Reviews with content warning for Alcoholism - Verona Comics

As soon as I finished Dugan’s book Some Girls Do last week, I knew I wanted to read more from her. Lucky me, my library had an ebook of Verona Comics readily available, so I checked it out. I don’t even remember if I read the synopsis; I just guessed from the title it was a Romeo and Juliet retelling and went from there. I’m a bit impulsive when it comes to books, haha.

Anyway, here I am, having read two of Dugan’s books out of three. While Verona Comics didn’t have quite the same effect on me that Some Girls Do did, I still really enjoyed it. I immediately loved both Jubilee and Ridley, and related to the latter much more than I thought I would. The self-deprecation, the bad relationship with his father…. just call me out, Ms. Dugan, why don’t you. Startling similarities aside, Ridley must be protected at all costs.

I also really liked Jubilee’s friends, and her moms. All of the relationships were so well-written, and seeing her parents lowkey adopt Ridley made my heart happy. I’d like to be first in line behind Jubilee to punch Ridley’s father in the face. With a chair. I’m glad that the poor boy had his sister, at least. I liked Gray, and their bond.

I really like modern retellings of classics, and Dugan did a great job with this redone R&J. Although I occasionally thought some aspects of the feud were a bit too dramatic, it mostly worked out. The indie store vs corporation theme also felt very prevalent to today’s society.

There were some other prevalent discussions and themes too, like Jubilee wondering if she can be bi/pansexual even though she’s never dated a girl, and co-dependency in a relationship. Just like with SGD, I felt the balance between this heavier content and lighter moments was perfectly done, making for an emotional but not overly devastating read.

Not gonna lie though, the last third of the book really hurt my heart, and had me worrying. I know suicidal thoughts are mentioned in the content warnings, but I want to mention again that they’re there. I don’t know that I’ve read any other books with a character presently having such blatant thoughts like that, so while I do want more people to read this book, bear that in mind if you do.

I was so relieved that this book had a better ending than the story that inspired it. I won’t say much, but it was good, and it was hopeful, and I liked it.

It’s safe to say that Dugan is creeping her way up my favorite contemporary authors list. I’m definitely looking forward to seeing what she does in the future.

Representation

queer questioning protagonist
bisexual protagonist
Black lesbian side character
Korean side character
Latine sapphic side character
bisexual side character
two sapphic side couples (f/f)

Content Warnings

kilic's review

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challenging emotional reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Content Warnings

kaitielou's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense 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

3.25

Content Warnings

katselvocki's review against another edition

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I expected this to be a sweet and fluffy queer YA romance, and it’s clear eight chapters in that Ridley’s dad is an emotionally abusive alcoholic, and that Ridley’s anxiety disorder is really severe. I’d be okay with those plot points if I hadn’t been planning on fluff, so maybe I’ll pick this up again another time.

Content Warnings

ghosthermione's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny hopeful sad fast-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I can't lie, I'm a sucker for Shakespeare rewrites, and I'm a sucker for Romeo and Juliet - but it rarely hits the mark, really. This book, though! I had a blast listening to the audiobook! The voice actors really embody the characters, and Ridley especially. The poor kid has panic attacks and the writer and actor both did a wonderful job portraying that.
There's a lot in this story about mental health, and family abuse and what it does to you, so it comes with trigger warnings - but the writer really did justice to the topic, showing how it's really overwhelming sometimes and how those dynamics eat at you - but also how there are roads to recovery and ways to build support systems even if you think there aren't.
It's also really, really funny and geeky in the best of ways, and it's a love letter to independent comicbook stores, and to queer kids. Most of the cast is queer in some way, including the main f/m relationship - which is very unusual and as a bi girl I found it really refreshing. It does a good job of portraying the anxiety that comes with navigating relationship as a bi/pan/... person too, but remains very positive on that front. I don't normally read contemporary YA, but I absolutely loved this one and would absolutely recommend it!

Content Warnings

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