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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
While I thought the main character was so realistic with her insecurities about growing up a bigger girl, ultimately this wasn't as interesting as I hoped it would be, and needed more plot to move it along. While I love an intimate look at a character, The Greatest Thing just needed more...things.
challenging
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I often wonder how I would have survived without art in my life. I think it might be the closest thing to magic we have in the world, the ways it can channel emotions, help us communicate complex feelings, and most importantly, the way it can help and heal. The Greatest Thing from author and illustrator Sarah Winifred Searle is a gorgeous graphic novel where art is central to the growing process for the characters while the book itself is also a wonderful expression on the complexity of teenage life. Winifred’s best friends have moved to a private school and she is starting the year alone but making new friends who come together and start a zine while bumbling through teenage life together. Raw and realistic, this is a character driven story that is so delightfully nuanced as it addresses a wide variety of social, emotional and psychological struggles, taking aim to successfully capture the reader’s heart.
The Greatest Thing follows Winifred and her new best friends, April and Oscar as they stumble through their sophomore year. These characters feel very authentic as we experience them in a variety of moods, see their flaws, and find ourselves rooting for them even when we are frustrated with their actions (or inactions). One aspect of this book I greatly appreciated is that the scope of interactions is not confined to just the friends group, with the characters existing in multiple friend circles and other outside interactions. It allows the story to have a very textured and realistic look at high school experiences instead of isolating the primary characters, which also shows how any sense of control over oneself and friends are constantly bombarded with outside influences of opinion, misunderstandings, and more.
Searle juggles the cast quite effectively and this feels like a living, breathing high school society. The teachers, while only having small roles, are also shown to have considerable influences and while characters may resent school, there are moments of clarity when they appreciate the teachers who do have a positive influence and care about the success of their students. This becomes important as there are some pretty heavy topics that crop up through the book, from eating disorders, struggles with identity and sexuality, family problems, and issues of self-harm and depression. While this book can feel like a lot, it also addresses the topics in productive ways and I can see this book being a balm on the soul of a teenager who seeks to feel understood and valid.
YA graphic novels such as this are so important. As in the image above, depictions of characters that you can identify with are really healing and inspiring, and I am particularly moved at how sensitively and productively this book presents characters dealing with understanding themselves. To see discussions on possibly being non-binary, or bisexual, and see these converstations happen in supportive friend groups is really lovely, and as always I wish I had books like this when I was a teenager. I particularly enjoyed how fluid their sexualities were, with characters going through uncertainties and liking characters of either gender. Pan Enby here, more of this please!
Especially this book because the emphasis on art is wonderful. There is an endearing metafictional aspect of the book as the friends zine figures into the book and we get to read several issues of it (written by Oscar, illustrated by Fred, published by April). In these comics we see the characters creating metaphors for their own inner struggles and trying to contextualize each other through their artistic expressions. I also loved the way Searles includes instructions on how to make your own zine by pretty naturally including them in the story. There’s a bit of a vibe that reminded me how much I loved The Plain Janes.
Finally, the art in this is quite lovely. Even [a:Tillie Walden|13560692|Tillie Walden|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1525905931p2/13560692.jpg] gives it a shoutout, and it's nice to agree with my favorite graphic novelist. The use of colors here really helps set the various emotional tones of the book, and the evening scenes are quite lovely. Her pacing with the frames is excellent too and keeps the book moving along swiftly despite being very character driven and while the book is dialogue heavy it never feels like too much as it is balanced very successfully across multiple frames. The character designs are great and the attention to each character’s sense of fashion is very well done (also one of the teachers just looks like Seahawk from the She-Ra reboot but as a cool teacher),
I loved this book. It’s very moving and while it can be heavy at times it never feels bogged down. It also just feels very real to what being alive is like in a web of emotions, inner-struggles and social circles. Problems arise, and not everything is handled easily and hurts linger here. It feels true. I’ve read rumor this might become a series, which would be great to see, though this stands strongly on its own as is. I love these characters and the way Searle is willing to show them as dynamic, flawed, and sometimes their own worst enemies, with the trio of friends each having a distinct personality and different coping or defense mechanisms. For those looking for realistic fiction, particularly one dealing with mental health, this is an absolute gem.
5/5
The Greatest Thing follows Winifred and her new best friends, April and Oscar as they stumble through their sophomore year. These characters feel very authentic as we experience them in a variety of moods, see their flaws, and find ourselves rooting for them even when we are frustrated with their actions (or inactions). One aspect of this book I greatly appreciated is that the scope of interactions is not confined to just the friends group, with the characters existing in multiple friend circles and other outside interactions. It allows the story to have a very textured and realistic look at high school experiences instead of isolating the primary characters, which also shows how any sense of control over oneself and friends are constantly bombarded with outside influences of opinion, misunderstandings, and more.
Searle juggles the cast quite effectively and this feels like a living, breathing high school society. The teachers, while only having small roles, are also shown to have considerable influences and while characters may resent school, there are moments of clarity when they appreciate the teachers who do have a positive influence and care about the success of their students. This becomes important as there are some pretty heavy topics that crop up through the book, from eating disorders, struggles with identity and sexuality, family problems, and issues of self-harm and depression. While this book can feel like a lot, it also addresses the topics in productive ways and I can see this book being a balm on the soul of a teenager who seeks to feel understood and valid.
YA graphic novels such as this are so important. As in the image above, depictions of characters that you can identify with are really healing and inspiring, and I am particularly moved at how sensitively and productively this book presents characters dealing with understanding themselves. To see discussions on possibly being non-binary, or bisexual, and see these converstations happen in supportive friend groups is really lovely, and as always I wish I had books like this when I was a teenager. I particularly enjoyed how fluid their sexualities were, with characters going through uncertainties and liking characters of either gender. Pan Enby here, more of this please!
Especially this book because the emphasis on art is wonderful. There is an endearing metafictional aspect of the book as the friends zine figures into the book and we get to read several issues of it (written by Oscar, illustrated by Fred, published by April). In these comics we see the characters creating metaphors for their own inner struggles and trying to contextualize each other through their artistic expressions. I also loved the way Searles includes instructions on how to make your own zine by pretty naturally including them in the story. There’s a bit of a vibe that reminded me how much I loved The Plain Janes.
Finally, the art in this is quite lovely. Even [a:Tillie Walden|13560692|Tillie Walden|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1525905931p2/13560692.jpg] gives it a shoutout, and it's nice to agree with my favorite graphic novelist. The use of colors here really helps set the various emotional tones of the book, and the evening scenes are quite lovely. Her pacing with the frames is excellent too and keeps the book moving along swiftly despite being very character driven and while the book is dialogue heavy it never feels like too much as it is balanced very successfully across multiple frames. The character designs are great and the attention to each character’s sense of fashion is very well done (also one of the teachers just looks like Seahawk from the She-Ra reboot but as a cool teacher),
I loved this book. It’s very moving and while it can be heavy at times it never feels bogged down. It also just feels very real to what being alive is like in a web of emotions, inner-struggles and social circles. Problems arise, and not everything is handled easily and hurts linger here. It feels true. I’ve read rumor this might become a series, which would be great to see, though this stands strongly on its own as is. I love these characters and the way Searle is willing to show them as dynamic, flawed, and sometimes their own worst enemies, with the trio of friends each having a distinct personality and different coping or defense mechanisms. For those looking for realistic fiction, particularly one dealing with mental health, this is an absolute gem.
5/5
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I read it all in a single night and that was a lot for my mental health; I had a breakdown. I was already on high anxiety so that's probably why but yea, there is mental-health-related topics in this.
I read it all in a single night and that was a lot for my mental health; I had a breakdown. I was already on high anxiety so that's probably why but yea, there is mental-health-related topics in this.
As someone that did self harm and is queer I felt myself relating completely to the main character. I like how the book dealt with tough topics of self harming and eating disorders. I see the discussion happening in a lot of young adult novels but not with very many graphic novels. Another thing this book did really well is show zines. Some other books I have discuss the zine or show the cover art, but this book decided to show the different editions of the zine from front cover to the back cover. I thought that doing that was a unique touch.
Sarah Winifred Searle nous offre une BD pleine de douceur. Elle traite plusieurs sujets difficiles tels que les troubles alimentaires, la dépression et l'anxiété, le tout dans un contexte vraiment bienveillant et très inclusif (plein de représentations LGBTQIA +). J'ai adoré l'amitié qui se forme entre les personnages, même si j'ai trouvé la fin un peu abrupte et pas assez développée.
Loved the art style! And it was fun to just follow the story along. I just wish there was more of an ending. Perhaps a sequel is in store??
challenging
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Eating disorder, Self harm