drawn back into Laura’s orbit, challenging her relationships with her friends as she searches for happiness. Tamaki (Supergirl, 2018, etc.) explores the nuances of both romantic and platonic relationships with raw tenderness and honesty. Valero-O’Connell’s (Lumberjanes: Bonus Tracks, 2018, etc.) art is realistic and expressive, bringing the characters to life through dynamic grayscale illustrations featuring highlights of millennial pink. Freddy and her friends live in Berkeley, California, and have a diversity of body shapes, gender expressions, sexualities, and skin tones.
A triumphant queer coming-of-age story that will make your heart ache and soar. (Graphic novel. 14-adult)Pub Date: May 7, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-62672-259-0
Page Count: 304
Publisher: First Second
Review Posted Online: March 6, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2019
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
A romantic romp through the supernatural.
Blackwater, Maine, isn’t an ordinary town, but Eli Hirsch and Tony Price are mostly ordinary boys.
Eli, a trans Jewish boy, is isolated by an autoimmune disease, an overbearing mother, and a standoffish attitude. Popular track star Tony, who is cued as Puerto Rican, fights with his distant father and is watching his childhood best friend turn into a bully. But mysterious things are afoot: Tony is bitten by a werewolf, and Eli is being followed by a ghost. Trying to unravel the werewolf curse, Tony, Eli, and Marcia, Tony’s levelheaded goth friend who reads as Black, investigate, coming across intriguing complications and haunting dangers. The horror elements are playful, spooky, but not too frightening, providing a backdrop that adds to the developing relationship between the boys. Despite some animosity, they accept one another exactly as they are, with no pretenses, as their friendship turns into a mutual crush. There’s a kind earnestness to their connection, particularly Tony’s easygoing support toward Eli’s chronic illness. An exciting element lies in the artwork: The creators illustrate alternate chapters, with Arroyo’s vivid and dynamic lines and more cartoonish style serving action scenes well and Graham’s precise approach highlighting more heartfelt, character-driven moments. The styles blend together seamlessly to make a stronger whole. However, the story, while breezy and enjoyable, feels incomplete, missing details that would make characters and their emotional arcs more complex.
A romantic romp through the supernatural. (Graphic horror. 14-18)Pub Date: July 19, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-250-30402-5
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: April 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2022
A heartwarming, funny story filled with richness and complexity.
Autumn loving, they had a blast; autumn loving, it happened too fast.
Having worked together in the Succotash Hut at the pumpkin patch for years, best friends and co-workers Deja and Josiah, who goes by Josie, ditch work and find love on their last night, heading out in search of Josie’s unrequited love, the girl who works in the Fudge Shoppe. Deja, a witty and outgoing girl who attracts—and is attracted to—boys and girls alike, is set on helping the shy, rule-following Josie move out of his comfort zone before they part ways for college. Deja encourages Josie to take a chance and talk to the girl of his dreams instead of pining for her from afar. Not to be dissuaded by his reticence, Deja leads Josie to multiple stops in the Patch in search of the almost-impossible-to-find Fudge Girl, with every stop taking them in a new direction and providing a new treat. As they journey through the Patch—chasing a snack-stealing rascal, dodging a runaway goat, and snacking their way through treats from fudge to Freeto pie—they explore the boundaries of their friendship. Visually bright and appealing in autumnal reds, oranges, and yellows, the art enhances this endearing picture of teenage love. Deja is a beautiful, plus-sized black girl, and Josie is a handsome, blond white boy.
A heartwarming, funny story filled with richness and complexity. (Graphic fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Aug. 27, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-62672-162-3
Page Count: 224
Publisher: First Second
Review Posted Online: June 17, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2019
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