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emotional
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:
No
I love LGBTQ+ fiction but this one just didn't do anything for me. The artwork was okay but the characters didn't have much development and not much seemed to be happening and I don't know if it was a bad translation but the sentences and wording didn't really read right.
Just going to read all the books I pulled for the genre challenge haha. This was a sweet story, and I loved the art. So much dimension with two colors!
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
hopeful
slow-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
Pacing felt a little weird. Wish we'd gotten more of the developments that happen in the last quarter of the story.
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
This is a quiet, gentle coming of age story about two Korean American teens both trying to balance responsibilities of family and school with a search for their own identities and priorities. Caroline is a sophomore whose days are shaped by zero periods, band practice, studying, and reading fantasy romance comics when people aren't paying attention. Kim is a senior failing Algebra 2, possibly because she is in constant motion: picking her younger siblings up from school, working at a mechanic shop, teaching guitar lessons, helping her mom, and showing up at every social occasion even at very last minute notice. Caroline is assigned as Kim's math tutor, and that connection blooms into a friendship which pulls Caroline out of their shell and slows Kim down a little bit. I loved the hand inked line art and the soft way the story unfolded; it felt like real life.
challenging
emotional
inspiring
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
reflective
fast-paced
challenging
emotional
funny
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-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
I just finished Firebird on my iPad, and it was hella cute. A sapphic graphic novel set in San Francisco and Oakland? Say less. When I saw this as a recommendation on Kindle Unlimited, I knew I had to check it out. And it delivered.
The art? Stunning. It’s mostly black and white, with red showing up in flashes, like memories, big feelings, or those moments that hit in your chest. It was simple but so effective. It felt like the color red was doing its own storytelling.
The plot follows two Korean American teens, Caroline and Kim. They meet when Caroline starts tutoring Kim in Algebra, and from there, it builds slowly, awkwardly, sweetly. Their friendship shifts into something softer and crushy, and I loved watching that unfold.
What really got me was how real both girls felt. Caroline’s quiet heaviness, her depression, the way she keeps everything in because she doesn’t want to burden her family — whew, that hit. That was me in high school, no lie. And Kim? Kim felt like the other side of me. Hella interests, easily switches between femme and masc energy, doing the most but still figuring it all out.
I also appreciated how it tackled being the child of immigrants, that tension between family expectations and queer identity, and just trying to stay afloat in high school when everything feels loud and confusing. And prom night? So soft. I was grinning the whole time.
This one’s short but powerful. It’s got that Bay flavor, it’s tender, and it says a lot without doing too much. If you’re looking for a quick queer graphic novel that’ll hit you in the feels and leave you smiling, Firebird is the one. 😍😍🫶🏾
The art? Stunning. It’s mostly black and white, with red showing up in flashes, like memories, big feelings, or those moments that hit in your chest. It was simple but so effective. It felt like the color red was doing its own storytelling.
The plot follows two Korean American teens, Caroline and Kim. They meet when Caroline starts tutoring Kim in Algebra, and from there, it builds slowly, awkwardly, sweetly. Their friendship shifts into something softer and crushy, and I loved watching that unfold.
What really got me was how real both girls felt. Caroline’s quiet heaviness, her depression, the way she keeps everything in because she doesn’t want to burden her family — whew, that hit. That was me in high school, no lie. And Kim? Kim felt like the other side of me. Hella interests, easily switches between femme and masc energy, doing the most but still figuring it all out.
I also appreciated how it tackled being the child of immigrants, that tension between family expectations and queer identity, and just trying to stay afloat in high school when everything feels loud and confusing. And prom night? So soft. I was grinning the whole time.
This one’s short but powerful. It’s got that Bay flavor, it’s tender, and it says a lot without doing too much. If you’re looking for a quick queer graphic novel that’ll hit you in the feels and leave you smiling, Firebird is the one. 😍😍🫶🏾