Reviews with content warning for Bullying - Tegan and Sara: Junior High

I love Tillie Walden's work, and this book is no exception. I also really enjoyed learning more about Tegan and Sarah and actually started listening to their music (which is amazing!). Even though they transferred their 1990s childhood to the present, the outlines of the time period where still there and brought back a lot of memories. I love that this book builds a book between the coming-of-age experiences of two generations. A little stream-of-consciousness /disjointed at times, but a really great read overall. If and if/when there's a second book, I'll definitely pick it up as well.

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moonyreadsbystarlight's review

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emotional funny reflective

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

This is a fictionalized autobiography of Tegan and Sara's time in 7th grade, set in modern day (rather than in the early 90's, when they were 12/13). There are friendships, crushes, fights, an old guitar, and their first song. It was sweet to see the relationship between them - its not often you see a story about twins written by a pair of twins. It was pretty cute overall! I fear I'm too old to know exactly how the modernization landed for a kid audience in 2023, but I liked it.

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greenlivingaudioworm's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny lighthearted reflective relaxing fast-paced

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

4.0

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jessereadsthings's review

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fast-paced

5.0

Super cute and quick read.

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honuzbubbles's review

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lighthearted reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

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pucksandpaperbacks's review

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funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

CW: Internalized homophobia, homophobia: gay used as an insult, divorced parents, bullying, anxious thoughts/comments

I was sent a copy of this book from the publisher. All thoughts are my own.

Go back in time to junior high with the debut graphic novel from the twin musicians, Tegan and Sara, illustrated by Tillie Walden.

If you’re looking for a new coming of age story, JUNIOR HIGH is it. In a fictionalized retelling of Tegan and Sara’s life in junior high, we follow the twins through all of their struggles: parent’s divorce, first crushes, sexuality awakenings, bullying, and trying to make friends.

I enjoyed how the story was told despite it being fictionalized to fit modern times with references to the Nintendo Switch, Billie Ellish, and Stranger Things. JUNIOR HIGH is a relatable read for anyone who survived middle school and for queer kids especially.

I’ve learned recently that I like reading books following twins. It’s such a unique perspective especially in graphic novel form. In JUNIOR HIGH, Sara’s color is red, and Tegan is blue which helps the reader tell them apart.

I knew of Tegan and Sara before reading this graphic novel, but I didn’t know much about their life. I appreciated the author’s note at the end of the book because it shares what the real-life situation was from the fictionalized version.

JUNIOR HIGH is the perfect sleepover read!

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questingnotcoasting's review

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emotional fast-paced

4.0

Tillie Walden is one of my favourite illustrators and Tegan and Sara are one of my favourite bands so this was one of my most anticipated books of the year. Overall I really enjoyed it and I loved the art, particularly the purple colour palette. I didn't find the story quite as engaging as their memoir High School (which I really loved), but since this is aimed at younger readers that made sense. It's based on Tegan and Sara's real experiences but set in present day, instead of the 1990s, which was an interesting choice. It definitely worked but because I was already familiar with their story, I occasionally forgot and then seeing the characters with mobile phones would surprise me. I didn't know there was going to be a sequel so that's exciting.

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readingwithcats's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective 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

3.5

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