Scan barcode
shivani_reads's review against another edition
2.75
Supper Club is a book that grabbed my attention right from seeing the delicious-looking cover.
This is a high school coming-of-age story, with all the dramas that may entail. And the titular supper club serves as the one thing our main characters all have in common and can all come together for among the chaos of the final school year...until even that starts to become difficult for some of them.
I must admit, from the cover art and the description, I expected more of a focus on the supper club gatherings themselves, especially with the first night being given to us in so much detail. But as the story progressed, the food shifted more to the background as the teens' problems came to the forefront.
On that note, while I wasn't a fan of Nora, it was good to see some mental health rep with her panic attacks. However, I think she (and the others to a degree) were downright awful to Iris, who is going through a terrible time with her hospitalised dad.
Lily's story was also slightly disappointing, in that we see her being the first in the group navigating things with a potential love interest, but there's no real resolution to anything that happens, so we're left not knowing if that goes anywhere.
Overall this was a fairly simple read, and though the art style isn't quite what I'd expected based on the cover, it still works well enough. And I was glad to see a handful of the featured recipes included in the back of the book!
Thank you to Netgalley, Image Comics and Jackie Morrow for sending me a digital copy in exchange for an honest review.
This is a high school coming-of-age story, with all the dramas that may entail. And the titular supper club serves as the one thing our main characters all have in common and can all come together for among the chaos of the final school year...until even that starts to become difficult for some of them.
I must admit, from the cover art and the description, I expected more of a focus on the supper club gatherings themselves, especially with the first night being given to us in so much detail. But as the story progressed, the food shifted more to the background as the teens' problems came to the forefront.
On that note, while I wasn't a fan of Nora, it was good to see some mental health rep with her panic attacks. However, I think she (and the others to a degree) were downright awful to Iris, who is going through a terrible time with her hospitalised dad.
Lily's story was also slightly disappointing, in that we see her being the first in the group navigating things with a potential love interest, but there's no real resolution to anything that happens, so we're left not knowing if that goes anywhere.
Overall this was a fairly simple read, and though the art style isn't quite what I'd expected based on the cover, it still works well enough. And I was glad to see a handful of the featured recipes included in the back of the book!
Thank you to Netgalley, Image Comics and Jackie Morrow for sending me a digital copy in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders
wrenl's review
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I love love love stories about food bringing people together. It makes me so happy. Especially because I bake. While the story was a bit teenage angst, I still appreciated the friendships and bonding moments. Super heartfelt and sweet.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Cancer
indeedithappens's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Alcohol, Medical content, Mental illness, Abandonment, Blood, Chronic illness, Grief, and Toxic friendship
emily_mh's review
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
The first thing I want to make super clear is that the cover art does not match the art style of the graphic novel itself, which was a major letdown. It’s not even that I didn’t like the interior art, just that it was not suited to depicting food as beautifully and appetisingly as the front cover did - plus, I felt a little catfished.
The narrative was also a letdown. The titular Supper Club barely features, to the point where this book could have existed without it and not have been that different. I was expecting to see more cooking and eating, and bonding over food, to hear about the weekly themes and to basically have it tie the book together, but the story was almost entirely focussed on things happening outside of and unrelated to it.
The narrative follows the three MCs, Nora, Lili, and Iris, and the challenges they are facing. Respectively, these are panic attacks, a new friend/LI, and a sick parent. All three of these plot lines are rushed through in a way that means none of them are covered meaningfully or properly. With Nora, we barely see her mental health journey and then suddenly it is resolved when she is given a rock, which seems to give her the power to think her way out of panic attacks. With Lili, we see a fight with her friend/LI that never gets addressed; we are left hanging, and do not find out if he apologised for his behaviour, which leaves that subplot of expanding her horizons unfinished . To be fair, Lili’s relationship with her mum was the best-handled subplot in the whole book. But then with Iris, we get no real insight into her situation as the narrative distances her by not giving her much room, verbally or visually. It felt like we saw more of other characters’ frustration towards her than her herself. Speaking of, I didn’t like the other characters being frustrated with her in the first place. Iris’ dad is literally in the hospital because of an aneurysm; like, no wonder she’s not on the ball socially! Also, so what if she was trying to prioritise study to get good grades? An hours-long event every Friday is a big social commitment, so why couldn’t Nora compromise and do something more manageable so they could still see each other? Thus in the end, all three major plot lines were half-baked and irritating.
It just felt like I was forcing myself through this book because I didn’t want to DNF two books in one day. I was super excited to read this one, so it sucks for it to be a disappointment.
Rep: one MC is of the global majority, but her ethnicity is not made clear other than that she is Asian.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Medical content and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: sick parent Minor: disordered eating, menstruationjade13's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Alcohol
livlamentloathe's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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
3.0
I loved the art style. And the idea. And the complexities of the lives of the members of Supper Club. But I also found it confusing at times. There were 6(?) members of the club but I only knew the names of the main three girls. And there was another girl who looked just like Lili so sometimes I wasn't sure if it was her or the other one on the page. That said, it was a very enjoyable read, and I teared up a bit at the end when Iris and Nora were talking about the Italian Rainbow Cookies. I wish I had a cute food-based club with my friends!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Medical content and Panic attacks/disorders
mandkips's review
hopeful
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
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, and Grief
Moderate: Gaslighting, Drug use, and Terminal illness
Minor: Toxic relationship
escapinginpaper's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Medical content, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Gaslighting, Drug use, and Terminal illness
Minor: Toxic relationship
More...