Cheer Up! is an adorable graphic centred around friendships, gender and identity and self-acceptance.
When angry Annie joins the cheerleading squad to Cheer Up! is an adorable graphic centred around friendships, gender and identity and self-acceptance.
When angry Annie joins the cheerleading squad to make her college applications look more desirable, almost no one is happy about it - including her. The only person on the squad willing to give Annie a chance is her former friend, Bebe, a trans girl and all-round people pleaser.
I loved watching Bebe teach Annie to be more soft and vulnerable while Annie helps Bebe to stand up for herself. It was a really sweet dynamic. We do have the beginning of a romance between these two characters but it was a definite sub-plot, with their friendship taking up more space in the book. There's also a lot of conversation in here about what it means to be an ally.
I loved how diverse the cast was, even at the most basic visual level, we have a cheerleading team with girls of all sizes and body shapes. It was so positive to see.
There were times when the writing made me feel a little lost, as though this was a sequel and I had missed the first book (I actually stopped reading midway to check if this was the case). This is the only reason that I can't give it five stars as I thoroughly enjoyed every other aspect and hope for more graphic novels with these characters!
Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to review this graphic novel.
Recommend if you enjoy: - light contemporaries that touch on deeper topics - learning to accept yourself - diverse cast of characters - female/female romance - Heartstopper, The Avant-Guards or Check, Please! ...more
Camouflage is a beautifully illustrated introduction to autism and how it differs in women.
While I was hoping for more insight from the women who wereCamouflage is a beautifully illustrated introduction to autism and how it differs in women.
While I was hoping for more insight from the women who were interviewed, this is a basic overview and starting point and I’d recommend it to anyone who wanting to better understand an autistic family member or friend!...more
"None of us ask to be born where we are, or how we are. The challenge of life is to make the most out of what you've been given."
When Stars are Scat "None of us ask to be born where we are, or how we are. The challenge of life is to make the most out of what you've been given."
When Stars are Scattered is an incredible, heartbreaking tale of what it means to grow up in a refugee camp. Inspired by the fifteen years Omar Mohamed spent with his brother Hassan in Dadaab, we follow these two brothers through struggles of exhaustion, hunger and not knowing where their mother is to the simple joys like a swing made of plastic bags and playing soccer with other kids in the camp.
It was so heartwarming to see how much Omar prioritises his education, which is ultimately a privilege in this environment. This graphic novel also touches on the lack of importance placed on girls to receive an education, with the expectation that they're better off preparing food for their families and taking care of younger siblings. I really loved Maryam's character and the way that she still fought to educate herself and her young daughter while living in society's expectations.
I cried reading the afterword and loved the inclusion of the photos. I highly recommend this for middle grade readers right through to adults. One of my favourite reads of the year....more
Okay, why does no one talk about this series??? This was so freaking cute and funny, and it ends on a cliff-hanger so of course I'm going to 4.5 stars
Okay, why does no one talk about this series??? This was so freaking cute and funny, and it ends on a cliff-hanger so of course I'm going to pick up the next volume.
Our main character, Charlie, transfers to an art college where there's no sports team - until over-achiever Olivia decides to create a girls basketball team. Olivia invites a hesitant Charlie to join the team and in doing so, Charlie finds herself amongst the most heart-warming group of friends who are all so different yet clearly adore one another.
This beautifully illustrated graphic novel features a diverse cast of characters including a non-binary character as well as anxiety representation. There's also the potential for a romance between Charlie and Olivia that I am here for.
Recommend if you enjoy: - the Heartstopper graphic novels - stories around sport - female/female romance - diverse characters including non-binary rep - anxiety representation - strong female friendships ...more
So for the sake of transparency, let it be known that I cried while reading a middle grade graphic novel.
Unaware that this was a sequel, I was thrown So for the sake of transparency, let it be known that I cried while reading a middle grade graphic novel.
Unaware that this was a sequel, I was thrown into this story and the characters without the background knowledge from Sheets. Despite this, my enjoyment wasn't lessoned and I look forward to reading Delicates' predecessor.
Delicates follows Marjorie, who is navigating grief, tricky eighth grade friendships and an entire family of ghosts living in her family's laundromat. Fellow eighth grader and avid photographer, Eliza, is struggling with being an outsider and feeling like a ghost herself.
As the two girls form a friendship, Marjorie, - often under the sharp and honest guidance of her ghostly friends - is faced with confronting the morals and behaviours of her other 'friends' while also trying to help her father and younger brother come to terms with their own grief.
The characters all have their own flaws and there's a lot of lessons to be found amongst these illustrated pages. Delicates tackles some really heavy issues - mental health, trauma, bullying, peer pressure - in a way that's quite accessible and appropriate for a middle grade or younger YA audience.
There was a lot of subtle yet thoughtful mirroring between Eliza's emotions and Wendell's ghost identity. The small parts of Tessi's home life gave our token mean girl a little more depth but I would have loved to see this pushed a little further.
From a visual perspective, I just loved the colour palette of the art and the illustrations were so beautiful.
Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to review this graphic novel. I hope there's a Sheets #3 in our future! ...more
Fangs is a collection of comic strips about a vampire and a werewolf falling in love.
It was so cute and definitely appropriate for Valentine’s Day. TFangs is a collection of comic strips about a vampire and a werewolf falling in love.
It was so cute and definitely appropriate for Valentine’s Day. The black and white art style was simple yet captivating and I loved the dark humour.
I would have given this five stars if it were more of a full-length graphic novel rather than a series of moments. The large jumps of time made it difficult to completely connect with the characters but overall a fun and super cute collection!...more
“Its strange to love a place like you would a person, but I do!�
Absolutely beautiful!
It's a little daunting picking up a graphic novel retelling of on“Its strange to love a place like you would a person, but I do!�
Absolutely beautiful!
It's a little daunting picking up a graphic novel retelling of one of my most treasured childhood books but Mariah Marsden captured the essence of the original story with all of the most treasured anecdotes (such as the infamous slate scene with Gilbert Blythe and Anne's failed hair dye attempt) and keeping the original quotes when it feels necessary (“I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.�)
The illustrations were beautiful and I loved the detail and care that went into them to visually bring the story to life.
I highly recommend this to all Anne of Green Gables fan. I already want to pick it up again and flip through my favourite pages....more
Going into this, I knew I would love it because it's Rainbow Rowell and to me she is the real MVPPP.
I've neThis is pretty much the cutest thing ever!
Going into this, I knew I would love it because it's Rainbow Rowell and to me she is the real MVPPP.
I've never read a graphic novel before so it was a whole new format but it was so easy to follow and the illustrations were so beautiful.
Set throughout one night, we follow Deja and Josiah's epic adventure through the pumpkin patch, tracking down Vanessa Fudgens (genius!), stray goats, delicious snacks (did I mention how hungry this story made me?) and snack-stealing thieves.
The only thing Deja and Josiah seem to have in common is that they both work at the pumpkin patch but there is definitely an opposites attract vibe here. They make such a wonderful duo and the witty dialogue between them is such a joy to read. (By the way, I bet all of Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ could hear me grinning/screeching every time Deja called Josiah, "Josie")
I can't wait to read this again and again every Halloween.
People all sort of look the same to me until I talk to them. That's when they start to get interesting. That's when they start to... shimmer....more
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